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Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War
In this brilliant biography T. J. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw Jesse James. Although he has often been portrayed as a Robin Hood of the old west, in this ground-breaking work Stiles places James within the context of the bloody conflicts of the Civil War to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure.
Raised in a fiercely pro-slavery household in bitterly divided Misssouri, at age sixteen James became a bushwhacker, one of the savage Confederate guerrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war, James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconstruction, when his reckless daring, his partisan pronouncements, and his alliance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely at the forefront of the former Confederates’ bid to recapture political power. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adventures of the famous gunman, T. J. Stiles shows how he resembles not the apolitical hero of legend, but rather a figure ready to use violence to command attention for a political cause—in many ways, a forerunner of the modern terrorist.
Raised in a fiercely pro-slavery household in bitterly divided Misssouri, at age sixteen James became a bushwhacker, one of the savage Confederate guerrillas that terrorized the border states. After the end of the war, James continued his campaign of robbery and murder into the brutal era of reconstruction, when his reckless daring, his partisan pronouncements, and his alliance with the sympathetic editor John Newman Edwards placed him squarely at the forefront of the former Confederates’ bid to recapture political power. With meticulous research and vivid accounts of the dramatic adventures of the famous gunman, T. J. Stiles shows how he resembles not the apolitical hero of legend, but rather a figure ready to use violence to command attention for a political cause—in many ways, a forerunner of the modern terrorist.
544 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
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May 10, 2021For me the great thing about this book was how the author explored Jesse James in the changing political environment of his times - the American Civil war and the following decades. James will always be an unusual and peripheral figure yet he became, for a time, a symbolic figure in the creation of the "Lost Cause" idealisation of the Confederacy, this in turn part of a broader project to win the peace politically by those who had been defeated militarily in the civil war. Aside from being a fascinating story, with train robberies secret agents and drama, there is plenty to mull over here that is relevant to other post conflict situations.
Missouri at the time of Jesse's birth was a divided state. Northern parts of the state along the Missouri river where the James family were settled (themselves with a half dozen slaves before the war) were suitable for slave owning small estate agriculture while other parts were better suited to small holdings and had a population less supportive of slavery and more supportive of free soil ideals, this section of the population was being built up by an additional influx of German settlers (strongly anti-slavery) in the years before the civil war.
The marked division in attitudes within the state led to a particularly vicious war within the state with a large proportion of the male population enrolled in a variety of unionist militias fighting pro-confederate insurgents including Jesse who had been too young to enlist, as his brother Frank did, in the regular forces. Bushwhacking, scalping and attacks on civilians were typical of the fighting within the state.
The end of conflict and the readjustment into peacetime life is naturally difficult for any civilian conscripted or enlisted into even regular military forces. But at least for such men fighting was often distant from their homes, it had distinct rules and codes of conduct towards the enemy which were largely respected by both sides.
The situation for Jesse James was however very different. His war had involved acts of terrorism amongst his neighbours. He had ridden with the scalps of men he had killed on open display but was now was on the defeated side in a state dominated politically and socially by men who had scores to settle with him and those like him. He was nineteen and his passage into adulthood had been marked by profoundly violent experiences.
After the war peace did not return to Missouri. Jesse, amongst others engaged in political violence, hitting targets associated with the Radical Republican cause. It was at the beginning of the 1870s that James was taken up by the newspaperman John Edwards. Edwards had served in the Confederate army and spent time in Mexico after the war before returning the USA where he alternated between devoting his time to alcoholism and journalism.
Edwards managed to make James an iconic figure as part of a wider political programme. Partly by providing him with a platform by publishing James' letters and occasional protestations of innocence, partly through lauding him in thoroughly Romantic terms as a just man who was forced to make recourse to sword and had ridden under the Black Flag in defence of his wronged people (with allusions to Walter Scott). The language was that of chivalry, yet there was just enough of an allusion to brutality to give the portrait of James a frisson of danger.
The wider political programme was to undermine the Radical Republican control of the state. The romanticisation of Jesse James and his gang gave Edwards a hero to rally support around, supporters who were then encouraged to vote for increasingly less radical and more liberal Republicans who were potentially sympathetic to the interests of the defeated, and ultimately to create a solid block of ex-confederate voters for a Democratic ticket in the later 1870s. Eventually this all played a part in reinventing Missouri as a state with distinctly Southern sympathies in contrast to it's actual development prior to the Civil War.
And then there were train robberies. The trains in the 1870s became a political target as lines consolidated and increasing freight charges squeezed farming communities financially. Appealing to that constituency fed into Edwards' politics and the money had it's uses for the James gang too.
The other feature of James life is the relatively tight kinship network that he moved within. Gang members were relatives, wartime comrades or at the very least people who could be vouched for by them. His wife was a cousin (though she wasn't a train robber). His brother a close associate.
By the time of James' murder in 1882 the political edge to his criminal activity was no longer so currant. The problem was that the patterns and habits of violence learnt during the war had become inescapable long after the formal end of hostility. A return to peace time existence was not something James could achieve.
Missouri at the time of Jesse's birth was a divided state. Northern parts of the state along the Missouri river where the James family were settled (themselves with a half dozen slaves before the war) were suitable for slave owning small estate agriculture while other parts were better suited to small holdings and had a population less supportive of slavery and more supportive of free soil ideals, this section of the population was being built up by an additional influx of German settlers (strongly anti-slavery) in the years before the civil war.
The marked division in attitudes within the state led to a particularly vicious war within the state with a large proportion of the male population enrolled in a variety of unionist militias fighting pro-confederate insurgents including Jesse who had been too young to enlist, as his brother Frank did, in the regular forces. Bushwhacking, scalping and attacks on civilians were typical of the fighting within the state.
The end of conflict and the readjustment into peacetime life is naturally difficult for any civilian conscripted or enlisted into even regular military forces. But at least for such men fighting was often distant from their homes, it had distinct rules and codes of conduct towards the enemy which were largely respected by both sides.
The situation for Jesse James was however very different. His war had involved acts of terrorism amongst his neighbours. He had ridden with the scalps of men he had killed on open display but was now was on the defeated side in a state dominated politically and socially by men who had scores to settle with him and those like him. He was nineteen and his passage into adulthood had been marked by profoundly violent experiences.
After the war peace did not return to Missouri. Jesse, amongst others engaged in political violence, hitting targets associated with the Radical Republican cause. It was at the beginning of the 1870s that James was taken up by the newspaperman John Edwards. Edwards had served in the Confederate army and spent time in Mexico after the war before returning the USA where he alternated between devoting his time to alcoholism and journalism.
Edwards managed to make James an iconic figure as part of a wider political programme. Partly by providing him with a platform by publishing James' letters and occasional protestations of innocence, partly through lauding him in thoroughly Romantic terms as a just man who was forced to make recourse to sword and had ridden under the Black Flag in defence of his wronged people (with allusions to Walter Scott). The language was that of chivalry, yet there was just enough of an allusion to brutality to give the portrait of James a frisson of danger.
The wider political programme was to undermine the Radical Republican control of the state. The romanticisation of Jesse James and his gang gave Edwards a hero to rally support around, supporters who were then encouraged to vote for increasingly less radical and more liberal Republicans who were potentially sympathetic to the interests of the defeated, and ultimately to create a solid block of ex-confederate voters for a Democratic ticket in the later 1870s. Eventually this all played a part in reinventing Missouri as a state with distinctly Southern sympathies in contrast to it's actual development prior to the Civil War.
And then there were train robberies. The trains in the 1870s became a political target as lines consolidated and increasing freight charges squeezed farming communities financially. Appealing to that constituency fed into Edwards' politics and the money had it's uses for the James gang too.
The other feature of James life is the relatively tight kinship network that he moved within. Gang members were relatives, wartime comrades or at the very least people who could be vouched for by them. His wife was a cousin (though she wasn't a train robber). His brother a close associate.
By the time of James' murder in 1882 the political edge to his criminal activity was no longer so currant. The problem was that the patterns and habits of violence learnt during the war had become inescapable long after the formal end of hostility. A return to peace time existence was not something James could achieve.
December 12, 2008
I wrote this book.
July 4, 2022
Jesse James is not a principal actor in this book through its first hundred pages. Jesse James Last Rebel of the Civil War is a biography of the outlaw, but more importantly, a chronicle of the place and times that produced him — necessary context for understanding. Stiles book is as much a study of the social/political/economic history of Missouri from 1845 through 1882 as it is a biography of James. So those first hundred pages are devoted to a vigorous examination of the James family, the Missouri society in which they lived, and the coming of the Civil War. Outside of this context, the actions of Jesse James' life have no coherent meaning.
Missouri was deeply divided on the burning issues of the times, both before and after the Civil War. It did not belong to any one section of the country, but contained many different inhabitants who looked variously South, North, or West for their cultural identification. When the war came, this caused violent splits in Missouri society. Great atrocities were committed by both sides as neighbors fought and killed each other in bloody, no holds barred guerrilla warfare. The end of the war with a Northern victory did not stop this conflict in Missouri, where the victors and vanquished still lived side by side, and where their pre-war differences now were enhanced by blood feuds. The Missouri guerrillas, or Bushwhackers as they were known, continued right on fighting for their Lost Cause, still hoping to shape the future of their state according to their values. It was as one of them, fighting for the Lost Cause of the South, that Jesse James made his mark on history.
Jesse James entered manhood and history as a sixteen year old, riding with the infamous Bloody Bill Anderson's band of Bushwhackers. This was the experience that left an indelible mark on Jesse's character, predetermining the direction that this intelligent, outgoing young man would take for the rest of his violent life. It was here that he learned to kill ruthlessly for his cause, and to love the excitement of the violent life. It was also here where he met the men who would be his partners in his outlaw endeavors, men who were bound by their war-time experience and loyalties, and who all shared the vision of the Lost Cause.
The years after the war were a time of great political conflict in Missouri. Confederate Democrats fought Unionist Democrats, and they both fought Radical Republicans for control of the state. This was Jesse's battle ground. The Confederate- sympathizer newspaperman John Newman Edwards wrote editorials that made Jesse famous, cementing his place in folklore, and author Stiles suggests that the two were actually working in partnership. Jesse was the warrior, and Edwards was the propagandist creating a hero for the Confederate Democrats to rally around. Stiles makes a strong case that nearly all of the robberies committed by the James gang were carefully crafted to create the maximum political effect, and suggests that Jesse should be seen not in the context of social bandit, as he often has been cast, but as a prototype of the modern political terrorist. Considering the evidence that Stiles presents in this carefully researched book, this interpretation of Jesse James looks not only possible, but probable.
Missouri was deeply divided on the burning issues of the times, both before and after the Civil War. It did not belong to any one section of the country, but contained many different inhabitants who looked variously South, North, or West for their cultural identification. When the war came, this caused violent splits in Missouri society. Great atrocities were committed by both sides as neighbors fought and killed each other in bloody, no holds barred guerrilla warfare. The end of the war with a Northern victory did not stop this conflict in Missouri, where the victors and vanquished still lived side by side, and where their pre-war differences now were enhanced by blood feuds. The Missouri guerrillas, or Bushwhackers as they were known, continued right on fighting for their Lost Cause, still hoping to shape the future of their state according to their values. It was as one of them, fighting for the Lost Cause of the South, that Jesse James made his mark on history.
Jesse James entered manhood and history as a sixteen year old, riding with the infamous Bloody Bill Anderson's band of Bushwhackers. This was the experience that left an indelible mark on Jesse's character, predetermining the direction that this intelligent, outgoing young man would take for the rest of his violent life. It was here that he learned to kill ruthlessly for his cause, and to love the excitement of the violent life. It was also here where he met the men who would be his partners in his outlaw endeavors, men who were bound by their war-time experience and loyalties, and who all shared the vision of the Lost Cause.
The years after the war were a time of great political conflict in Missouri. Confederate Democrats fought Unionist Democrats, and they both fought Radical Republicans for control of the state. This was Jesse's battle ground. The Confederate- sympathizer newspaperman John Newman Edwards wrote editorials that made Jesse famous, cementing his place in folklore, and author Stiles suggests that the two were actually working in partnership. Jesse was the warrior, and Edwards was the propagandist creating a hero for the Confederate Democrats to rally around. Stiles makes a strong case that nearly all of the robberies committed by the James gang were carefully crafted to create the maximum political effect, and suggests that Jesse should be seen not in the context of social bandit, as he often has been cast, but as a prototype of the modern political terrorist. Considering the evidence that Stiles presents in this carefully researched book, this interpretation of Jesse James looks not only possible, but probable.
February 17, 2018
“Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War” is a thorough study of how Jesse James became the man he was and why his legend grew beyond mere outlaw status.
Stiles dives deep into the Missouri political picture before, during and after the Civil War. The divisiveness of the citizens led to a steady stream of violence and conflict between Confederate supporters and Union loyalists. This was the toxic atmosphere Jesse grew up in and largely explains his anger and vengefulness towards fellow Missourians and anyone else who represented ideals that did not align with his own.
This is not a romantic retelling of Jesse James’ exploits. Robberies and murders are covered, but the majority of the book focuses on Missouri as a whole in order to understand how a man like Jesse James become so revered and hated. The final chapters cover Jesse’s demise, with the final chapter focusing on what makes Jesse different from other famous outlaws of that time. This is the highlight of the book.
Stiles is the best biographer working today and this first book of his shows the talent that has since led to two Pulitzer Prizes for the author. 4-5 star range, but I’m going with 5 because I don’t think we will ever see a more objective analysis of Jesse James and what his legend tells us about our history as a nation.
Stiles dives deep into the Missouri political picture before, during and after the Civil War. The divisiveness of the citizens led to a steady stream of violence and conflict between Confederate supporters and Union loyalists. This was the toxic atmosphere Jesse grew up in and largely explains his anger and vengefulness towards fellow Missourians and anyone else who represented ideals that did not align with his own.
This is not a romantic retelling of Jesse James’ exploits. Robberies and murders are covered, but the majority of the book focuses on Missouri as a whole in order to understand how a man like Jesse James become so revered and hated. The final chapters cover Jesse’s demise, with the final chapter focusing on what makes Jesse different from other famous outlaws of that time. This is the highlight of the book.
Stiles is the best biographer working today and this first book of his shows the talent that has since led to two Pulitzer Prizes for the author. 4-5 star range, but I’m going with 5 because I don’t think we will ever see a more objective analysis of Jesse James and what his legend tells us about our history as a nation.
June 5, 2017
Jesse James is certainly one of the more controversial figures in American history. Just a teenager at the end of the Civil War, he would nonetheless be an active participant in murder and robbery through his activities with Confederate guerillas. Much like many of those guerrillas, the end of the war was really just the start of a new phase of it for Jesse. A virulent racist, and unreconstructed Confederate, Jesse would continue ambushing and murdering right up until his death in 1882, long after many of his former comrades had been killed or retired.
This book argues that what made Jesse unique wasn't the robbery (he was far from the only one doing this) but rather the daring with which he carried them out as well as the unapologetic political motives he claimed for them. For Jesse, he never killed anyone who didn't deserve it. That people who "deserved it" were former Union soldiers, abolitionists, or "damned fools who won't open a safe when they're told" seemed immaterial.
Jesse became in a stridently partisan Missouri, a folk hero who many equated with a modern day Robin Hood. Never mind, as the author points, out that very little of the money Jesse stole ever left his possession, these were times when Missourians were looking for a folk hero who even symbolically, was still fighting a war that they had lost.
What this book tries to accomplish is separating the myth from the very little we know about Jesse the man. What remains is a very well written, at times thrilling (the chapter on the botched Minnesota bank robbery is as good as any western you'll ever read) and always fascinating biography of Jesse James and the troubled times he lived in.
This book argues that what made Jesse unique wasn't the robbery (he was far from the only one doing this) but rather the daring with which he carried them out as well as the unapologetic political motives he claimed for them. For Jesse, he never killed anyone who didn't deserve it. That people who "deserved it" were former Union soldiers, abolitionists, or "damned fools who won't open a safe when they're told" seemed immaterial.
Jesse became in a stridently partisan Missouri, a folk hero who many equated with a modern day Robin Hood. Never mind, as the author points, out that very little of the money Jesse stole ever left his possession, these were times when Missourians were looking for a folk hero who even symbolically, was still fighting a war that they had lost.
What this book tries to accomplish is separating the myth from the very little we know about Jesse the man. What remains is a very well written, at times thrilling (the chapter on the botched Minnesota bank robbery is as good as any western you'll ever read) and always fascinating biography of Jesse James and the troubled times he lived in.
Currently reading
May 30, 2008I'm about a third of the way through, and Chris Floyd's review steered me right:
"Last winter, I flew across the ocean back to Tennessee, after my oldest brother died. During this visit, I had with me a book I'd long meant to read but had never gotten around to. It was Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, by T.J. Stiles.
To call this work a "biography" risks misrepresenting the depth and scope of the illumination it provides. It is a masterpiece of historical reconstruction. By the time I had finished reading it, during long, empty nights after days filled with the business and busyness of death, I felt I had come to a new understanding of American reality: of the nation's history, of many of the deep-running currents in American society, and of our politics, past and present. I also felt – although this was incidental – that I had gained new insights into Iraq as well, into some of the dynamics at work in the sectarian conflicts there, which we like to pretend have largely to do with strange and primitive elements in Muslim and Arabic culture, with no connection to us.
Anyone who wants to examine one of the primary crucibles of the American character will find Stiles' work indispensable. He is also a marvelous writer, evoking a living world from the long-vanished past with understated but highly effective artistry. To evoke the old book-review cliché, if you read one book on American history in the coming year, make sure it is Stiles' book on the life and times – especially the times – of Jesse James. I cannot recommend it highly enough."
"Last winter, I flew across the ocean back to Tennessee, after my oldest brother died. During this visit, I had with me a book I'd long meant to read but had never gotten around to. It was Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War, by T.J. Stiles.
To call this work a "biography" risks misrepresenting the depth and scope of the illumination it provides. It is a masterpiece of historical reconstruction. By the time I had finished reading it, during long, empty nights after days filled with the business and busyness of death, I felt I had come to a new understanding of American reality: of the nation's history, of many of the deep-running currents in American society, and of our politics, past and present. I also felt – although this was incidental – that I had gained new insights into Iraq as well, into some of the dynamics at work in the sectarian conflicts there, which we like to pretend have largely to do with strange and primitive elements in Muslim and Arabic culture, with no connection to us.
Anyone who wants to examine one of the primary crucibles of the American character will find Stiles' work indispensable. He is also a marvelous writer, evoking a living world from the long-vanished past with understated but highly effective artistry. To evoke the old book-review cliché, if you read one book on American history in the coming year, make sure it is Stiles' book on the life and times – especially the times – of Jesse James. I cannot recommend it highly enough."
September 2, 2017
T.J. Stiles writes biography and history with a superb blend of academic rigor (a copious and, in itself, interesting Notes section adds context to many parts of the book) and old-fashioned story-telling. While on the surface this is a biography of the legendary Missouri outlaw, it really reads much more as an excellent history of Civil War and Reconstruction-era Missouri. Throughout the first half of the book, James himself is a minor figure and there are many pages where he does not appear at all. Even in the second half, James' life - and death - are weaved into the context of the places and times in which he lived.
This is not meant as a criticism; constructing the life story of a notorious bandit from the 19th century undoubtedly must be a difficult undertaking: early portion of James' life are fragmentary at best. He did not come from a prosperous family or found a fortune on his own. Nor did he rise to any type of political office, nor form a lasting social movement that altered the trajectory of the country. Typically those characteristics: money, a great social movement, or political office/power, define whose lives are examined in detail and written about later with an abundance of fact. With James, figuring out what drove him is more difficult. This is someone who lived most of his life lurking in the shadows (or, more appropriately, the woods), often coming out only to strike violence someplace before immediately disappearing again. This is someone who terrorized many of his neighbors into cowardice, forcing them to provide safe harbor to him when posses or law enforcement came after him.
This is also someone who was unafraid to murder in cold blood on broad daylight, and even scarier, choose some victims purely indiscriminately. In this aspect, Stiles links him - in some limited aspects - to a terrorist of the modern day; someone who goes on a random shooting spree in a public location such as a mall or movie theater, although Stiles does not state it quite that openly. Because James had such a small circle of intimates, lived in the shadows, and died young (34), his motivating forces of hatred will never be fully known. But undoubtedly he was evil; how else to describe someone who took such a nonchalant view of ending human life?
To say that he was a product of his environment (growing up in a border state habitually in conflict between ideological identity to the South and the Confederacy contrasted with its position as a gateway to the American West and being positioned just north and west enough to escape the full influence of Southern society) is accurate but also not the whole picture. Not everyone boy coming of age in Missouri at that time became a "bushwacker" as Jesse and his older brother Frank did. His ornery and racist mother, Zerelda, no doubt heavily influenced his thinking, and was his staunchest supporter to the end. Outside of her, Jesse trusted basically no one, and even grew apart from Frank after the latter had tired of banditry and wanted to lead a more sedate and law-abiding life.
Stiles' writing style is fluid and the narrative moves quickly. He clearly did his research here, trying to present a clear portrait in particular of the environment in Missouri during the Jesse's life, and also more generally speaking in America. For example, he discusses the rise of common people carrying firearms around with them. This came about immediately after the Civil War. While not unheard of for someone to carry a weapon prior to the war, it was not something that was generally done. But afterwards, many men walked around and did their business while carrying revolvers. That is something that is still being played out today with the continuing controversies and arguments over gun control, which includes concealed and open carry laws in many states.
Stiles' description of the Northfield, MN raid in 1876 is gripping - one of those chapters where the reader becomes transfixed in the story and rapidly devours the pages to get to its conclusion. Those who are familiar with Stiles' other work will not be surprised by this - he has a talent for descriptive writing and accurate story-telling. The final chapter is devoted to a review of the culture that enabled the rise, and ultimately the fall, of James. Perhaps Stiles' most astute summary of James can be found on page 381: "If the death of Jesse James unveiled the small truths - about his identity, his crimes, the names of late associates - it shrouded the larger truths about his life and significance. In a sense, this was because he died too late. He had outlived the issues that had brought him to public attention, so that his personal fame now eclipsed the causes that he represented."
Anyone interested in the Civil War or the Reconstruction period will find this an excellent and worthwhile read. In addition, those interested in Missouri history or the history of violence in 19th century America will also find this book a valuable use of time.
This is not meant as a criticism; constructing the life story of a notorious bandit from the 19th century undoubtedly must be a difficult undertaking: early portion of James' life are fragmentary at best. He did not come from a prosperous family or found a fortune on his own. Nor did he rise to any type of political office, nor form a lasting social movement that altered the trajectory of the country. Typically those characteristics: money, a great social movement, or political office/power, define whose lives are examined in detail and written about later with an abundance of fact. With James, figuring out what drove him is more difficult. This is someone who lived most of his life lurking in the shadows (or, more appropriately, the woods), often coming out only to strike violence someplace before immediately disappearing again. This is someone who terrorized many of his neighbors into cowardice, forcing them to provide safe harbor to him when posses or law enforcement came after him.
This is also someone who was unafraid to murder in cold blood on broad daylight, and even scarier, choose some victims purely indiscriminately. In this aspect, Stiles links him - in some limited aspects - to a terrorist of the modern day; someone who goes on a random shooting spree in a public location such as a mall or movie theater, although Stiles does not state it quite that openly. Because James had such a small circle of intimates, lived in the shadows, and died young (34), his motivating forces of hatred will never be fully known. But undoubtedly he was evil; how else to describe someone who took such a nonchalant view of ending human life?
To say that he was a product of his environment (growing up in a border state habitually in conflict between ideological identity to the South and the Confederacy contrasted with its position as a gateway to the American West and being positioned just north and west enough to escape the full influence of Southern society) is accurate but also not the whole picture. Not everyone boy coming of age in Missouri at that time became a "bushwacker" as Jesse and his older brother Frank did. His ornery and racist mother, Zerelda, no doubt heavily influenced his thinking, and was his staunchest supporter to the end. Outside of her, Jesse trusted basically no one, and even grew apart from Frank after the latter had tired of banditry and wanted to lead a more sedate and law-abiding life.
Stiles' writing style is fluid and the narrative moves quickly. He clearly did his research here, trying to present a clear portrait in particular of the environment in Missouri during the Jesse's life, and also more generally speaking in America. For example, he discusses the rise of common people carrying firearms around with them. This came about immediately after the Civil War. While not unheard of for someone to carry a weapon prior to the war, it was not something that was generally done. But afterwards, many men walked around and did their business while carrying revolvers. That is something that is still being played out today with the continuing controversies and arguments over gun control, which includes concealed and open carry laws in many states.
Stiles' description of the Northfield, MN raid in 1876 is gripping - one of those chapters where the reader becomes transfixed in the story and rapidly devours the pages to get to its conclusion. Those who are familiar with Stiles' other work will not be surprised by this - he has a talent for descriptive writing and accurate story-telling. The final chapter is devoted to a review of the culture that enabled the rise, and ultimately the fall, of James. Perhaps Stiles' most astute summary of James can be found on page 381: "If the death of Jesse James unveiled the small truths - about his identity, his crimes, the names of late associates - it shrouded the larger truths about his life and significance. In a sense, this was because he died too late. He had outlived the issues that had brought him to public attention, so that his personal fame now eclipsed the causes that he represented."
Anyone interested in the Civil War or the Reconstruction period will find this an excellent and worthwhile read. In addition, those interested in Missouri history or the history of violence in 19th century America will also find this book a valuable use of time.
April 18, 2018
I picked this up a few years ago when I visited Jesse James birthplace. For whatever reason, it kept getting pushed back in the to-read pile. Having visited the James place, I learned his story. There has been a revision of how we view James- not an outlaw of the Cowboy movie, but a Confederate who didn't stop fighting after the Civil War. Also, in the meantime, Stiles has become a very respected and successful writer of history with his George Custer book. Not sure if one influenced the other, but the James place agrees with Stiles and his book is prominently sold as one of the best telling of the James story.
Spoilers ahead: Well,it's a biography so...
Because I visited there and also spent time visiting and reading Northern Missouri and Eastern Kansas, I had a bit more background on the 19th Century of this region than the average reader coming in. "Bleeding Kansas", the pre-Civil War era years of this area is some of the bloodiest and most extremely violent times of the country's history.
While the pro-South forces probably hit the worst (the Jayhawkers, Border Ruffians, Red leggers of legend) neither side is innocent. Reading about the Pro-Union forces and then later the Reconstruction Republicans, neither side gets away scott free. Indeed, James apologists will say he spent his life planning revenge against the Union forces that terrorized him and his family in his youth.
James is charismatic, for sure, but he's never completely likeable. He is a cold blooded killer and seems pretty okay with that. His indoctrination with the Jayhawkers as young teen follows the psychology of what we know from gang and gangster mentality.
James rides with some of the most violent men of American history- first, William Quantrill and then Bloody Bill Anderson. These guys were guerillas. They terrorized the area and led raids that intended to send a message to anti-slavery forces. James learned efficiency from his tenure here. As warfare between neighbors turned into outright Civil War, some of these men joined the Confederacy, but they were better bandits than military men.
Stiles's book does a couple of things really well. For starters, it does cover that part of the Civil War in the West - no one talks about- Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Second of all, his history of Missouri politics is fascinating. It is interesting to see the attitudes of the day and the effect we still see today.
Through the 40 years or so of this book, there are usually three major factions. It is generally two of these three- Abolitionists, Pro-slavery Republicans, Pro-Union Democrats, Secessionist Democrats, Radical re-constructionist Republicans, Moderate Republicans,former Confederate Democrats and former Pro-Union Democrats. At times, the Democrat party is so weak, that they sway the vote between Republicans. It is the history written about here that helps explain modern day Missourian politics.
The northwest corridor that James was born is called "Little Dixie" as it was settled by former Kentuckians with an allegiance to the South. As we move to Bleeding Kansas and its raids, the Civil War breaks open and it can literally be neighbor against neighbor. Some decide to join the army, others stay home.
Quantrill fades from his height as he is seen as betraying Bloody Bill Anderson and though he continues, he unsurprisingly he meets a bloody end. Bloody Bill Anderson takes up the mantle as the fiercest fighter out there- with no qualms about scalping or massacring women and children.
Anderson is one of the most violent man you will meet in history, and so it's a bit hard to have sympathy for him or James. He is an effective guerilla, though and does a lot of damage to the Union. As quick-witted and wily as Anderson, it's ironic that he meets his death by being outfoxed.
With Quantrill and Anderson dead and the War lost, the bushwhackers do continue in smaller gangs. The Unionists enforce a bit of martial law to keep the peace. Confederate sympathizers are barred from voting. It is a tedious time and the violence doesn't stop. James and other confederates refuse to change. None more-so than James's mom. They even keep the slaves.
At this time as the various bushwhacker gangs are still active post-Civil War, they target the banks. They terrorize the area as the Klan does the South. James is not necessarily the leader, but they work in gang mentality as bands of guerillas. James's becomes famous in 1869 robbing the Gallatin, Missouri bank (presumably to avenge Bill Anderson).
He becomes the most wanted man in Missouri, but Newspaper Editor John Newman Edwards allies with James and decides to use him to sell Segregationist views. It's mutually beneficial. James is no lackey. He is daring and if his motives weren't completely political, now they become that.
The Confederates are fighting Reconstruction and James is the hero. Edwards make James a hero. Indeed, James could "shoot someone in the middle of downtown Manhattan" and not lose any support. Edwards and James indeed create some 'cognitive dissonance' as well, simultaneously denying their involvement in the crimes but winking knowingly. There are good lessons on propagandizing here. Indeed, the book tells us that times haven't changed, as we still believe outrageous rumors, only they are propagated from different platforms these days.
The South lost the War but after eight years of Grant, they do win the reconstruction. Those years are vital in understanding the region's history, and it explains how Missouri (and Kentucky) was a Union State, but are now part of the modern South.
The Pinkertons chase James as does every successive Missouri governor, but their attempts only go to make James more sympathetic.
As reconstruction ends in 1876, the ensuing years (until 1882) mean James goes out with more of a whimper than a bang. He still manages to rob trains and banks, but with Reconstruction over (and the Ex-Confederates in political power), Edwards no longer needs him to sell the story.
James lives undetected in Kentucky under an assumed name with his brother and their families. In the last years, most of the original Bushwackers have ended up dead or in jail, so James's gang starts to become hired hands like Bob and Charlie Ford, which of course, does not bode well.
I was always shocked Frank James never went to jail, but I have a good feel why. He surrendered to Missouri and made appropriate amends and it sounds like Frank, by the end, was ready to be done with the mischief anyway.
Stiles posits that we have James wrong. Although it is the era of Custer and Western expansion, and he's a contemporary of Billy the Kid (who he apocryphal meets him) and barely predates Butch Cassidy, James is not a Western bandit. Indeed, he is a terrorist in much of the way the KKK terrorized the South. Stiles stops short of comparing James to political groups like Isis or the Tamil Tigers, but I think there are similarities. His activities were a continuation of the Pre-Civil War redleggers and he never stopped fighting that war.
Goodreads asks that we rate books on a scale of 1-5 stars. I do tend to act like I have a finite amount of five stars and there are times that I probably should have gave a four-star book the extra star (or vice versa). But I really enjoyed this- in the way, it never got so detailed, it wasn't readable, but it never skimped on the research to sell books. It took detours in explaining the whole picture (not in a trivial Bill Bryson/Sarah Vowell way, which are the type of books I love)but did it in a way where it was fully formed and even with multiple characters introduced, it was easy to follow still. I thoroughly was intrigued by it.
Spoilers ahead: Well,it's a biography so...
Because I visited there and also spent time visiting and reading Northern Missouri and Eastern Kansas, I had a bit more background on the 19th Century of this region than the average reader coming in. "Bleeding Kansas", the pre-Civil War era years of this area is some of the bloodiest and most extremely violent times of the country's history.
While the pro-South forces probably hit the worst (the Jayhawkers, Border Ruffians, Red leggers of legend) neither side is innocent. Reading about the Pro-Union forces and then later the Reconstruction Republicans, neither side gets away scott free. Indeed, James apologists will say he spent his life planning revenge against the Union forces that terrorized him and his family in his youth.
James is charismatic, for sure, but he's never completely likeable. He is a cold blooded killer and seems pretty okay with that. His indoctrination with the Jayhawkers as young teen follows the psychology of what we know from gang and gangster mentality.
James rides with some of the most violent men of American history- first, William Quantrill and then Bloody Bill Anderson. These guys were guerillas. They terrorized the area and led raids that intended to send a message to anti-slavery forces. James learned efficiency from his tenure here. As warfare between neighbors turned into outright Civil War, some of these men joined the Confederacy, but they were better bandits than military men.
Stiles's book does a couple of things really well. For starters, it does cover that part of the Civil War in the West - no one talks about- Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Second of all, his history of Missouri politics is fascinating. It is interesting to see the attitudes of the day and the effect we still see today.
Through the 40 years or so of this book, there are usually three major factions. It is generally two of these three- Abolitionists, Pro-slavery Republicans, Pro-Union Democrats, Secessionist Democrats, Radical re-constructionist Republicans, Moderate Republicans,former Confederate Democrats and former Pro-Union Democrats. At times, the Democrat party is so weak, that they sway the vote between Republicans. It is the history written about here that helps explain modern day Missourian politics.
The northwest corridor that James was born is called "Little Dixie" as it was settled by former Kentuckians with an allegiance to the South. As we move to Bleeding Kansas and its raids, the Civil War breaks open and it can literally be neighbor against neighbor. Some decide to join the army, others stay home.
Quantrill fades from his height as he is seen as betraying Bloody Bill Anderson and though he continues, he unsurprisingly he meets a bloody end. Bloody Bill Anderson takes up the mantle as the fiercest fighter out there- with no qualms about scalping or massacring women and children.
Anderson is one of the most violent man you will meet in history, and so it's a bit hard to have sympathy for him or James. He is an effective guerilla, though and does a lot of damage to the Union. As quick-witted and wily as Anderson, it's ironic that he meets his death by being outfoxed.
With Quantrill and Anderson dead and the War lost, the bushwhackers do continue in smaller gangs. The Unionists enforce a bit of martial law to keep the peace. Confederate sympathizers are barred from voting. It is a tedious time and the violence doesn't stop. James and other confederates refuse to change. None more-so than James's mom. They even keep the slaves.
At this time as the various bushwhacker gangs are still active post-Civil War, they target the banks. They terrorize the area as the Klan does the South. James is not necessarily the leader, but they work in gang mentality as bands of guerillas. James's becomes famous in 1869 robbing the Gallatin, Missouri bank (presumably to avenge Bill Anderson).
He becomes the most wanted man in Missouri, but Newspaper Editor John Newman Edwards allies with James and decides to use him to sell Segregationist views. It's mutually beneficial. James is no lackey. He is daring and if his motives weren't completely political, now they become that.
The Confederates are fighting Reconstruction and James is the hero. Edwards make James a hero. Indeed, James could "shoot someone in the middle of downtown Manhattan" and not lose any support. Edwards and James indeed create some 'cognitive dissonance' as well, simultaneously denying their involvement in the crimes but winking knowingly. There are good lessons on propagandizing here. Indeed, the book tells us that times haven't changed, as we still believe outrageous rumors, only they are propagated from different platforms these days.
The South lost the War but after eight years of Grant, they do win the reconstruction. Those years are vital in understanding the region's history, and it explains how Missouri (and Kentucky) was a Union State, but are now part of the modern South.
The Pinkertons chase James as does every successive Missouri governor, but their attempts only go to make James more sympathetic.
As reconstruction ends in 1876, the ensuing years (until 1882) mean James goes out with more of a whimper than a bang. He still manages to rob trains and banks, but with Reconstruction over (and the Ex-Confederates in political power), Edwards no longer needs him to sell the story.
James lives undetected in Kentucky under an assumed name with his brother and their families. In the last years, most of the original Bushwackers have ended up dead or in jail, so James's gang starts to become hired hands like Bob and Charlie Ford, which of course, does not bode well.
I was always shocked Frank James never went to jail, but I have a good feel why. He surrendered to Missouri and made appropriate amends and it sounds like Frank, by the end, was ready to be done with the mischief anyway.
Stiles posits that we have James wrong. Although it is the era of Custer and Western expansion, and he's a contemporary of Billy the Kid (who he apocryphal meets him) and barely predates Butch Cassidy, James is not a Western bandit. Indeed, he is a terrorist in much of the way the KKK terrorized the South. Stiles stops short of comparing James to political groups like Isis or the Tamil Tigers, but I think there are similarities. His activities were a continuation of the Pre-Civil War redleggers and he never stopped fighting that war.
Goodreads asks that we rate books on a scale of 1-5 stars. I do tend to act like I have a finite amount of five stars and there are times that I probably should have gave a four-star book the extra star (or vice versa). But I really enjoyed this- in the way, it never got so detailed, it wasn't readable, but it never skimped on the research to sell books. It took detours in explaining the whole picture (not in a trivial Bill Bryson/Sarah Vowell way, which are the type of books I love)but did it in a way where it was fully formed and even with multiple characters introduced, it was easy to follow still. I thoroughly was intrigued by it.
December 24, 2011
My four-star rating is a compromise between what I objectively think of the quality of this book and how much enjoyment I had in reading it. Stiles has written an impeccably researched, thorough, detailed biography of James; as such it deserves five stars. But it was a hard read for me. Jesse James, however enduring his place remains in popular culture, was a particularly brutal person. The vast majority of those he killed were unarmed, and during his days as a bushwhacker in Civil War Missouri, he and his cohorts often mutilated the bodies of the fellow Missourians they killed.
But I learned a lot, even if much of it was distasteful. Not only did Stiles' book clarify what made James what he was - he was a Confederate guerrilla, rather than a Western bandit - it made me think about the subsequent history of the South differently. Jesse James and those who shared his beliefs were still fighting the Civil War years after it was over. Unfortunately, many of my fellow Southerners were still doing so over a hundred years later.
Toward the end of my reading, my wife asked me if I had any sympathy toward James at all. Not at all. But the one moment that made me see the humanity in this killer was late in his life, when he made a pretty funny private joke. He applied for a job at a railroad depot, and stated that he had extensive experience with railway and express companies. I assume that he didn't explain that his experience was all in robbing them.
But I learned a lot, even if much of it was distasteful. Not only did Stiles' book clarify what made James what he was - he was a Confederate guerrilla, rather than a Western bandit - it made me think about the subsequent history of the South differently. Jesse James and those who shared his beliefs were still fighting the Civil War years after it was over. Unfortunately, many of my fellow Southerners were still doing so over a hundred years later.
Toward the end of my reading, my wife asked me if I had any sympathy toward James at all. Not at all. But the one moment that made me see the humanity in this killer was late in his life, when he made a pretty funny private joke. He applied for a job at a railroad depot, and stated that he had extensive experience with railway and express companies. I assume that he didn't explain that his experience was all in robbing them.
December 1, 2010
A well written book that takes a look at the James and Younger Brothers in the context of the politics of their times. Largely debunks the idea that JJ was some sort of folk hero or Robin Hood rather suggesting he usurped those ideas to further his own interests. In point of fact Jesse James, Cole Younger, and lot of other people who were held up as Confederate heros forced into a life of crime by persecution were nothing less than cold blooded murderers. On more than one occasion they point blank shot and killed unarmed men in their robberies and his lack of remorse suggests he was likely a sociopathic and homicidal personality.
That he met his end shot in the head while unarmed is in some sense a case of bad karma catching up with him as he had done just that to a lot of other people. Even during the Civil War he rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and associated with folks that not just murdered unarmed neighbors they scalped them while they were still alive and rode around with the hair tied to their saddles. He participated with Anderson in the bloody attack into Lawrence, Kansas where every male whether adult or child that could be found were summarily executed. Not cleanly, not quickly. He was not heroic figure he was a bloody killer just like Anderson and emerged as a leading figure once Bloody Bill himself was murdered.
Those who live by the sword, James death was a case of a murderer getting murdered himself not so much an assassination. That James was a political figure there is no doubt but that was largely thanks to the efforts of former Confederates such as John Edwards who refused to accept the Souths defeat and saw what the outlaws were doing and just in light of the vigilantes that strung up former confederates in retaliation for war time murders and such.
Finally James began to believe his own press leading to attacks further afield including the disaster in Northfield, MN. That robbery was really an attempt to attack one Adelbert Ames former governor of occupied Mississipi, son in law one General Butler known in New Orleans as the beast while acting as military governor during the war. Ames was also interesting a graduate of West Point and a classmate of George Armstrong Custer who had been killed in June of 1876 while the Northfield attack occurred in September that same year.
The questioning and debunking of the folk hero aspect of James legend should come as no surprise since no human being is ever perfect. I think in our modern world he'd still be seen as a heroic figure by some despite his bloody side just as people are fascinated by serial killers.
Which is to make a final point in that although he was popular in the press with former confederates in modern parlance his political dimension and willingness to resort to violence would likely have him classified as a terrorist. One must remember that although they were vocal and violent the pro-slavery secessionists were a minority. Banks were different back then when JJ and crew robbed them he robbed the whole town and they did in fact target banks associated with unionists. He'd be called anti-American by a lot of people, a mass murderer, and a liar.
This is one view and their are others. I'm not so much agreeing as outlining some of the dominant points. I would suggest that one might make some of the same arguments about people on the other side as well such as John Brown for instance. The author is right though in that he was a product of the time which was arguably the most violent one in American history before or since with neighbors murdering neighbors in the dark of night and brothers shooting brothers on the battlefield. Human life held little value.
That he met his end shot in the head while unarmed is in some sense a case of bad karma catching up with him as he had done just that to a lot of other people. Even during the Civil War he rode with Bloody Bill Anderson and associated with folks that not just murdered unarmed neighbors they scalped them while they were still alive and rode around with the hair tied to their saddles. He participated with Anderson in the bloody attack into Lawrence, Kansas where every male whether adult or child that could be found were summarily executed. Not cleanly, not quickly. He was not heroic figure he was a bloody killer just like Anderson and emerged as a leading figure once Bloody Bill himself was murdered.
Those who live by the sword, James death was a case of a murderer getting murdered himself not so much an assassination. That James was a political figure there is no doubt but that was largely thanks to the efforts of former Confederates such as John Edwards who refused to accept the Souths defeat and saw what the outlaws were doing and just in light of the vigilantes that strung up former confederates in retaliation for war time murders and such.
Finally James began to believe his own press leading to attacks further afield including the disaster in Northfield, MN. That robbery was really an attempt to attack one Adelbert Ames former governor of occupied Mississipi, son in law one General Butler known in New Orleans as the beast while acting as military governor during the war. Ames was also interesting a graduate of West Point and a classmate of George Armstrong Custer who had been killed in June of 1876 while the Northfield attack occurred in September that same year.
The questioning and debunking of the folk hero aspect of James legend should come as no surprise since no human being is ever perfect. I think in our modern world he'd still be seen as a heroic figure by some despite his bloody side just as people are fascinated by serial killers.
Which is to make a final point in that although he was popular in the press with former confederates in modern parlance his political dimension and willingness to resort to violence would likely have him classified as a terrorist. One must remember that although they were vocal and violent the pro-slavery secessionists were a minority. Banks were different back then when JJ and crew robbed them he robbed the whole town and they did in fact target banks associated with unionists. He'd be called anti-American by a lot of people, a mass murderer, and a liar.
This is one view and their are others. I'm not so much agreeing as outlining some of the dominant points. I would suggest that one might make some of the same arguments about people on the other side as well such as John Brown for instance. The author is right though in that he was a product of the time which was arguably the most violent one in American history before or since with neighbors murdering neighbors in the dark of night and brothers shooting brothers on the battlefield. Human life held little value.
October 20, 2022
For information, this book deserves 5 stars. The reason for my rating is that I usually rate based on my enjoyment. I don’t mind being challenged, but portions of this book read like a textbook, and sometimes I could only get through a page or two before I had to stop.
That said, the documentation and detail assured me I was reading a well researched and thoughtful account of the life and times of Jesse James. I learned a tremendous amount about the emotional and political atmosphere, especially in Missouri, during and after the Civil War. I was quite intrigued. This was a part of history of which I had not been aware.
It’s an excellent explanation, with references to letters and census records, of how Jesse James became the man he was.
That said, the documentation and detail assured me I was reading a well researched and thoughtful account of the life and times of Jesse James. I learned a tremendous amount about the emotional and political atmosphere, especially in Missouri, during and after the Civil War. I was quite intrigued. This was a part of history of which I had not been aware.
It’s an excellent explanation, with references to letters and census records, of how Jesse James became the man he was.
November 14, 2023
The New York Times Book Review says it all. "So carefully researched, persuasive and illuminating that it is likely to reshape permanently our understanding of its subject's life and times."
Mr. Stiles has done a superb job.
Mr. Stiles has done a superb job.
August 22, 2022
Incredible - I hope to write a full review shortly.
April 20, 2024
A wonderful and insightful book about an unusual (thank God) character. Very well researched.
February 3, 2015
Jesse James is one of those figures who I grew up as a small child thinking of is in heroic terms. I know almost nothing about him but the idea was that he was some sort of Robin Hood figure back in the wild wild West days. so this book was a fascinating read into the life of the man that many of us have heard about it a few of us know. Stripped of his Robin Hood mythology, Jesse James comes across more as a modern terrorist. The author does a great job of leaving the narrative of Jesse James through the postwar politics of Western Missouri. it's a fascinating read that contextualizes the exploits of Jesse James and his gang. overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
March 30, 2017
Author Stiles blows away the folk myth that Jesse James was a Robin Hood populist hero. Stiles puts the outlaw's story in the political context of his times - post Civil War - and place - violence ridden Missouri. James was a political terrorist of his time, and many themes Stiles discusses are recurrent in the violence of Ruby Ridge and right-wing militia groups.
Read
June 24, 2009I'm learning a lot about the complexities of the Civil War: the South, the Reconstruction, Bush-whackers, and how Jesse James fit in. The author says that if Jesse James were alive today, he'd be considered a "terrorist." Interesting thought, huh?
March 6, 2023
I don't think any living writer understands Emerson's concept of The Representative Man better than Stiles
February 12, 2022
Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War by T.J. Stiles is a biography of the outlaw Jesse James. Stiles explores the history of Missouri before, during, and after the Civil War (1842-1882 to be exact) and how Jesse's upbringing and emergence into violent guerilla warfare at age sixteen led him to become the outlaw he was.
Engrossing! I had no idea before reading this book how heavily the Civil War impacted Jesse James. Missouri, being a border state, was bitterly divided during this time. Men fought either for the Union or the Confederacy, neighbors slaughtered each other. Violence was rampant. Then, in 1863 Jesse and Frank James joined a group of Confederate "bushwackers" led by "Bloody" Bill Anderson who slaughtered not only Union men but dozens of civilians outside of military rule. They robbed and murdered relentlessly, trying to "avenge" the South by inflicting death and terror. When the group disbanded after the death of Anderson, Jesse continued to rob, later claiming that his enemies basically forced him into a life of continued crime, of which he said he was innocent of. He sent hundreds of letters to the newspapers over the years defending himself, which was interesting to read about. Jesse and Frank eluded the Pinkerton Detective Agency, hid in plain sight in different cities (moving constantly) under false names, and were never caught by authorities. They robbed an estimated $200,000 from banks, stagecoaches, trains and other businesses. That's insane.
Stiles did a great job of chronicling the life of Jesse James and explaining his motives and the intense political climate that fueled his life of crime. Truly an engrossing book.
Engrossing! I had no idea before reading this book how heavily the Civil War impacted Jesse James. Missouri, being a border state, was bitterly divided during this time. Men fought either for the Union or the Confederacy, neighbors slaughtered each other. Violence was rampant. Then, in 1863 Jesse and Frank James joined a group of Confederate "bushwackers" led by "Bloody" Bill Anderson who slaughtered not only Union men but dozens of civilians outside of military rule. They robbed and murdered relentlessly, trying to "avenge" the South by inflicting death and terror. When the group disbanded after the death of Anderson, Jesse continued to rob, later claiming that his enemies basically forced him into a life of continued crime, of which he said he was innocent of. He sent hundreds of letters to the newspapers over the years defending himself, which was interesting to read about. Jesse and Frank eluded the Pinkerton Detective Agency, hid in plain sight in different cities (moving constantly) under false names, and were never caught by authorities. They robbed an estimated $200,000 from banks, stagecoaches, trains and other businesses. That's insane.
Stiles did a great job of chronicling the life of Jesse James and explaining his motives and the intense political climate that fueled his life of crime. Truly an engrossing book.
September 25, 2024
Jesse James was basically the Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds) of Civil War-era Missouri. He was a handsome, murderous, grudge-holding terrorist who would kill you at less than the slightest provocation. I mean, he was a piece of shit. And his life is fascinating. But what I found more interesting this time around (first read in high school) was the story’s setting: America. Divided over civil rights, scarred from violence, questioning how far one should go when defending their principles. It’s a tough read in 2024, but so important.
February 2, 2020
Superb biography, especially the chapters on the James brothers careers as Confederate guerillas during the Civil War and paramilitaries during the fragile peace following the war.
January 9, 2022
4.5. Insightful evaluation of the complexities of Jesse James as a product of the sins of the Civil War.
August 24, 2017
Excellent account of Jesse James' life but a little too textbook for my taste. A very complicated read... and yet, so very complicated was the subject!
May 7, 2020
A well written account of Jesse James' life, especially his years during and after the Civil War as an embittered, unrepentant, cold-blooded killer in support of the southern cause. Also an interesting portrait of the turmoil in Missouri in the Civil War era.
November 13, 2022
When I saw this book, I became interested in reading a good biography about Jesse James. Unfortunately, that is not what this book is. Successful biographies include details and background of the subject's life so that the reader has some understanding of the person, and not just the time and place. Mr. Stiles does a great job describing the time and place. His research is superb, and he carefully and methodically develops the story of the Civil War in Missouri and its aftermath. But there is not much description of Jesse James, the person.
The book reads more like a good college history text book. Jesse James appears schematically in the story, and we learn little about the man, himself. In a way, writing a fleshed-out biography of Jesse James would be difficult, because there are few historic references about the man. I read a commentary by the author where he essentially concluded the same thing. What is historically documented is mostly about Jamess' exploits robbing trains and banks. Some points are made by inference, but at the end of the book, readers will know about what Jesse James did and the times he lived in, but not about who he was.
The book reads more like a good college history text book. Jesse James appears schematically in the story, and we learn little about the man, himself. In a way, writing a fleshed-out biography of Jesse James would be difficult, because there are few historic references about the man. I read a commentary by the author where he essentially concluded the same thing. What is historically documented is mostly about Jamess' exploits robbing trains and banks. Some points are made by inference, but at the end of the book, readers will know about what Jesse James did and the times he lived in, but not about who he was.
August 9, 2024
Great contextual framing of who Jesse James was in relation to his community, culture and country.
January 26, 2023
A tremendous biography of a man who was more Nathan Bedford Forrest than Butch Cassidy.
Before reading this book, I knew who Jesse James was exclusively through pop cultural depictions in which he was portrayed as the quintessential romantic outlaw of the wild west. I had always assumed, as a matter of course, that as with 18th Century pirates the real historical figure had little to do with the heroic image. That is to say, I assumed that the myth had aggrandized his feats and ennobled his character. This is certainly true, but as TJ Stiles convincingly argues, there is a basic, foundational category error in this understanding of the man. The western outlaw figure is contextualized in the story and mythology of western expansion and functions to symbolize prime historical themes of that story: the ambivalent attitude toward violence in settled societies founded on genocide, the struggle to establish civilization ex nihilo, the discontent with the constraints of modern society. Although Butch Cassidy or Wyatt Earp certainly had their life stories embellished as they were turned into mythological characters, it still remains the case that they are best understood within the history of western expansion and the accompanying mythology of the wild west.
What TJ Stiles makes clear is that Jesse James can best be understood not within the story of western expansion, but within the story of white supremacist terrorist violence that unsuccessfully fought to establish an independent confederacy founded on slavery and then successfully fought to establish an appartheid society in the 1860s and 70s.
As a number of reviewers have noted, the book is as much about the historical and social context in which James lived as it is about the man himself. A few people have criticized Last Rebel for this, but I think it is to the books credit. In my view, all great biographies, from Robert Caro's Lyndon Johnson series to Joseph Frank's volumes on Dostoevsky, are as concerned with the subject's times as they are with his life. Even if a reader's sole goal was to understand the subject of the book as an individual, she would still need to have the broader social/historical context in order to understand the choices that they made and the motivations that drove them.
In Last Rebel, that context is the Civil War and Reconstruction in Missouri. Stiles does a wonderful job outlining the politics of Missouri on the eve of the Civil War. A society with slaves rather than a slave society (Stiles likens slavery in pre-bellum Missouri to that in Pre-Revolutionary New England), Missouri retained a pro-union majority from the secession crisis up through the end of the civil war. That being said, there was a sizable Pro-Confederate minority, which Jesse's slaveowning family was a part of. Needless to say, this created a highly combustible political environment, with rival union and confederate state governments, martial law and pro-confederate guerillas known as Bushwhackers terrorizing union supporters and the pro-union government that retained effective political control through the war. Stiles is very good at analyzing the internal political dynamics of Missouri specifically and the slave border states more generally during the civil war. Although the importance of the border states on Lincoln's decision making during the war is always stressed in general histories of the civil war (eg Lincoln's perhaps apocryphal quote: "I hope to have God on our side, but i must have Kentucky"), before reading this I had not had any real understanding of the on-the-ground experience of the political situation in the internally divided border states. Nor had I any understanding of the intimacy and viciousness with which the war was fought in Missouri. Instead of a regional conflict, here it was neighbor against neighbor, with murder, terror and mutilation serving as the primary weapon.
Zooming in from the broader political situation, Stiles rightly emphasizes Jesse James' youth when he became a Bushwhacker and the influence of his domineering, rabidly pro-southern mother in shaping the young guerilla fighter. Only 16 when he began his brutal life of violence, Stiles later plausibly speculates that this early immersion in violence later made it impossible for him to imagine moving on from a life of crime as his older brother Frank would eventually do; violence was all he'd ever known.
To be honest this section of the book becomes almost hard to read. Page after page of murders, scalpings, rape, mutilations (and then imagining the beady eyed child on the book's front cover gleefully taking part) does become draining. Imagine a less purple-prosed Blood Meridian and you wouldnt be far off. But this section is essential for understanding James' later life as a public figure.
After the Civil War, as in the former confederate states, the Republicans came to power and during the years of Radical Reconstruction went about enfranchising african american men, establishing political equality and disenfranchising former confederates. It was in this context that Stiles frames James' robberies of institutions associated with Unionist power (banks and railroad holding companies). James himself was well aware of the symbolism of his actions (can't get more on the nose than carrying out armed robberies dressed in KKK robes), and he proved quite savvy in his handling of public relations and the celebrity status facilitated by the growth of newspapers. In this he was aided by John Newman Edwards, publisher of the Kansas City Times and James' confidant and occasional mouthpiece. The role of James himself in the crafting of his myth and public image as an avenger of the lost cause, striking back against the racially egalitarian Radical Republicans, is a subject of some historical controversy. Stiles ably communicates this controversy without getting lost in the historiographical weeds and convincingly argues that James was an active and politically savvy agent in his partnership with Edwards in creating his image.
Toward the end of the book, as the James Gang disintegrates following a disastrous bank heist and they go west into hiding, Stiles effectively tells the story of the "reconciliation" of north and south on the shared assumption of white supremacy and a sanitized history of the war and reconstruction. In this context, Jesse James lost his potency as a partisan political symbol. There were no more Radical Republicans to rail against, no more racially integrated reconstruction society to rail against. The state itself had increasingly taken on a retroactively pro-confederate identity, in spite of the fact that around 70% of Missourians supported the union. Accordingly, James' support, both in the press and among the people, fell off. Throughout the book, Stiles emphasizes the importance of community support for guerrillas, quoting Mao's famous dictum that the people must be the water that the guerrilla swims in. It is clear that without the support of a sizable portion of the Missouri public, James would not have been able to avoid capture for as long as he did. And once he lost that support, it feels clear that his days were numbered
In a final section on the historical understanding and mythology of Jesse James, Stiles pretty much leaves Eric Hobsbawm's Social Bandit Thesis dead in a ditch. Jesse James was not rebelling against industrial capitalism or social inequality. Nor was he inarticulately acting out of defense of traditional, pre-capitalist mode of life. He never gave any of his money to the poor. Jesse James was a white supremacist terrorist and petty criminal. The degree to which he has been mythologized is illustrative of the American tendency to mythologize, embellish and obfuscate a history founded on murder, theft and brutal racism. In this, he is a quintessential American figure.
Before reading this book, I knew who Jesse James was exclusively through pop cultural depictions in which he was portrayed as the quintessential romantic outlaw of the wild west. I had always assumed, as a matter of course, that as with 18th Century pirates the real historical figure had little to do with the heroic image. That is to say, I assumed that the myth had aggrandized his feats and ennobled his character. This is certainly true, but as TJ Stiles convincingly argues, there is a basic, foundational category error in this understanding of the man. The western outlaw figure is contextualized in the story and mythology of western expansion and functions to symbolize prime historical themes of that story: the ambivalent attitude toward violence in settled societies founded on genocide, the struggle to establish civilization ex nihilo, the discontent with the constraints of modern society. Although Butch Cassidy or Wyatt Earp certainly had their life stories embellished as they were turned into mythological characters, it still remains the case that they are best understood within the history of western expansion and the accompanying mythology of the wild west.
What TJ Stiles makes clear is that Jesse James can best be understood not within the story of western expansion, but within the story of white supremacist terrorist violence that unsuccessfully fought to establish an independent confederacy founded on slavery and then successfully fought to establish an appartheid society in the 1860s and 70s.
As a number of reviewers have noted, the book is as much about the historical and social context in which James lived as it is about the man himself. A few people have criticized Last Rebel for this, but I think it is to the books credit. In my view, all great biographies, from Robert Caro's Lyndon Johnson series to Joseph Frank's volumes on Dostoevsky, are as concerned with the subject's times as they are with his life. Even if a reader's sole goal was to understand the subject of the book as an individual, she would still need to have the broader social/historical context in order to understand the choices that they made and the motivations that drove them.
In Last Rebel, that context is the Civil War and Reconstruction in Missouri. Stiles does a wonderful job outlining the politics of Missouri on the eve of the Civil War. A society with slaves rather than a slave society (Stiles likens slavery in pre-bellum Missouri to that in Pre-Revolutionary New England), Missouri retained a pro-union majority from the secession crisis up through the end of the civil war. That being said, there was a sizable Pro-Confederate minority, which Jesse's slaveowning family was a part of. Needless to say, this created a highly combustible political environment, with rival union and confederate state governments, martial law and pro-confederate guerillas known as Bushwhackers terrorizing union supporters and the pro-union government that retained effective political control through the war. Stiles is very good at analyzing the internal political dynamics of Missouri specifically and the slave border states more generally during the civil war. Although the importance of the border states on Lincoln's decision making during the war is always stressed in general histories of the civil war (eg Lincoln's perhaps apocryphal quote: "I hope to have God on our side, but i must have Kentucky"), before reading this I had not had any real understanding of the on-the-ground experience of the political situation in the internally divided border states. Nor had I any understanding of the intimacy and viciousness with which the war was fought in Missouri. Instead of a regional conflict, here it was neighbor against neighbor, with murder, terror and mutilation serving as the primary weapon.
Zooming in from the broader political situation, Stiles rightly emphasizes Jesse James' youth when he became a Bushwhacker and the influence of his domineering, rabidly pro-southern mother in shaping the young guerilla fighter. Only 16 when he began his brutal life of violence, Stiles later plausibly speculates that this early immersion in violence later made it impossible for him to imagine moving on from a life of crime as his older brother Frank would eventually do; violence was all he'd ever known.
To be honest this section of the book becomes almost hard to read. Page after page of murders, scalpings, rape, mutilations (and then imagining the beady eyed child on the book's front cover gleefully taking part) does become draining. Imagine a less purple-prosed Blood Meridian and you wouldnt be far off. But this section is essential for understanding James' later life as a public figure.
After the Civil War, as in the former confederate states, the Republicans came to power and during the years of Radical Reconstruction went about enfranchising african american men, establishing political equality and disenfranchising former confederates. It was in this context that Stiles frames James' robberies of institutions associated with Unionist power (banks and railroad holding companies). James himself was well aware of the symbolism of his actions (can't get more on the nose than carrying out armed robberies dressed in KKK robes), and he proved quite savvy in his handling of public relations and the celebrity status facilitated by the growth of newspapers. In this he was aided by John Newman Edwards, publisher of the Kansas City Times and James' confidant and occasional mouthpiece. The role of James himself in the crafting of his myth and public image as an avenger of the lost cause, striking back against the racially egalitarian Radical Republicans, is a subject of some historical controversy. Stiles ably communicates this controversy without getting lost in the historiographical weeds and convincingly argues that James was an active and politically savvy agent in his partnership with Edwards in creating his image.
Toward the end of the book, as the James Gang disintegrates following a disastrous bank heist and they go west into hiding, Stiles effectively tells the story of the "reconciliation" of north and south on the shared assumption of white supremacy and a sanitized history of the war and reconstruction. In this context, Jesse James lost his potency as a partisan political symbol. There were no more Radical Republicans to rail against, no more racially integrated reconstruction society to rail against. The state itself had increasingly taken on a retroactively pro-confederate identity, in spite of the fact that around 70% of Missourians supported the union. Accordingly, James' support, both in the press and among the people, fell off. Throughout the book, Stiles emphasizes the importance of community support for guerrillas, quoting Mao's famous dictum that the people must be the water that the guerrilla swims in. It is clear that without the support of a sizable portion of the Missouri public, James would not have been able to avoid capture for as long as he did. And once he lost that support, it feels clear that his days were numbered
In a final section on the historical understanding and mythology of Jesse James, Stiles pretty much leaves Eric Hobsbawm's Social Bandit Thesis dead in a ditch. Jesse James was not rebelling against industrial capitalism or social inequality. Nor was he inarticulately acting out of defense of traditional, pre-capitalist mode of life. He never gave any of his money to the poor. Jesse James was a white supremacist terrorist and petty criminal. The degree to which he has been mythologized is illustrative of the American tendency to mythologize, embellish and obfuscate a history founded on murder, theft and brutal racism. In this, he is a quintessential American figure.
September 13, 2009
This is a fascinating work on Jesse James. It is not so much a standard biography as a "political history" of James. And that makes this an interesting read. The question animating this book is (page4): "Why should one set of criminals be so much more memorable than another?" The answer (page 6): " [Jesse James:] was a major force in the attempt to create a Confederate identity for Missouri, a political and cultural offensive waged by the defeated rebels to undo the triumph of the Radical Republicans in the Civil War." Hence, his Confederate background resonated strongly with the politics of Missouri.
The book itself follows a chronological organization, beginning with Jesse's father, a preacher. It also describes his mother, a most formidable person, who remained an important part of his life over the years--and a strong advocate for her sons. The Civil War was critical for the family. Frank James rode with some of the Confederate irregulars, such as William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. Jesse was too young at the outset of the Civil War to be involved, but he rode with his brother, later on, with the partisans. When the war ended, the rage continued for the James brothers (especially Jesse).
The book contends (and it is a reasonable case as made by the author, although I'm not sure that all readers will be convinced) that James' outlaw exploits after the war were a continuation of that conflict by other means. He was, in the eyes of the author, something of a guerilla; he is also termed a "terrorist," in the sense of using violence to try to advance a political cause (this case may not be convincing to readers; I have my doubts that the case is very strong to adopt this language).
There follows an outline of his many robberies, the violence associated with them, the various members of his gang over time (including the Younger brothers), the ups and downs of their brigandage, and the political context in which their actions occurred. The political discussion appears to be done pretty well, placing the James' gang's depredations in a larger perspective.
Then, they detail nicely the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid (disastrous from the James' gang's perspective--not from those who wanted to hunt them down). Frank and Jesse escaped, Jesse (and later Frank) to rob another day. Then, Jesse's demise. The book ends with a quick summary of the fates of key players from this volume, and provides some satisfaction in bringing things to a close.
The political aspect to James, as argued by T. J. Stiles, the author, is very interesting and makes this an intriguing work. I am not sure that all elements of this work successfully (e.g., the use of the term terrorist). But the book provides a nice spin on the life and times of Jesse James.
The book itself follows a chronological organization, beginning with Jesse's father, a preacher. It also describes his mother, a most formidable person, who remained an important part of his life over the years--and a strong advocate for her sons. The Civil War was critical for the family. Frank James rode with some of the Confederate irregulars, such as William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. Jesse was too young at the outset of the Civil War to be involved, but he rode with his brother, later on, with the partisans. When the war ended, the rage continued for the James brothers (especially Jesse).
The book contends (and it is a reasonable case as made by the author, although I'm not sure that all readers will be convinced) that James' outlaw exploits after the war were a continuation of that conflict by other means. He was, in the eyes of the author, something of a guerilla; he is also termed a "terrorist," in the sense of using violence to try to advance a political cause (this case may not be convincing to readers; I have my doubts that the case is very strong to adopt this language).
There follows an outline of his many robberies, the violence associated with them, the various members of his gang over time (including the Younger brothers), the ups and downs of their brigandage, and the political context in which their actions occurred. The political discussion appears to be done pretty well, placing the James' gang's depredations in a larger perspective.
Then, they detail nicely the disastrous Northfield, Minnesota raid (disastrous from the James' gang's perspective--not from those who wanted to hunt them down). Frank and Jesse escaped, Jesse (and later Frank) to rob another day. Then, Jesse's demise. The book ends with a quick summary of the fates of key players from this volume, and provides some satisfaction in bringing things to a close.
The political aspect to James, as argued by T. J. Stiles, the author, is very interesting and makes this an intriguing work. I am not sure that all elements of this work successfully (e.g., the use of the term terrorist). But the book provides a nice spin on the life and times of Jesse James.
August 31, 2011
I remember as kid hearing some vague story and/or attitude about Jesse James, however never took the time to try and understand it. The synopsis of this book makes much of Stiles debunking the myth of Jesse James as a western hero, and Stiles does plenty to satisfy that claim. The strange thing is that I never understood James as a western hero, partially because of my ignorance of either the details of his story or his apparent status as a "wild west" figure, but also because I knew he was from Missouri, a state that borders the one I grew up in (Iowa), which is obviously not the image conjured by the wild west. Stiles claims the organizing principle of all of Jesse James' deeds was his undying Confederate loyalty. I don't think this is necessarily news to anyone, but again I'm not familiar with the myths.
After reading this book, I tried watching the 1972 movie "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid". The intro to the movie provides exposition that frames Jesse James as a avenger for pioneers against the tyranny of the railroads. Having heard Stiles' argument, this struck me as patently false. How could anyone believe this? Stiles makes clear that attacking the railroads or banks was sold as a symbolic gesture repudiating federal Reconstruction policies due to the Northern money in their safes, and that the population of the region in which the bandits lived generally supported the expansion of the centralized national economy (if only to ensure continued export of their crops and goods). The backstory of Jesse James is so rooted in several complex events (the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the development of the greenback) that any approach to the myth might bear some fruit.
The book quotes generously from a pro-Confederate newspaper editor with whom Stiles claims James had a secret agreement to promote him as a Confederate hero. His comparison of James' letters to those of the editor clearly supports this theory. Thus is born the James myth, says Stiles. All of the editor's and James' letters drop not-so-subtle hints about Unionists.
James plays a symbolic role in the defeat of Reconstruction, then becomes irrelevant but can't feed his ego and recruits a rag-tag bunch of non-Civil War era criminals that are his ultimate downfall. A tragic tale if you do not consider the tragedies he visited upon his numerous "political" victims. I can see the Robin Hood myth only in the vein of the Grange movement that started during his heyday, but with which James had nothing to do.
Fascinating stuff
After reading this book, I tried watching the 1972 movie "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid". The intro to the movie provides exposition that frames Jesse James as a avenger for pioneers against the tyranny of the railroads. Having heard Stiles' argument, this struck me as patently false. How could anyone believe this? Stiles makes clear that attacking the railroads or banks was sold as a symbolic gesture repudiating federal Reconstruction policies due to the Northern money in their safes, and that the population of the region in which the bandits lived generally supported the expansion of the centralized national economy (if only to ensure continued export of their crops and goods). The backstory of Jesse James is so rooted in several complex events (the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the development of the greenback) that any approach to the myth might bear some fruit.
The book quotes generously from a pro-Confederate newspaper editor with whom Stiles claims James had a secret agreement to promote him as a Confederate hero. His comparison of James' letters to those of the editor clearly supports this theory. Thus is born the James myth, says Stiles. All of the editor's and James' letters drop not-so-subtle hints about Unionists.
James plays a symbolic role in the defeat of Reconstruction, then becomes irrelevant but can't feed his ego and recruits a rag-tag bunch of non-Civil War era criminals that are his ultimate downfall. A tragic tale if you do not consider the tragedies he visited upon his numerous "political" victims. I can see the Robin Hood myth only in the vein of the Grange movement that started during his heyday, but with which James had nothing to do.
Fascinating stuff
October 11, 2022
I was in a mood to read some history, and there was Jesse. being a Missourian, I'm interested, and since I wrote an award winning screenplay titled Searching for Jesse (from a short story I wrote...in my collection A Maddening Tune...read it! Amazon.), and Stiles had a new take of Jesse as an unrepentant Confederate, a man who carried the Civil War on for many years. Stiles has written a very absorbing, well-documented book, and he conveys the sense of antebellum Missouri, a self-contained world destroyed by the war. Jesse and his family claimed they were forced to take sides because of union aggression...not really true, since they were all pro-southern.
Yet Stiles wants to paint Jesse as a kind of terrorist, and he admitted he wrote the book in the spirit of post 9/11 America.
it worked up to a point. It's true Jesse's glory years were the post Civil War Reconstruction, when there was enormous southern indignation. Stiles takes the side that reconstruction was a great thing, sadly compromised. Yet you have to admit that all those great ideals of the party of Lincoln got mucked up in the worst corruption America had experienced at that time. When Jesse wrote to the papers that he was a small time bandit compared to Grant and his crew skinning the treasury, you can't totally disagree with him. I can argue points, but it's still a very good book offering all viewpoints, and the chronology is quite accurate. Jesse might be a warped folk hero, but there it is. It can be argued that his myth was partly the creation of John Newman Edwards, an ex-Confederate officer who turned journalist, and gave Jesse a lot of good press, but Jesse was no illiterate. He came from a pretty respectable family. Stiles makes the point that Jesse was at his prime along as the southerners were out of power, and once they assumed control of the South in 1876, he wasn't as needed by them as a symbol...but kept up his life of crime, leading to that fateful day with" that dirty little coward who shot down Mr. Howard."
I wrote an extended review of this book in Countercurrents. I enjoyed it, and it has good narration, photos, and is worth a read.
Yet Stiles wants to paint Jesse as a kind of terrorist, and he admitted he wrote the book in the spirit of post 9/11 America.
it worked up to a point. It's true Jesse's glory years were the post Civil War Reconstruction, when there was enormous southern indignation. Stiles takes the side that reconstruction was a great thing, sadly compromised. Yet you have to admit that all those great ideals of the party of Lincoln got mucked up in the worst corruption America had experienced at that time. When Jesse wrote to the papers that he was a small time bandit compared to Grant and his crew skinning the treasury, you can't totally disagree with him. I can argue points, but it's still a very good book offering all viewpoints, and the chronology is quite accurate. Jesse might be a warped folk hero, but there it is. It can be argued that his myth was partly the creation of John Newman Edwards, an ex-Confederate officer who turned journalist, and gave Jesse a lot of good press, but Jesse was no illiterate. He came from a pretty respectable family. Stiles makes the point that Jesse was at his prime along as the southerners were out of power, and once they assumed control of the South in 1876, he wasn't as needed by them as a symbol...but kept up his life of crime, leading to that fateful day with" that dirty little coward who shot down Mr. Howard."
I wrote an extended review of this book in Countercurrents. I enjoyed it, and it has good narration, photos, and is worth a read.
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