Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Once, at a custer conference in st paul, minnesota yes, there are such things, and yes, many do dress in cavalry. One hundred and twenty years after that dirty little coward robert ford shot jesse james in the back of the head while the latter stood on a chair to dust a picture in his missouri home, scholars continue to debate the outlaws importance in american social history. Read american outlaw by jesse james available from rakuten kobo. The philosophical war between northern and southern views had been going on both verbally and physically several years before the civil war actually started. The southern army is trying to track down the yankee army during the civil war. T j stiles a reassessment of the legendary american outlaw chronicles the life of jesse james, from his youth in missouri, to his teenage years fighting alongside confederate guerrillas, to his criminal career. Although several major battles were fought in the state between confederate and union forces, much of the fighting in missouri was an ugly form of terrorism carried out by loose bands of missouri guerrillas, by kansas jayhawkers, or by marauding patrols of union soldiers. Jesse james was only 14 when the war began and was too young to be accepted by the confederate army or by quantrills irregular forces. Project muse jesse james and the civil war in missouri.
The new york times bestselling selfportrait of a flawed but determined jesse james. Stiles book jesse james last rebel of the civil war vintiage civil war library. Between this robbery and his death in 1882, james would take the lead in a long series of robberies of banks and trains. 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. There are sixtynine pages of footnotes, sixteen pages of bibliography. The first was about the 19thcentury outlaw jesse james, the second about another. In september 1864, jesse james rode with bill andersons bushwhackers into the small missouri town of centralia. Stiles offers a new understanding of the legendary outlaw jesse james. This area of missouri was largely settled by people from the upper south, especially kentucky and tennessee, and became known as little dixie for this reason. The south is ambushed, but thanks to the sharpshooting of frank james gabriel macht.
The fourth book in the civil war battle series, more. The civil war battle series book 1 james reasoner author lloyd james narrator 2005 gettysburg the civil war battle series book 6 james reasoner author lloyd. The authors descriptions of the events leading up to the war in the west and the complex political struggle after. Raised in a fiercely proslavery atmosphere in bitterly divided missouri, he began at sixteen to fight alongside some of the. Stiles was about a man named jesse james who spent most of his life participating in criminal activity. Last rebel of the civil war, published by alfred a.
Although he has often been portrayed as a robin hood of the old west, in this groundbreaking work stiles places james within the context of the bloody conflicts of the civil war to reveal a much more complicated and significant figure. Stripped of the familiar myths surrounding him, james emerges a far more significant figure. More than 100,000 copies sold in the civil war battle series following the defeat of confederate forces at chattanooga in november 1863. A brilliant biography of jesse james, and a stunning reinterpretation of an american icon. Jesse james, last rebel of the civil war takes its subject seriously. Stiles expertlycrafted tale of jesse james as the last rebel and how he carried on the civil war in the state of missouri from 1865 to the ultimate confederate political victory in the centennial year of 1876. Jesse woodson james was americas most romanticized bandit, celebrated as a kind of avenging robin hood. Last rebel of the civil war american civil war forums.
He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, is the one line i now remember. Jesse james was, bar none, the most famous criminal of the old west, in part because of his addictively alliterative name. This talk was part of the annual conference hosted by the civil war institute at gettysburg college. It was a whirlwind weekend as confederate history month drew to a close on saturday. A trailer for the awardwinning civil war novel nobel cause by historical fiction author jessica james, using art by renowned civil war artist john paul strain. It certainly seems that but for the civil war the james and younger boys who both came from prosperous upper middle income families most likely would not have chosen crime. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
Find out about a few of the men jesse james associated with, and learn where their bloody adventures ultimately led them. Although he has often been portrayed as a robin hood of the old west, in this groundbreaking work stiles places james within the context of the bloody conflicts of the civil war. Jesse james was a hero of the american west but also a coldbloodied killer, a proslavery rebel who fought in the vicious internecine struggle on the kansasmissouri border during the civil war he refused to surrender at the end of it, and was determined to continue it by any other means. The violence of the war years would carry over into the robberies, leaving bank tellers, bystanders, railroad personnel and even some of his own gang dead. Last good war series book 3 james reasoner author 20 at home. Traditionally, jesse james has been portrayed as a wild west bandit, a robin hood of sorts. Jesse james, one of the most violent outlaws of the wild west, got his first taste for violence as a civil war guerrilla fighting for the confederates. Kilpatrick and the second civil war garrett epps in 1955 and 1956, james jackson kilpatrick, the 35yearold editor of the richmond news leader, began a singleminded, and successful, crusade to transform the evolving regional debate about how the south should respond to the supreme courts decision in.
One hundred and twenty years after that dirty little coward robert ford shot. A hard woman in a harder time, zerelda james was a slaveholder and unabashed supporter of the southern cause. Zerelda james american experience official site pbs. Stiles the latest and bestever biography of jesse james tears down the myth to reveal not a latterday robin hood, but a greedy, presssavvy bandit. William anderson was one of the most fearsome leaders of. When the civil war broke out in 1861, hundreds of thousands of men, as well as a number of women and children, put their lives on hold and signed up to serve as soldiers how many soldiers fought in the civil war. Jesse woodson james was born on september 5, 1847, in clay county, missouri, near the site of presentday kearney. First, i had a wonderful book signing event for my new civil war novel noble cause at pages of the past bookstore in gettysburg. Jesse james, one of the most violent outlaws of the wild west, got his first taste for violence as a civil war guerrilla fighting for the confederates although he came to be known as one of the most dangerous bandits of the west, james started out his life as a religious, peaceful farm boy who seemed destined for a career as a minister, like his father robert, who.
Famous western outlaw jesse james fought in the civil war. Americas civil war significantly impacted people living in missouri. Woody guthrie once wrote two nearidentical ballads. About 2 million of these soldiers fought for the union and 750,000 fought for the confederates. Last rebel of the civil war has received such media attention is that it is only the second booklength study of the outlaw to take a scholarly look at himthat is, to truly try to explain him in the context of his times, rather than simply throwing a few more pebbles on the pile of details. Stiles theorizes that james was not the robin hood kind of brigand, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, hes been made out to be by innumerable. This page is your portal to essays and selected primary sources related to jesse james.
He was born on september 5th, 1847 and was a criminal of the old. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Guerrilla tactics american experience official site pbs. Add to cart this book forcefully sets jesse james in the context of his times, firmly identifying him as a violent and effective confederate partisan. Stiles dives deep into the missouri political picture before, during and after the civil war. Last rebel of the civil war is a gripping, welldocumented and convincingly argued reinterpretation of jesse james life and legend, and his place in american history. Stiles talked about jesse james within the context of the civil war. The assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford by ron hansen. But in this meticulously researched, vividly written account of his life, he emerges as far more complicated. The civil war in missouri was a time of great confusion, violence, and destruction. Yet another jesse james image american civil war forums. This print, made from a wood engraving, depicts a civilwarera refugee family arriving in. Thus, i feel especially qualified to opine about any book regarding ted bundy, al capone, or jesse james. The book explores the life of one of americas most famous names and chronicles his life from his.