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Jesse James' first railroad robbery...
Jesse James' first railroad robbery...
Item # 719766
July 23, 1873
NEW YORK HERALD, July 23, 1873
* Jesse James-Younger Gang
* Rock Island Pacific Railroad
* First train robbery in American West
The top of page 7 has column heads on the first train robbery by Jesse James and the James Gang, although the men were not identified at the time of this report.
They include: "A DREADFUL CRIME" "Bushwackers Overthrow & Rob a Train on the Prairie" "Timely Action of the Engineer, Who is Killed" "The Thieves & Their Plunder". A few of the details include: "...As soon as the train stopped large, athletic men, masked in full Ku Klux style appeared...& commenced firing rapidly into the car, yelling 'Get Out of there, Damn Ye!'...Two of the robbers marched up & down the train threatening to shoot any person who showed their heads on the train...robbers then took about $2,000 from the express safe..." with more.
A brief follow-up report is headed: "A Reward of $5,000 Offered for the Robbers".
This: "Another Account" "The Prairie Crime Causing Great Excitement--The Engineer Murdered" is another detailed account of the train robbery. All related reports take 1 1/4 columns.
Twelve pages, great condition.
AI notes: On July 21, 1873, the notorious James‑Younger Gang, led by Jesse and Frank James, executed one of the most famous train robberies in American history near Adair, Iowa, targeting a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad express train. The gang sabotaged the track to derail the train, causing the locomotive and several cars to crash; the engineer was killed and several passengers were injured. After the derailment, the outlaws forced the expressman to open the safe, which contained far less than anticipated, and also robbed passengers of cash and valuables, escaping with roughly $3,000—a significant sum at the time. This daring heist is considered the first high-profile robbery of a moving train in the American West, cementing Jesse James’s reputation as a legendary outlaw and establishing train robberies as a hallmark of Wild West criminal folklore. A historical marker near Adair today commemorates the site, and the event’s notoriety influenced both contemporary newspapers and later criminal exploits across the frontier.
Category: The Old West
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