History Daily - Jesse James and the Northfield Bank Raid

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

September 7, 1876. A failed bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota begins the downfall of Jesse James. This episode originally aired in 2022. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's two o'clock in the afternoon on September 7, 1876. The outlaw Jesse James dismounts his horse and ties it to a hitching rail outside the First National Bank on Division Street in Northfield, Minnesota. He makes sure not to tie the knot too tight. If his plan to rob this bank goes well, you'll want to make a quick and easy getaway. Jesse turns and looks at his two companions,

his brother Frank, and fellow gang member Bob Younger, as they check their own horse's reins. The three outlaws walk to the corner of Division Street, where it opens up into the town square. Jesse takes in the area. A young man lounges on a chair outside a drugstore opposite the bank. A few people wander up and down the street and across the square. It's not as quiet as he hoped, but it'll do. Jesse sees two men on horseback cross the iron bridge and then enter the opposite side of the square.

But Jesse's not worried about them. There are two more members of the Jesse Younger gang, Cole Younger, and Clell, Miller, ready to provide backup. He gives them a knowing nod. Then he turns to Frank and Bob and says, it's time. The three men stride down the boardwalk and pause outside the bank. Jesse flings the door open. Jesse, Frank, and Bob pull out their guns and rush inside. Three workers sit behind a long, L-shaped desk, their mouths agape as they watch the bandits enter with grim faces and weapons drawn. Jesse levels his gun at the nearest cashier and tells him to open the safe. But he stammers, he can't.

He says the safe has a time lock on it, and it won't open yet. But just as the cashier speaks, Jesse hears a gunshot from the street outside. He doesn't know who is shooting or why, but he knows one thing for sure. He's not going to die in this bank. If necessary, he and his fellow gang members will shoot their way out. Since the end of the Civil War just over a decade ago, the James Younger gang has terrorized the Midwest by robbing banks and holding up trains and stage courts.

cushes. They left behind a trail of murdered civilians and lawmen as they plundered tens of thousands of dollars across 11 states. But the infamous Northfield Bank raid marks the end of the James Younger gang and the beginning of the end for the notorious outlaw Jesse James. The bloody fallout of this failed robbery will leave several of Jesse's gang members dead or in jail and see Jesse running from the law on this day, September 7, 1876. Hello History Daily listeners. The A live show I've been telling you about for a few weeks has a new date, October 23rd at the Plaza Theater in Garland, Texas. This is my Days That Made America Tour, a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music

with me and a band live on stage. So if you're in the North Texas area or anywhere close, be sure to come out and see me live. More shows will be announced soon, too. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to HistoryDailylive.com. That's Historydailylive.com. Come see my Days at Made America tour live on stage. Go to HistoryDailyLive.com. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 7, 1876, Jesse James and the Northfield Bank raid. It's just before 2 o'clock in the afternoon on September 7, 1876, just before. before the bank rate begins. 22-year-old Henry Wheeler relaxes on a chair outside his father's drugstore, which overlooks the town square. Henry's enjoying the final few days of his summer break from the University of Michigan,

where he's studying medicine. He spends his time helping his father behind the counter and chatting with townsfolk he's known since he was a kid. Northfield, Minnesota is a small town, surrounded by wheat and corn farms and a few lumber and flour mills. It's a kind of frontier community where everybody knows everybody and strangers stick out. That's why today the five men gathered outside the First National Bank catch Henry's eye. Three of them stand near their front door.

Two sit on horseback nearby. They seem like they're waiting for someone or something. But Henry's not worried about these fellows. They look a little rough around the edges, which makes Henry think they're probably just cattle traders, and their bulging purses will be welcome in Northfield shops and saloons. But as he watches the men, Henry sees someone else out of the corner of his eye, Mr. Allen, a local hardware store owner. Mr. Allen makes his way across the square,

eyeing the strangers too, but more suspiciously. And just then, the three men on foot make for the front door of the bank and crash inside. One of the two men on horseback jumps down and grabs Mr. Allen by the collar, pointing a pistol in his face. Henry hops to his feet in panic as the reality of the situation dawns on him. The men aren't cattle traders. They're bank robbers. The other man on horseback looks in Henry's direction and fires a warning shot, telling Henry to stay put. But Henry doesn't listen. Instead, he decides to run, grab a weapon, and fight back. Henry bolts through the front door of his father's drugstore. He charges through the shop

and out the back door. Then he heads for the rear entrance of a hotel where he knows there's an old rifle sitting behind the counter. He grabs the weapon in several rounds. Then he opens a window that looks out over the town. The robbery is still in progress, and there's more trouble on the way. He sees three more outlaws right up on horseback, guns drawn. These late arrivals yell like banshees, and shoot wildly, blowing out windows

and pinning down anyone who dares to move. Henry loads the rifle and fires around into the street. He misses, so he ducks down and reloads, trying to control his breath and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He rests the barrel of the gun on the windowsill, and he takes careful aim at one of the outlaws, calmly squeezes the trigger. Henry's target jerks back and drops from his saddle.

On the ground, the wounded outlaw struggles to his knees, blood pumping from his chest, before he falls face-first into the dirt. Henry quickly ducks down below the window sill to reload. Then he hears more gunshots, but they're not coming from the outlaws in the street. They're coming from other citizens like him, defending the town.

Henry peaks his head above the window sill. Two more outlaws have been shot. One of them is writhing in pain on the ground. The other is upright, still on his horse, but badly wounded. Soon the outlaws inside the bank burst through the front door and out into the middle of the street. The gang continues firing rounds as they mount their horses, gallop down Division Street, and ride away.

When the smoke clears, Northfield is eerily quiet. Henry gets down to the street and strides past a dead horse and the bodies of two outlaws. Also lying on the ground is an innocent civilian, a local Swedish immigrant who's mortally wounded. And then Henry creeps inside the bank. There he finds Joseph Haywood, the bank cashier, slumped over his desk with a bullet in his head. His colleagues tell Henry that Haywood refused to open the safe, so one of the robbers shot him for his disobedience. Northfield is a mess of broken glass, bullet holes, and bodies. But the James Younger gang isn't doing too well, Either eight men rode into town, only six rode out alive.

And almost immediately after the robbery, law enforcement will chase the gang surviving members across Minnesota until they finally close in, determined to bring the killers to justice. It's September 21, 1876, 14 days after the Northfield bank raid. Captain William Murphy, a Civil War veteran, stands near a swamp in southern Minnesota. He and a local sheriff are commanding a posse in pursuit of the Northfield Bank robbers. And today, he's finally tracked them down. The bank robbers have evaded capture through a combination of luck and determination, but they've lost men and sustained injuries. Only Jesse James

escaped Northfield unscathed. Telegraph wires were abuzz with the news of the raid, putting the entire state on watch for the fugitives. Hundreds of lawmen, vigilantes, and bounty hunters joined the chase, and the wounded remnants of the Jesse Younger gang limped nearly 100 miles west, stealing and begging for food, bandages, and medicine. But they were eventually cornered here in the marshy swamp. Captain William Murphy turned to the members of his posse. He asked for volunteers to join him in the local sheriff in a bold attempt to flush out the fugitives.

A small group of men raised their hands. William instructs these brave volunteers to spread out. He tells them that if they have to open fire, they should aim low at the knees. He wants to take the robbers alive. William, the sheriff and the volunteers slowly edge forward into the swamp. But then suddenly, a gang member pops up from the thicket, raises his gun, and squeezes off a stray shot. William and his men fire back. A gang member falls down, clutching his chest.

William just shakes his head. So much for aiming low. Soon, three more outlaws pop up from the thicket and open fire. William feels a blow hit his side like a sledgehammer. He stumbles backward, who keeps his feet. and continues his advance. He and his man keep shooting until the return fire stops. The swamp falls silent.

As the smoke clears, William examines his side. The rosewood pipe in his pocket is broken, but there's no blood. The bullet is lodged in his belt. William feels very lucky. You'll have a nasty bruise, but he'll survive. So William continues advancing through the thicket until he hears a voice calling out.

The outlaw says that all the gang members apart from him are down. So the local sheriff calls out, come out with your hands up. The outlaw says he'll do his best, but he has a broken arm. William watches, his eyes scanning the thicket in cases to trap. Then a lone outlaw rises to his feet, holding a bloodstained handkerchief in his left hand, his right arm dangling limp. Suddenly a shot rings out from behind William, and the outlaw crumples up into a heap. William shakes his head again. Then he staggers through the arm. He's not. Then he staggers through the thicket, rubbing his aching side. The outlaw who just tried to surrender is lying on the ground in pain, groaning and indignant

that he was shot while trying to give himself up. William glances around and sees three more bodies. Two of the outlaws are badly wounded. One looks dead. William sighs in frustration. Six robbers survive the Northfield raid. There are only four here, which means two of them are still out there. William questions the only outlaw who's able to speak.

The bandit tells him that the gang split up about a week ago. The other two are long gone, but he refuses to give up their names. Eventually, William will learn the truth. Of the four captured gang members, Charlie Pitts died in the thicket. The youngers, Cole, Jim, and Bob survive would go on to face trial and hefty prison sentences. The two missing men are Jesse James and his brother Frank. Soon, the James brothers will escape south and find a place to lie low in Tennessee. With most of the gang members captured or dead,

Frank will decide he's had enough of lawbreaking and turns instead to the simple life of a farmer. Frank will thrive in his new occupation, but Jesse won't be able to adapt to a normal, peaceful life. Soon he will return to a life of crime and form a new gang, a decision that will cost in his life. It's the morning of April 3, 1882, in the kitchen of a house in St. Joseph, Missouri,

six years after the Northfield Bank raid. Robert Ford sits across a breakfast table from the outlaw Jesse James. He only half listens as Jesse explains the plan for their next robbery. As soon as they finish breakfast, Jesse wants to hit the road and ride to nearby Platt City. There's a bank there, and he wants to go in hard with Robert and his brother, Charlie. Robert nods his head and plays along, but he has no intention of going through with the crime. In fact, he's waiting for the perfect opportunity to betray Jesse. For years after the Norfield Bank raid, Jesse managed to lay low.

But the straight life didn't suit him. In 1879, he started a new gang to continue robbing banks and trains. But for Jesse, it just wasn't the same. The old James Younger gang had worked together for years. The men had trusted each other. But this time around, Jesse struggled to find men he could count on. His brother Frank rejoined him, but Frank's heart wasn't in it. And many of those who tried to be a part of Jesse's gang

weren't up to Jesse's standards, and he ran him off. But Robert Ford was the exception. Jesse's grown to like him and trust him. So today, as Robert listens to Jesse Pratt along about his latest plan, Robert knows he's got Jesse right where he wants him. Unbeknownst to Jesse, Robert has been secretly negotiating with the governor of Missouri to hand Jesse over in return for a cash reward. But Robert is scared of the infamous outlaw.

He knows Jesse is dangerous, and he has no intention of giving Jesse a chance to defend himself. Robert has decided that he's not going to even try to take him in alive. Robert watches as Jesse finishes breakfast and then heads into the parlor of his home. Jesse complains about dust on a picture on the wall. So he unbuckles his gun belt and sets his two pistols down. Robert saunteres into the room and watches Jesse climb onto a chair to clean the picture. This is the moment. Jesse is unarmed and his back is turned.

Robert draws his weapon. walks up to Jesse, fires into the back of his head. It's an ignoble end for one of the Wild West's most notorious criminals. But the downfall of Jesse James began long before Robert pulled the trigger. Starting six years before,

when a failed bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, led to the end of the James Younger Gang on September 7, 1876. Next, on History Daily, September 8, 1966, after years of budget, cuts and rewrites, NBC finally airs the science fiction series Star Trek. From Noisor and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me,

Lindsay Graham, audio editing by Molly Bond, sound design by Derek Barron's, music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.