About This Book

The True Story Behind the Legendary Outlaw Gang, a Civil War Vendetta, and the Forgotten Court Documents That Helped Seal Their Fate

On a dreary December 7, 1869, two strangers entered the Daviess County Savings and Loan in Gallatin, Missouri. One of the men asked the cashier for change and then unexpectedly raised a revolver and shot him at point-blank range. Until now, this crime has been considered the first of a string of bank and train robberies committed by Jesse James, his brother Frank, and other gang members. But a story has circulated for more than a century that the case was actually brought to trial by a young Missouri lawyer—and it was through this case that twenty-two-year-old Jesse was first identified as a criminal to the country. But until recently no evidence for such an action could be found. After years of painstaking searches through dusty court archives across Missouri, defense attorney James P. Muehlberger finally discovered the historic documents in 2007. These fascinating and important records reveal that the gunmen were forced to leave behind a magnificent thoroughbred that linked James to the murder and, more intriguing, that the attack was not a bank robbery at all, but a calculated assassination in retribution for a Civil War killing.

The Lost Cause: The Trials of Frank and Jesse James is a thoroughly researched, thrilling account of the rise, pursuit, and prosecution of the legendary outlaw gang. Beginning with the newfound evidence of the Gallatin bank teller murder, the author explains how Jesse James attempted to avenge the death of his Confederate partisan leader, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, but shot the wrong man. Having lost his thoroughbred, Jesse stole another horse. Newly minted lawyer Henry McDougal brashly sued Jesse and Frank James for the loss of property, which would hang the murder on their heads. While Jesse professed his innocence and remained at large, his case was taken up by John Newman Edwards, editor of the Kansas City Times. Through Edwards’s pen, the James brothers were transformed from petty criminals to noble outlaws still fighting for Southern honor—the “Lost Cause.” Not fooled by Edwards’s rhetoric and populist appeal, McDougal and others, including Pinkerton detectives and the governor of Missouri, led a behind-the-scenes fight to bring down the gang. As the author explains, they first prosecuted lesser gang members, and by infiltrating the group, the authorities slowly unraveled the gang, with Jesse being shot by a paid informant in 1882. Frank James gave himself up, and in what was called the “trial of the century,” he was exonerated on all charges and retired to become a notable horse racing official until his death in 1915. Combining true crime, western adventure, and the transformation of America into a modern nation, The Lost Cause is engaging, entertaining history.

James P. Muehlberger is a partner in a Kansas City, Missouri, law firm. A graduate of the University of Kansas Law School, he is a frequent author on litigation and legal history. He is author of The 116: The True Story of Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Guard and his articles have appeared in a number of publications, including the National Law Journal, For the Defense, and Wild West Magazine.

Praise for The Lost Cause:

“Muehlberger superbly describes the trial and its personalities, building suspense and revealing much about the time, the character of the place and the personality of Frank James. He also submits new evidence that puts a distinctively different spin on the brothers’ motives and exploits.”—New York Times

“The criminal activities and mythology of the James-Younger gang were inextricably linked to the so-called ‘Lost Cause’ delusion of die-hard Confederate sympathizers. The James brothers and other members of their gang fought with the Quantrill raiders, who terrorized Union sympathizers in Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War. Those who bought into the positive view of the gang after the war saw them as resisters against the injustices of Reconstruction. Muehlberger is an attorney and amateur historian who uses an obscure legal proceeding taken against Jesse James to demolish that myth while examining some aspects of their depredations as well as the efforts of state governments and the Pinkerton Agency to thwart them. Jesse James, in particular, is viewed here as a clever self-promoter but also a cold-blooded killer with sociopathic tendencies. This is an often fascinating and provocative revisiting of the careers of these legendary ‘bad men’.”—Booklist

“Relying on rigorous research into Missouri court archives, Kansas City, Mo., lawyer Muehlberger tells the fascinating story of the murder that landed Frank and Jesse James in the headlines long before the latter’s ignominious end. In December 1869, the bandit brothers walked into a bank and shot the cashier at point-blank range. Initially considered the big bang that kicked off the Jameses’ spree of bank and train robberies, the murder was instead, according to Muehlberger, a premeditated and misdirected act of retribution in response to the killing of the brothers’ Confederate guerilla leader, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, during the Civil War. In the ensuing manhunt, the editor of the Kansas City Times, a Rebel sympathizer, tried to paint the brothers as defenders of the old Southern guard, while a young lawyer, the governor of Missouri, and the legendary Pinkerton detectives sought to present the men as they really were—thieves and murderers. All the front-line players receive Muehlberger’s close attention, and his history works well as both a thrilling Wild West drama and an insightful portrait of a country trying to rebuild under the burden of still-simmering resentments and conflicting loyalties.”—Publishers Weekly