On This Day in History: April 3
The death of Jesse James
The man who shot the man who shot the man who shot Jesse James was a cop. Let’s do this in reverse and see if we can keep it straight.
--On This Day in History Shit Went Down: April 3: 1882--
Edward O’Kelley died by gunshot on January 13, 1904 in Oklahoma City, at age 46. He was a criminal and a drunk. That night he’d been arrested and released and was all fuck da police! He said the cops better leave him alone, and he went out walking again. A different officer, Joe Burnett, was walking his beat and said a friendly hello to O’Kelley, and in response O’Kelley punched him and drew his pistol. The cop grabbed the gun and a struggle ensued, with O’Kelley firing all his rounds while swearing his head off. All the shots missed, however, and Burnett only suffered powder burns on his ear and probably some deafness. Out of ammo, O’Kelley started to bite Officer Burnett. At that point a bystander grabbed O’Kelley, and the cop was able to get his gun free and he shot O’Kelley twice and he died.
Robert Ford died by gunshot on June 8, 1892 in Creede, Colorado, at age 30. He’d been operating a saloon in Creede for only a month, opening it because silver had been discovered and miners like to drink. It might have been for the fame of killing the man who killed James, but it’s unknown why O’Kelley walked into Ford’s saloon with a shotgun, said “Hello, Bob,” and gave him both barrels in the neck. Ouch. Anyway, O’Kelley got life in prison but was released after nine years because of a 7,000-name petition asking for his release, because killing Ford wasn’t seen as a bad thing by many, and also because O’Kelley had a medical condition.
Jesse James died by gunshot on April 3, 1882 in St. Joseph, Missouri, at age 34. He was a well-known outlaw, a gang leader, and a robber of trains and banks. His enslaving family fought as guerrillas on the Confederate side in Missouri during the Civil War, and Jesse and his brother Frank were known to have committed war crimes. After the war, he had a lengthy criminal career, but the romanticized version of him being a modern-day Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor is bullshit. He was a thieving murderer and he sucked.
In spring 1882 a young Robert Ford joined what was left of Jesse’s mostly annihilated gang, pretending to be Jesse’s friend but intending to kill him for the reward, which he did by shooting the unarmed James in the back of the head. Rather than being lauded as heroes, Robert Ford and his brother Charley were indicted, sentenced to hang, and pardoned all on the same day. They were given a small portion of the bounty on James upon their release.
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Northfield MN still celebrates The Defeat of Jesse James Days, in honor of the time the gang rode into town, and had a bank robbery thwarted by the treasurer of Carleton College. Students past and present are not surprised that someone from the college would do anything to keep from letting go of money.
Extremely abbreviated version of the story, of course.
Damn, waiting and waiting to see what you will post for my birthday and I get Jesse James. Ahhh....all good fun. Made it to my sixties and that's a good thing. Thanks for keeping me entertained (and sane during COVID-19) and I look forward to your future writing.