The Bandit Rides Again: Jesse James, Whiskeyhead Ryan, and the Glendale Train Robbery

After the Civil War through 1876, almost every criminal escapade committed in the Midwest was laid at the feet of the James-Younger Gang. Their banditry suffered an inglorious end in September 1876, at the failed First National Bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota. Frank and Jesse remained on the lamb for the next three years, living in seclusion and under aliases until Jesse was compelled in 1879 to ride again! This time, the bandit rode with hillbillies too young to have served in the War and too immature to have been loyal followers . . . ultimately proving to be the beginning-of-the-end for Frank and Jesse. It all began under the darkness of night at the backwoods Glendale Train Depot, six miles southeast of Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Two years later, Bill “Whiskeyhead” Ryan stood trial for that heist, in the politically-charged and terrorized community, and in the same courtroom that still exists today in the Historic Truman Jackson County Courthouse on the Independence Square.