On this day, April 3, 1882, outlaw Jesse James is shot to death by fellow gang member Robert Ford.
For 16 years, the James Gang, led by Jesse and Frank James, committed robberies and murders across the Midwest, but by the 1880s their numbers had dwindled. After a botched robbery, Frank James retired to Baltimore.
Jesse organized a new gang, hiring on Charlie and Robert Ford. The Fords decided to kill James for the reward money. On April 3, the new gang met at James’ home in St. Joseph, Mo., to plan the next heist. When Jesse James got up to adjust a picture on the wall, Bob Ford shot him several times in the back.
Bob Ford was not able to collect the reward, but tried to parlay his fame as the man who killed Jesse James. He toured the country re-enacting the assassination, but his performances bombed. He was eventually assassinated himself.
James’ tombstone reads, “Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.”
