How the Northfield Bank Raid Destroyed the James-Younger Gang

The James-Younger Gang, composed of ex-Confederate bushwhackers Frank and Jesse James and the Younger brothers (Cole, Jim, Bob), terrorized the Midwest with bank and train robberies from 1867 to the mid-1870s. Their reputation peaked with the 1873 Rock Island train robbery in Iowa and a press release left at the 1874 Gads Hill robbery. On September 7, 1876, they attempted to rob the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. The plan failed when townspeople, alerted by J.S. Allen, armed themselves and returned fire. Inside, bank teller Joseph Lee Heywood stalled, claiming the vault was time-locked. In the ensuing gunfight, outlaws Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell were killed by residents Henry Wheeler and Anselm Manning. The gang fled with little money, but Frank James fatally shot Heywood. All three Younger brothers were wounded; the James brothers split from them to escape. A massive manhunt ensued, and after two weeks, the Younger brothers surrendered; Charlie Pitts was killed. The James brothers escaped. The raid marked the end of large multi-state gangs, as improved law enforcement and armed citizens made bank robberies too risky. Gangs shifted to smaller operations and train attacks in isolated areas.