Jesse Woodson James ( September 5 , 1847April 3 , 1882 ) was an American outlaw , bank and train robber , guerrilla , and leader of the James – Younger Gang . Raised in the " Little Dixie " area of western Missouri , James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies . He and his brother Frank James joined pro-Confederate guerrillas known as " bushwhackers " operating in Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War . As followers of William Quantrill and " Bloody Bill " Anderson , they were accused of participating in atrocities against Union soldiers and civilian abolitionists , including the Centralia Massacre in 1864
Centralia Massacre
Centralia Massacre (Missouri)
Jesse James