Gallatin Farmer Daniel Smoote Sues Jesse James

(and he lived to tell about it)

Mistaken identity led to murder during the December 7, 1869, robbery of the Daviess County Savings Association. When Jesse James dropped cashier Capt. John Sheets with a bullet, mistaking Sheets for Gallatin’s Samuel P. Cox, James thought he had avenged the death of Confederate guerrilla leader Wm. “Bloody Bill” Anderson. Records show that only about $100 was taken from the simple one-room brick building located on the southwest corner of the Gallatin square. At the time of the crime, nobody knew with certainty who actually pulled the murderous trigger. In their haste to depart, one of the bandits lost his horse and the bandits escaped southwest toward Cameron by riding double on the remaining mount. Along the way, they encountered a local farmer, Daniel Smoote, and forced a horse exchange. The robbers told Smoote he could have the mare they left behind in Gallatin. Although the bandits were not recognized, the horseflesh they left behind linked Jesse James to the crime. Soon thereafter, Governor T.T. Crittenden proclaimed a bounty for the arrest Kate of the James brothers -- marking the first time Frank & Jesse James ..the bay mare were publicly branded as outlaws. Mrs. Sheets, the wife of the linking Jesse James to the crime murdered bank cashier, offered a reward of $500. Daviess County added $250 for each outlaw, the bank another $500, and the State of Missouri $500 — all a part of the $3,000 total reward offered.

Legal response for the James Brothers...

People in those times were known by the horses they kept; horseflesh could be easily recognized by those whose livelihoods and well-being often depended upon horses. Good horses were highly prized. Daniel Smoote wanted his own horse back. And the bay mare he kept – linked to owner Jesse James -- was proof enough for Gov. Crittenden to publicly brand Frank & Jesse James as outlaws for the very first time. Smoote never got his own horse back. Instead, he kept the James' horse, named Kate, and subsequently raised several colts from her. The Smoote family eventually relocated to Belton, MO, where today the family lies in the Belton Cemetery.

Attorney H.C. McDougal

sued the James Boys on behalf of Daniel Smoote No regrets, but...

H.C. McDougal later may have had second thoughts about prosecuting the James Boys. In his book entitled, "Recollections," McDougal relates a harried moment when he thought he might unexpectedly be personally confronted by Jesse James while riding on a train. As the outlaws became more notorious, McDougal's worries increased. Ironically, after Jesse's death in St. Joseph in 1882, McDougal assisted in the prosecution against Frank James during a trial held in Gallatin in 1883. Soon after that proceeding, McDougal left Gallatin for Kansas City and embarked upon a most fascinating career — a founding partner of what would become the reknown law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon. McDougal also became a personal advisor and confidant for several U.S. presidents.

James Boys never appeared but yet they Claimed innocence...

The response on behalf of the James boys to Daniel Smoote's allegations foreshadows what was to fuel their emerging notoriety. Defense attorney Samuel A. Richardson wrote that defendants Frank and Jesse James denied being at or near Gallatin on Dec. 7, 1869 (top letter). They denied stealing anything from Smoote. More significantly, the Jameses argued their case publicly by writing a letter published in a Kansas City newspaper, a technique repeatedly used by the Jameses to vault their legendary exploits and self-proclaimed innocence to national and international prominence. Predictably, Frank and Jesse James never appeared in court. The James boys spent the next decade flaunting their lives in crime.

A courthouse footnote...

For over 100 years Smoote's lawsuit against Frank & Jesse James was filed among other legal documents in the Daviess County courthouse ...overlooked and eventually forgotten. Historians came to believe that these papers were pilfered by some collector or unscrupulous historian. But the authentic legal documents were rediscovered in August, 2007, by James Muehlberger, an attorney and author researching H.C. McDougal for the law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon of Kansas City.