1869 Robbery, Murder at the Daviess County Savings Assn

McDOWELL ESCAPES WITHOUT INJURY

Residents of this small town were shocked to witness the re-enactment of one of the most hideous crimes ever to occur in Daviess County during the 2019 Gallatin Chautauqua.

About noon two men arrived at the small brick building commonly referred to as the bank. Nothing seemed unusu al as the men dismounted, ap parently intent on doing busi ness as commonly occurred at the bank every work day.

Capt. John Sheets and William McDowell were inside, attending to duties as cashier.

The first man asked Sheets if he could change a $100 bill. As Capt. Sheets got up to go to the safe in the back room, the man followed.

The second man kept William McDowell busy by asking him for pen and paper in his request for a receipt. His attention diverted, McDowell heard a gunshot and turned to see Capt. Sheets laying dead on the floor.

The second gunman now stood between McDowell and the street. McDowell made a lunge for the gun but stumbled -- a misstep which probably saved his life as a shot went wildly over his head.

McDowell scrambled to his feet, dodging more bullets from the gunmen who, by then, seemed intent to create bedlam to chase away any onlookers who might hinder their getaway.

Capt. John Sheets

DECEASED A POPULAR AND RESPECTED CITIZEN

John W. Sheets was born into a family which was among the early settlers of Daviess County. By 1850, county records and the U.S. Census show Sheets as a father of two children before his wife died. Sheets later remarried.

Sheets served as sheriff of Daviess County for two terms, circuit clerk for six years, county recorder for four years, and also as county commissioner. He was an honorable and civic-minded man, held in high esteem by the citizens of Daviess County and the town of Gallatin.

His war record shows that he was a volunteer in the war between the United States and Mexico in 1846. He earned the rank of captain -- a title that stayed with him the rest of his life. Capt. Sheets fought alongside Union Major Samuel Cox and was one of the troops led by Cox when “Bloody Bill” Anderson and several of his men were killed in a Union ambush near Orrick. The ambush was a small part of various engagements involved in the Battle of Westport. The death of “Bloody Bill” Anderson, however, was a significant feat since “Bloody Bill” is still considered as one of the dead liest and most brutal Confederate guerrilla leaders of the Civil War.

Jesse James, who rode with the guerrillas, was outraged by the death of “Bloody Bill.” He swore revenge and rode into Gallatin that foggy Tuesday morning intending to kill the man who led that Union ambush, Major Samuel Cox.

As was his daily custom, Capt. Sheets greeted many as he completed the 10-minute walk from his home to the little bank. Court was to be in session that day with several dockets to be heard.

During the morning he shared coffee with two Gallatin attorneys, W.C. Gillihan and William McDowell, at a hotel before finally arriving at the bank about 11:30 a.m.

Several Gallatin citizens courageously confronted the gunmen despite the growing confusion and turmoil. Some approached even as the gunmen tried to mount their horses. One of their horses bolted away during the melee, prompting the dastardly duo to ride double as they fled with all haste out of town, southwest toward Cameron.

Daviess County Sheriff Wm. Flint promptly directed two men to retrieve the riderless horse, knowing that chances were good to identify the bandits by the horseflesh they used.

Then Sheriff Flint gathered the rest of those assembled, forming a posse in earnest pursuit. Just a few miles outside of Gallatin the posse came upon local farmer Daniel Smoote who shouted out his encounter with the bandits as he headed towards town, leading the horse one of the bandits called Kate.

Smoote urged the posse to continue pursuit, in hopes of securing his horse which the bandits took away in a forced exchange. So, the posse resumed the pursuit. Eventually, however, and despite good intentions, the posse chase fizzled as the miles and miles of chase increased.

Two from the Gallatin posse later joined with Clay County Sheriff and others to confront the suspects, Frank & Jesse James, at the James farm located east of Kearney, MO.

Some 20 or 30 shots were fired during that confront-a tion without much effect, except for the killing of the Clay County Sheriff ’s horse.

To the chagrin of good citizens throughout Daviess County and everywhere, the men who so brazenly committed murder and robbery escaped apprehension.

This is an artist’s concept of the 1869 shooting of Capt. John Sheets of Gallatin, allegedly by Frank and Jesse James. [courtesy Missouri State Historical Society]

DETAILED ACCOUNT BY AN EYE-WITNESS

In October, 1942, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat published an eye-witness account of the 1869 robbery of the Daviess County Savings Association by Frank and Jesse James. Edward Clingan, 89, of Gallatin was identified as the only living witness to the robbery, which at the time of publication occurred 73 years prior. This newspaper account claimed that Mr. Clingan recounted the adventure “as clearly and as accurately as though it had happened yesterday.”

When his class was dismissed at noon that day, Dec. 7, 1869, Clingan, then a 16-year-old schoolboy, hurried to the post office for the family mail. As he stood in the post office he heard several shots. Thinking that the shots were first by a celebrator who had been drinking too much corn whisky, Clingan ran from the post office to see who was creating the disturbance.

On gaining the street, Clingan saw William A. McDowell, a bank clerk, stumble through the doorway of the bank, which was located directly across the street from the post office on the southwest corner of the town square. McDowell fell, picked himself up and ran toward the post office. A bandit, who later proved to be one of the James boys, appeared in the doorway and fired several shots in the direction of McDowell. None of the bullets struck him.

“Capt. Sheets has been killed,” McDowell shouted several times as he reached safety on Clingan’s side of the street.

The bandit fled from the bank entrance and Clingan ran across the street to the bank. In the rear room of the 2-room brick building he found his brother-in-law, Capt. John W. Sheets, head of the bank, lying on the floor. Another bystander arrived on the scene about the same time as Clingan. Together they propped up the banker.

“Are you hurt, Captain Sheets?” Clingan asked.

Sheets never answered; he had been killed instantly when one of the bandits had shot him twice at close range. One bullet entered his head near the bridge of his nose and the other lodged in his heart.

Seeing there was nothing he could do for Sheets, Clingan rejoined the crowd that had gathered in the street. The outlaws, who had been identified by the crowd as Jesse and Frank James, were attempting to escape on their horses which they had left in an alley half a block south of the bank. Several of the more daring men entered the alley cautiously. They found that one of the bandits was not in sight and had obviously escaped, but the other had been thrown to the ground when his wrist had become entangled in his horse’s reins. His horse had freed itself and had run away.

As the crowd approached, someone shouted, “Let’s get him.” The bandit drew his gun and pointed it menacingly. Clingan said that the crowd took to its heels almost at once and he thought it was wise to leave hurriedly, too.

He ran to a drug store owned by Chris Gilliland, which had a rear door opening into the alley where the outlaws had been encountered. E. Barnum, a silversmith, arrived at the store about the same time as Clingan, and he borrowed the druggist’s gun and quietly opened the door leading ito the alley.

They were just in time to see Frank and Jesse mount the horse of the man who had fled, but later returned to see what had happened to his accomplice. The silversmith fired one ineffectual shot from the alley doorway, but hastily closed the door when a bullet smacked into the wall beside it.

Laying down a barrage of revolver shots, the brothers rode out of town. A posse quickly organized, rode after them, but took the wrong fork in a crossroad near Gallatin and never saw the outlaws again.

Clingan, eager not to miss any of the excitement, commandeered a small mustardcolored mustang and joined the search. Accompanying him was a burly stranger. Clingan had never seen the man before and thought his actions and appearance suspicious.

Deciding that the man might be connected in some way with the robbery, Clingan deemed it best to report his suspicions to the posse. Making an excuse for his departure, he left the stranger and went in search of the posse. He met the unsuccessful posse on its way back to Gallatin and reported his suspicions. A search was made but the stranger was never seen again.

Clingan believes that he was a spy stationed by the James boys to report any progress being made in the manhunt. Modern Footnote…

Major Samuel P. Cox accepted the celebrity of killing Bloody Bill to protect a bugler under his command, Adolph Vogel. Papers taken from the dead body of Bloody Bill Anderson reposed in Mr. Vogel’s safety deposit box at a Coffey bank; and the flashy hat which Anderson wore when he was killed was given by Vogel to a sister, who lived In Daviess County.

Vogel acknowledged his role in 1924 when a man at Brownwood, TX, made public claims of being Bill Anderson. His claim proved false not only by Vogel’s discourses, but also by the fact that the real Bill Anderson would have been much older than the Texas man.

Mr. Vogel would not say he was the man who actually killed Anderson in battle, but made this statement: “It is likely that I was the man who killed him, but you can’t be sure about such things when they happen in a fight of that kind.”

His story of the affair is as follows:

Blacksmith Eye-Witness

Samuel McDonald was in position to witness everything that occurred on that fateful morning of Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1869. Mr. McDonald stood across the street north of the Daviess County Savings Assn. when two men appeared about noon, hitching their horses just outside the bank.

In the aftermath of the crime, accurate details would be confirmed, thus assuring accuracy in the re-enactment presented during the 2019 Gallatin Chautauqua.

ONLY $100 STOLEN

Bay Mare Worth More

Than Stolen Money

In the immediate aftermath of the bank robbery, some said three gunmen were actually involved: Frank and Jesse James and Jim Anderson. But there is no dispute on the amount of money stolen during the brazen daytime crime. Only $100 in cash was confirmed stolen. Thus, the fine bay mare the gunmen left behind was worth more than the money stolen from the Gallatin bank.

The mare was taken by Daniel Smoot, who was forced to give up the horse he was riding from town to his home southwest of Gallatin.

Pvt. Adolph Vogel

Word of the outrageous murder and robbery has Missouri Govenor T.T. Crittenden issuing a bounty for the capture of suspects Frank & Jesse James. This marks the first time authorities have publicly branded these two ex-Confed erates as wanted outlaws.

Mrs. Sheets, the wife of the murdered bank cashier, has 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.

Gov. Crittenden is acting promptly in the wake of this crime, saying steps must be taken to assure the confidence of Eastern bankers and railroad investors to develop this state to its potential. Lawlessness is condemned for the loss in life as well as for the threatened loss in Missouri’s economic development.

SISTER OFFERS ALIBI

Horse Sold To Another

Miss Susie James, a sister of the accused, swears that her brother Jesse and herself attended preaching in Greenville, Clay County, on Sunday, December 5th, and after their return Jesse sold her bay mare Kate (the one left by the murderer at Gallatin) to a stranger who said he was from Topeka, Kansas. Furthermore, Miss James is willing to testify that her brother was at home on December 7th.

Miss James’ comments were published and widely circulated by a Kansas City newspaper.

Zerelda Samuel, mother of the accused, swears that her son Jesse was at home December 6th, 7th, and 8th, and that he sold his sister’s mare to a man from Topeka, Kansas, for five $100 bills on Sunday, the 5th.

Reuben Samuel, step-father of the accused, testifies to the same thing [reprinted from the 1882 History of Daviess County, page 502].

“It happened south of Rich mond, Mo., in some heavily timbered bottom land. I was in the Missouri militia, and we were hunting a force of men who were said to be com manded by Anderson. I was under Major Cox of Gallatin.

“We found out that the oth er fel1ows were near. We got off our horses and left them behind our lines. You know the guerrillas had always attacked the militia when they were on horses and because the horses were not used to gunfire they would stampede. Their riders would be routed. I suspect that is what would have happened to us if we had not known the fight was about to happen. There were not more than a few hundred men on a side.

“The fight didn’t last very long. As I was a bugler, I was the only other man in our bat talion, besides Major Cox, who was horseback. We were attacked, but, kept our ground, and in a little bit the other fe1lows were running, routed.

“I saw the body of a man in front at me who looked like he was an officer. He was dressed well, and in his big wide brimmed hat there was a long feather.

“I told Major Cox about him, and he ordered me to take everything off him. We took his pistols, his hat and papers he had on him that told who he was. The hat was just what I wanted and I took it.”

This account was reported by the Gallatin Democrat in 1927 after Vogel died of heart disease at his home located north of Jameson, MO. Vogel’s story was further substantiated by a man from Bethany, MO, whose family once lived near the scene of the ambush near Richmond. That man said he knew the guerrilla chieftain by sight, saw him the evening before he was killed by Union soldiers in an ambush, and knew how Anderson was dressed. Thus, Vogel is most likely to have killed Anderson.

Major Samuel P. Cox MISTAKEN IDENTITY Civil War Vow To Avenge Bloody Bill Anderson Takes An Innocent Life

It is widely circulated how Confederate guerrilla fighter Jesse James vowed to avenge the death of his friend, Wm. “Bloody Bill” Anderson who was gunned down during an ambush near Richmond, MO.

James let it be known that he intended to shoot down Major Samuel Cox on sight. Cox was in charge of the Union detachment which killed Bloody Bill, one of the most savage guerrilla fighters during the war, the architect of the Centralia Massacre.

Now that the horse left behind by the gunmen is linked to Jesse James, it is now believed that the James Boys targeted Gallatin not only for bank money but to seek out Major Cox for that vengeful purpose. James knew the chances to confront Major Cox were good.

Since the Civil War, Cox was in the mercantile business in the firm of Ballinger, Cox & Kemper. This business operated from the building across the street to the east of the Daviess County Savings Assn.

Jesse James made good on his boast, shooting Capt. John Sheets while thinking he was killing Major Cox. The mistake is understandable since both Sheets and Cox were among those Union men in uniform who terminated Bloody Bill in ambush.

Major Cox was getting his hair cut in Wm. Irwin’s barber shop on the east side of the square when gunshots at the bank marred an otherwise peaceful day. True to his character, Cox was among the first to respond to the danger on the scene. Major Cox quickly procured his horse and was among those led by Sheriff Wm. Flint as a posse in pursuit.

Cox is widely respected and well-known to law abiding citizens throughout Northwest Missouri. The personal threat and now challenge to arrest Frank and Jesse James is but the latest which Major Cox no doubt will add to his list of accomplishments.

Even before his service to our country during the Civil War, Cox enlisted in the U.S. Army’s “Oregon Battalion” to help develop the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Trail and protect the Santa Fe Trail from warring Sioux Indians. He experienced the California Gold Rush, and survived shipwreck near Key West, FL.

Cox became wagon master for one of the largest freight companies in the country, Russell, Majors & Waddell. He gained national notoriety rid ing two mules through hostile Sioux territory to deliver dispatch from Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston from St. Lake City. Certainly, Major Cox is no stranger to danger and is in no way cowarded by the threats Jesse James may pose. Exhausted Bay Mare Linked To Jesse James of Kearney, Missouri

Daviess County farmer Daniel Smoote happened along in the wrong place at the wrong time. On that chilly, cloudy morning of Dec. 7, 1869, Smoote was riding his favorite horse away from Gallatin toward his home southwest of town. Along the way he was confronted by two armed men riding double on an obviously weary mount. The men demanded Smoote to exchange horses, despite Smoote’s objections.

On the day following the robbery, Alec Irving and Jess Donohue, both of Gallatin, returning home from a trip, passed through Kearney, MO. Near Kearney they saw Jesse and Frank James. One of them was mounted on Smoote’s horse.

A few days later Smoote received a letter from the desperadoes informing him that he was welcome to keep the fine Kentucky mare they had lost during the robbery in exchange for the horse they had taken from him. But Smoote wanted his own horse back,

Smoote contacted a young Gallatin attorney, H.C. McDougal, and made plans to sue the James Boys at the Daviess County courthouse for $223.50 in total damages ($150 for the bay horse with four white feet and a white on its nose). As the attorney representing Smoote, H.C. McDougal later sought damages in writing the following:

“Plaintiff states that on the 7th day of December, 1869, at or near the City of Gallatin, in the county of Daviess and State of Missouri, the defendants Jesse James and Frank James did feloniously steal, take and carry away from this plaintiff, and in his presence and against his will by pulling him, the said plaintiff in fear of some immediate injury to his person, the following personal property to wit: one bay horse, with four white-feet and white stripe on the nose, of the value of $150; one saddle of the value of $15; one bridle of the value of $2; and one halter of the value of $1.50. The property of this plaintiff, by which the plaintiff says he is damaged in the sum of two hundred and twenty three and 50/100 dollars, for which he asks judgement. In addition, interest and costs of the lawsuit were to be added to the value of Smoote’s personal property.

Detailing Smoote’s Lawsuit… petition presented by Attorney H.C. McDougal on Smoot’s behalf, seeking $223.50 in damages; March 8, 1870 — Writ of Attachment issued to the Clay County Sheriff, to apply $223.50 against the holdings and possessions of the James brothers March 11, 1870 — Clay County Deputy Sheriff J.B. Thomson writes that a copy of the petition was left with a member of the (James) family where Jesse and Frank James usually reside July 12, 1870 — Daviess County Common Pleas Court acknowledges that “defendants Jesse James and Frank James have absconded or absented themselves from their usual place of abode in this State, so that the ordinary process of law cannot be served upon them.”

Gallatin Businessman R.R. Wynne’s Account

“In 1866 the Wynne family bought and moved into a home located where the Democrat office now stands and in the front yard of which he heard the shot that killed Capt. Sheets in the robbery of the Sheets bank in 1869. At that time the population of the town was about 300, and there was not a graded street nor sidewalk in the town except in front of the few business houses. There were no railroads here then, and all merchandise was brought in by a stage line running from Hamilton to Gallatin.

“Outside the courthouse and jail, both of which were in the square, there were only two brick buildings in town, the Sheets bank, which afterwards housed Jacob Mettle’s shoe repair shop, and a brick dwelling where the Bank of Gallatin now stands. Part of this building was occupied by The Tourchlight, a newspaper conducted by the Fram brothers, Thomas and George. This paper was later purchased by the late Harfield Davis and the name was changed to the Democrat.” [This account published in the Sept. 30, 1943 edition of the Gallatin Democrat, written by C.M. Harrison upon Wynne’s death at age 84.]

Attorney H.C. McDougal Modern Footnote…

Neither Frank nor Jesse James ever appeared in Daviess County court. Smoote never got his own horse back. Instead, he kept the James’ horse, named Kate, and subsequently raised several colts from her.

This remains as the only civil lawsuit to ever be filed against Frank and Jesse James -- perhaps many considered pressing for an indictment, but few went beyond considering the risk.

Ironically, after Jesse’s death in St. Joseph in 1882, Henry Clay 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 renown law firm Shook, Hardy & Bacon. McDougal also became a personal adviser and confidant for several U.S. presidents.

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.

More accounts of this bank robbery, the 1883 Trial of Frank James in Gallatin, MO, and other Daviess County history can be viewed online: DaviessCountyHistoricalSociety.com