The aftermath of the Northfield raid as Jesse James and the James-Younger gang are shot to pieces and attempt to flee Minnesota. Also discussed are the many injuries of Cole Younger, Jesse James, his alleged jump across Devil’s Gulch, and the mysterious fate of outlaws Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, & Bill Chadwell. This episode is sponsored by Expre…

On September 7th,1876, three heavily armed men entered the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. They immediately pulled their guns and hopped over the counter, demanding that the clerk open the safe. When he refused, he was viciously beaten. And when one of the other employees made a break for freedom, the bandits shot him in the back. Mea…

In the wake of the executions of 38 Dakota warriors, the Dakota are forced to leave Minnesota. As they try to build new lives on a barren reservation in present-day South Dakota, U.S. army columns march west on punitive expeditions against the wider Sioux Nation. General Henry Sibley’s column fights three battles near Bismarck, North Dakota, and th…

Today, we’re going to examine the war between the Pinkertons and Jesse James, a bloody feud that would culminate in an ill-advised attack on the James farm, along with the tragic death of Jesse’s eight-year-old brother. We’ll also be talking about that “special device” that was thrown through the window. Was it really a bomb or something else entir…

The Dakota War is done, but the conflict isn’t finished. Colonel Henry Sibley convenes a military commission to pass judgment on 400 Dakota warriors. The commission performs hasty trials and sentences an historic number of warriors to death. President Abraham Lincoln intervenes on behalf of some of the condemned, but the year 1862 still ends with t…

Was the outlaw Jesse James a cross-dresser? Probably not, but an interesting story claims he dressed as a young lady on at least one occasion. Also discussed is how Jesse earned his nickname (Dingus!), Jim Lane and the Osceola massacre, the Lawrence massacre, how to properly pronounce Glassgow, American Primeval, Jim Bridger, and whether or not the…

With Fort Ridgely reinforced, Colonel Henry Sibley sends troops on a burial mission that results in a disastrous ambush. Dakota warriors continue to sweep through the western half of Minnesota, and Colonel Sibley leads a column out of Fort Ridgely to confront the warrior army. At the Battle of Wood Lake, Sibley’s force delivers a crushing blow to t…

The outlaw Jesse James got his start during the Civil War as a young bushwhacker, fighting with William Quantrill and Bloody Bill Anderson. He killed his first man at the age of 16 and continued doing so even after the war was officially over. Today, we’ll discuss Jesse’s rise from a mere bushwhacker to an outlaw as he and his brother Frank begin r…

After defenders at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm survive the first Dakota attacks, they re-fortify and brace for the second attacks. Dakota warriors assault both locations in greater numbers and threaten to overrun the two strongest pockets of resistance in southwestern Minnesota. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarre…

According to many, Jesse James was a hero, a freedom fighter who continued resisting Northern aggression long after the Civil War came to an end. But to his victims, Jesse was nothing more than a cold-blooded killer, one who used the war as a convenient excuse to lead a life of violence and destruction. But where does the truth lie? What occurred d…

At dawn on August 18, 1862, hundreds of Dakota warriors launch a surprise attack on the Lower Sioux Agency in southwestern Minnesota. The Dakota are starving, and the traders at the agency are hoarding food. After the agency, the Dakota sweep across the landscape and attack homes, farms, and towns. Soldiers at the nearest army outpost, Fort Ridgely…

On April 4, 1878, Andrew L. “Buckshot” Roberts took on the Lincoln County Regulators in what’s now known as the Gunfight at Blazer’s Mill. Today, we’ll dive into Roberts’ background and discuss who really killed him – Billy the Kid or Charlie Bowdre. Also mentioned are Dick Brewer, John Tunstall, and one of the greatest westerns ever made, Young Gu…

On August 17, 1862, four young Dakota men kill five white settlers near the village of Acton Township, Minnesota. The act of violence seems spontaneous, but it is fueled by desperation that had been building for years. That night, the leaders of villages in southwestern Minnesota gather for a heated council meeting. At dawn the next day, bands of t…

Thomas “Black Jack” Ketchum was an Old West cowboy turned outlaw. He and his gang robbed trains and stole livestock all throughout the American Southwest before coming to a disastrous end. And that’s when things went from bad to worse. Before it was all said and done, Ketchum would go down in history as the only person ever executed for ATTEMPTING …

The Nez Percé have performed an extraordinary feat: they have traveled more than 1,300 miles and repelled three American armies in a series of battles and smaller skirmishes. But they are sore and exhausted. They are within reach of the Canadian border and freedom, but another American army joins the hunt and forces the final showdown between the N…

Josiah "Doc" Scurlock was a poet, philosopher, intellectual, and hardened killer long before he met Billy the Kid. His mysterious past in Mexico, rumors of dead men from New Orleans to Texas, penchant for vigilantism, and several close calls with hostile Natives all made Doc a man to be both feared and respected. However, the trials he would face a…

The Nez Percé escape the Battle of Big Hole and move into Yellowstone National Park. Their options are limited and they choose a treacherous path over a mountain range to try to lose their army pursuers. But the army catches the Nez Percé at a narrow canyon and tries to end the conflict before the Nez Percé once again slip away. Join Black Barrel+ …

The Nez Percé are on the run. They cross the Bitterroot Mountains and arrive in Montana. They believe they have left their troubles behind and can start fresh in a new territory. But they soon learn the truth. They are shunned, and sometimes betrayed, by their friends. A new American army unit joins the hunt from an unexpected direction and it clas…

On Christmas Day 1851, Lieutenant Amiel Whipple and his men find themselves outnumbered and facing certain death at the hands of the Quechan people. What happens next is what many would consider a Blood Meridian Christmas miracle. Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwe…

Chief Satanta, the great orator, was an extremely influential Kiowa leader. A participant in both battles of Adobe Walls, Satanta was eventually tried for murder and sentenced to life in prison. This is the story of his escape. Check out today’s sponsor, Mint Mobile! – https://www.mintmobile.com/wildwest Check out the website for more true tales fr…

A few days after the Battle of White Bird Canyon, an army unit attacks a Nez Percé village. After the fight, the army unit becomes trapped at an abandoned ranch by the advancing Nez Percé column. The smaller fights lead to a two-day battle along the banks of the Clearwater River. The aftermath forces the Nez Percé to make a monumental choice in the…

Silas Soule moved to Kansas as a teenager. He and his family joined the Underground Railroad, and when it came time to arm up against the border ruffians, Silas didn’t hesitate. Later, during the Civil War, he was commissioned as an officer in the Union Army and served with distinction during the battle of Glorietta Pass. Afterward, he did all he c…

In the summer of 1876, the murder of a Nez Percé man nearly starts the war. The following summer, a series of attacks by the Nez Percé against settlers who had invaded their homeland pushes the conflict over the edge. Two days of bloody attacks leads to the first battle between soldiers and warriors, and the home for peace is all but gone. Join Bla…

For about 50 years, there was relative peace in the U.S. and the Nez Percé. There were outbreaks of violence, like the Whitman Massacre, but not the continual warfare that existed between the U.S. army and other tribes. Tensions rose dramatically in the 1850s and 1860s when the U.S. proposed treaties that were designed to take nearly all Nez Percé …

Considered by some to be the last of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, Harry Tracy blasted his way out of prison in the summer of 1902. What followed was one of the most desperate man hunts in all of U.S. history. Over the course of the next two months, Tracy would lead hundreds of lawmen, including the National Guard, on a deadly game of chase that woul…