The James-Younger Gang’s Last Great Raid | Northfield, 1876

About this episode

On September 7, 1876, eight members of the James-Younger Gang rode into Northfield, Minnesota, expecting another successful bank robbery.They had traveled hundreds of miles from Missouri, scouted towns across Minnesota, purchased horses and ammunition, studied escape routes and prepared carefully for the job ahead. Jesse and Frank James were there. So were Cole, Jim and Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts and Bill Chadwell.But Northfield did not go according to plan.What began as a carefully organized robbery quickly turned into one of the most famous gunfights in the history of the American West. Bank employee Joseph Heywood refused to open the safe, the alarm spread into the street, and ordinary citizens began grabbing rifles, shotguns and revolvers to defend their town.Within minutes, men were dead, several members of the gang were badly wounded, and the surviving outlaws were fleeing across southern Minnesota with one of the largest manhunts the region had ever seen closing in behind them.In this episode of Wild West Deep Dives, we follow the entire story of the Northfield Raid — from the James-Younger Gang's decision to ride north, the abandoned robbery attempt at Mankato