Cole Younger

author

Cole Younger

1844–1916

A Confederate guerrilla who later became one of the most famous members of the James-Younger Gang, he lived a life that moved from violence and notoriety to prison years and late-life public storytelling. His memoirs and later lectures offer a firsthand window into one of the most turbulent chapters of the American West.

1 Audiobook

The Story of Cole Younger, by Himself

The Story of Cole Younger, by Himself

by Cole Younger

About the author

Born Thomas Coleman Younger in Missouri in 1844, he came of age during the Civil War and fought as a Confederate guerrilla. After the war, he became widely known as a leader in the James-Younger Gang alongside his brothers and the James brothers, taking part in robberies that made the gang legendary in American crime history.

In 1876, the gang's failed raid on the bank in Northfield, Minnesota, ended the James-Younger Gang as it had been known. Wounded and captured, Younger was sentenced to prison in Minnesota, where he spent many years before being released on parole.

After his release, he lived a quieter public life than his outlaw years might suggest. He wrote about his experiences, appeared on lecture tours, and became a figure through whom later generations encountered the blurred line between Civil War guerrilla warfare and frontier outlaw legend. He died in 1916.