American Historical Ephemera and Photography Featuring the Civil War and American Militaria Collection of Bruce B. Hermann

2 3/16 x 3 1/2 in. albumen CDV on cardstock mount (a few spots). Uncredited. Pencil inscription in eccentric style reads: "T.C. 'Bud' Younger." Later ink inscription: "No. 4."

Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger (1844-1916) was a Confederate guerrilla during the Civil War and later best remembered as a co-leader of the James-Younger Gang. He grew up in Missouri, and became a pro-Confederate bushwhacker under William Clarke Quantrill, even after Confederate withdrawal from the state. After the war, Younger, several of his brothers, other former guerrillas, and Frank and Jesse James began robbing banks, stagecoaches, and trains across the region. After an 1874 train robbery, they became known as the James-Younger gang and began to be pursued by the Pinkertons. After an attempted bank robbery in Northfield, MN went awry, Cole and his brothers Jim and Bob were captured and wounded by a local posse. They pleaded guilty and received life in prison at Minnesota Territorial Prison. Frank and Jesse James successfully fled to Nashville, TN, where they lived peacefully before Jesse returned to crime in 1879.