The Story of Cole Younger, by Himself

Cole Younger’s story, written after almost twenty-five years imprisonment for an admitted crime—the attempted robbery of a Northfield, Minnesota bank—is a plea of innocence to the many other crimes for which he was blamed. He had indeed led a violent life, for which he expresses regret. Obviously innocent of some of the wild claims of political enemies and dime novelists, Younger admits only to the above crime. Fortunate in being born into a prosperous and respected family, Thomas Coleman Younger had the misfortune of coming of age in Civil War era Missouri. No other state was so torn apart by pro-secessionist and pro-Union sentiments. And no other state so harshly endured its legacy in the aftermath. As a prominent figure among William Clarke Quantrill’s guerilla forces, Cole Younger incurred the wrath of the final victors of the war. THE STORY OF COLE YOUNGER, BY HIMSELF is his written response.