Lot #8042

[Jesse James] Thomas T. Crittenden Partial Autograph Letter: "If the Hite boys of Kas. were in the Winston or Blue Cut robbery, they should be brought here"

Description

"If the Hite boys of Kas. were in the Winston or Blue Cut robbery, they should be brought here under a Requisition"

Partial handwritten letter by Governor Thomas T. Crittenden, one page, 8 x 10, State of Missouri Executive Department letterhead, February 2, 1882. Partial handwritten letter to Sheriff James Timberlake, in part: "I write you this morning, failed to mention one thing. If the Hite boys of Kas. were in the Winston or Blue Cut robbery, they should be brought here under a Requisition…I will issue a requisition for them. Their names are Wood & Jefferson Hite. I have written to a man—who knows the—to know where they are. Nothing will leak." In very good to fine condition, with light creasing, and a clipped area to the upper left corner.

The Winston and Blue Cut robberies were two infamous train heists carried out by the James-Younger Gang in Missouri. On July 15, 1881, the gang robbed a Rock Island train near Winston, Missouri, killing conductor William Westfall and a passenger, Frank McMillan, while stealing a significant sum of cash. A year later, on September 7, 1881, Jesse James and his gang struck again at Blue Cut, near Glendale, Missouri. They halted a Chicago & Alton Railroad train, looted the express car, and reportedly took thousands in cash, jewelry, and valuables. These robberies were among the last major crimes committed by Jesse James before his murder in 1882.

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Old West, Outlaws, Lawmen, and Gangsters
• Dates: #720 - Ended 05/22/2025