Hard Hearted

Adelbert Ames was a Union general and Civil War military governor of Mississippi.  In 1876, he was also an investor in the First National Bank in Northfield, MN. The James-Younger Gang tried to hold up the institution that September, getting away with virtually nothing but leaving two civilians dead.

But Ames complained to his wife that he would lose $400 for the robber reward and compensation to the widow of Joseph Heywood, who died protecting the bank’s money.  “That would buy the much coveted stem-winding watch,” Ames said.