Jesse James had his own publicity agent—John Newman Edwards. A Confederate veteran, Edwards became a newspaperman after the war, starting the Kansas City Times in 1868.
Soon after, he met and befriended Frank and Jesse James and used his writings to portray them as soldiers carrying on the war, fighting corruption and carpetbaggers. His articles were carried by newspapers across the world. He continued that support even after Jesse was killed in 1882.
Edwards fought a lifelong battle with the bottle and died from the effects of alcoholism in 1889.
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