Lt. Bennett Young drew the blueprint for Old West bank robberies—far from the West. In October 1864, he and 20 Confederate soldiers snuck into St. Albans, Vermont (in civilian clothes). They cased the targets, observed the citizenry, and drew up escape routes. On October 19, at a pre-arranged time, the Rebels robbed all three banks in town. Some men held horses outside; others kept the populace at bay. The Confederates then raced a posse to the Canadian border, just a few miles away. The take: $208,000. Mastermind Young was just 21 at the time.

True West December 2023
In This Issue:
Features
Western Books & Movies
To The Point
More In This Issue
- Grapevine, Texas
- Following Billy the Kid
- What History Has Taught Me: Warner Glenn and Kelly Glenn Kimbro
- Wyoming Cowboy Cuisine
- Brushy Bill, Winchesters and Whiskey Row
- The Hawken Rifle Turns 200
- A Merger, Memorabilia and McMurtry
- A Little Town with a Big Agenda
- The Arrested Travels of Jedediah Smith
- Shooting Back
- Truth Be Known
- Gold Fever