John Newman Edwards was a pro-Confederate journalist who helped create the image of Jesse James as a heroic bandit. He was born on January 4, 1839, in Virginia and moved to Lexington, Missouri, around 1855. He was a soldier of the Confederacy during the Civil War and served under Joseph Orville Shelby. Edwards wrote Shelby’s military reports, presenting Confederate soldiers and bushwhackers as heroic warriors defending a just cause.

After the Civil War, Edwards lived in exile in Mexico for about two years during which time he wrote the first of three books: Shelby and His Men. He returned to Missouri and newspaper work in 1867. He helped found the Kansas City Times in 1868 and served as its editor. His colorful and fiery editorials tried to persuade ex-Confederates to return to politics. Confederates had been banished from holding office at the end of the war.

In 1869, Edwards became aware of Jesse James. He saw James as the symbol of the defeated Confederate who was an innocent victim of Northern aggression and whose crimes were only meant to correct the wrongs of the past. Edwards made contact with the James brothers and started printing Jesse’s letters in the newspaper. Jesse’s letters often proclaimed his innocence or explained his actions. Edwards glorified James as a good-hearted, Robin Hood figure. His flattering treatment of James undoubtedly formed the basis of the heroic legend that is still associated with the outlaw.

Edward’s glorification of Jesse James is seen as part of his larger plan to instill pride in ex-Confederates and help them regain political power. By 1880 many ex-Confederates had returned to Missouri’s legislature and congressional delegation. When Jesse James was killed in 1882, Edwards wrote a flattering obituary and tried to arrange for Frank James to surrender to Missouri authorities. Edwards, a heavy drinker, died in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 1889.

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