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Born Samuel Bass (July 21, 1851 ‒ July 21, 1878) was a 19th-century American train robber, outlaw, and outlaw gang leader. Notably, he was a member of a gang of six that robbed a Union Pacific train in Nebraska of $60,000 in newly minted gold from San Francisco, California.
Learn about Sam Bass, a notorious outlaw and train robber who led two gangs in the Wild West. Read how he and his men pulled off a daring heist of $60,000 in gold and how they were eventually captured or killed.
Sam Bass escaped to Texas, where he formed the Bass Gang, who began to rob trains and banks in the Lone Star State. The gang members included Thomas Spotswood, Arkansas Johnson, Frank Jackson, Henry Underwood, Sam Pipes, Seaborn Barnes, and Albert Herndon.
Sam Bass was an American Western outlaw who was finally gunned down by the Texas Rangers. Bass left his Indiana home at age 18 and drifted to Texas, where in 1874 he befriended Joel Collins. In 1876 Bass and Collins went north on a cattle drive but turned to robbing stagecoaches; in September 1877.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The gang consisted of Sam Bass, Tom Nixon, Bill Potts, Jim Berry, Jack Davis, and Robert "Little Reddy" McKimie. Outlaw Sam Bass as a young man. McKimie was kicked out of the gang after their first robbery, in which he shot and killed the driver.
Feb 26, 2024 · Sam Bass: The Manhunt, The Crime, and The Tragic End of a Wild West Bandit and Texas Folk Hero. AKA “Texas’ Beloved Bandit” and “Robin Hood on a Fast Horse.” Noted Outlaw and Train Robber. Sam is killed by Texas Rangers on July 21, 1878 in Round Rock, Texas. Listen as Paul Lee Johnson tells the story and sings “Ballad of Sam Bass.”
Jan 25, 2023 · According to the Texas State Library, Bass and three of his gang members went to Round Rock, Texas, on July 19, 1878, in order to rob the bank. It was a typical heist for the Sam Bass gang, but this time there was one fatal twist: one of Bass' gangsters was actually an inside man from the law.
