The Untold Truth Of The Pinkerton National Detective Agency

When Pinkerton agents weren't busy strikebreaking and union busting, they were pursuing famous Wild West outlaws like the Reno Gang, Jesse James, and the Wild Bunch. However, they weren't always successful and sometimes innocent people fell victim to their zeal.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, after the Civil War, the Pinkerton agency worked on a number of high-profile train and bank robberies and recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Reno Gang were some of the first train robbers in the United States and in the late 1860s Allan Pinkerton chased down Frank Reno himself.

In 1875, Pinkerton decided to go after Jesse James and his gang. But after tracking them to James' mother's farm in Missouri, the resulting standoff ended in tragedy. A lantern was thrown into the house, resulting in an explosion that blew off the arm of Zerelda Samuel, James' mother, and fatally wounded 8-year-old Archie Samuel, his half-brother. 

Although the public had previously supported the work of the Pinkerton detectives, "the death of Archie Samuel was a public relations nightmare." And as Pinkerton detectives continued to incite riots and help management during labor disputes, their reputation continued to sink. By the end of the 19th century, "the name 'Pinkerton' soon became a dirty word among the working class."