October 6, 1866

Though this is a fake train robbery, on October 6, 1866 was the first train robbery in the U.S. by the Reno brothers........

On October 6, 1866, the Reno brothers committed their first heist. After stopping a train outside of Seymour, Indiana, they stole $10,000 in cash and gold. But they were unable to break into the safe; William Reno vainly shot it with his pistol before giving up.

Though fast on their feet, the Reno brothers didn't have much luck evading the authorities, probably because they committed almost all of their crimes in the Seymour, Indiana, area.

On July 27, 1868, The Pinkerton reported that William and Simeon Reno had been captured. Frank Reno and Charlie Anderson were tracked down to a Canadian border town. The men were eventually extradited (granted by Great Britain once their safety was guaranteed) back to the U.S. in October and joined the other two prisoners. July 27, 1868,

On December 12, about 65 hooded men forced their way into the New Albany, Indiana jail where they were being held. Frank Reno was the first to be dragged from his cell to be lynched. He was followed by brothers William and Simeon. Another gang member, Charlie Anderson, was the fourth and last to be executed. It was rumored that the vigilantes were part of the group known as the Scarlet Mask Society or the Jackson County Vigilance Committee.

Although Frank and William went rather quietly when the vigilantes hanged them on December 11, their brother Simon put up a bitter fight. He even managed to survive the hanging itself for more than 30 minutes before finally succumbing to the rope.

No one was ever charged, named or officially investigated in any of the lynchings. Many local newspapers, such as the New Albany Weekly Ledger, stated that "Judge Lynch" had spoken.

Frank Reno and Charlie Anderson were technically in federal custody when they were lynched. This is believed to be the only time in U.S. history that a federal prisoner had ever been lynched by a mob before a trial. Secretary of State, William Henry Seward, Sr., wrote a formal letter of apology as a result. A new bill was later introduced into the U.S. Congress that clarified the responsibility for the safety of extradited prisoners. William Henry Seward, Sr.

Excerpts taken from these websites:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=1211

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reno_Gang (this includes pictures)