The Jesse James Home is the home where the infamous outlaw Jesse James was killed on April 3, 1882.

James (aged 34) had been an outlaw almost half his life. He was shot by fellow gang member, Bob Ford, to collect a $10,000 reward. The bullet entered behind his right ear and — some believe — came out over his left eye, leaving the legendary bullet hole.

The museum features artifacts from Jesse's life and death, as well as those of Frank James and the Ford brothers. Also in the museum is evidence from the 1995 exhumation, which proved with 99.7% certainty that the person killed in this house was, in fact, Jesse James.

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On Sept 17, 1862, the bloodiest battle in American history occurred. On that day, 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat at the Battle of Antietam. The battle ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North, and it led to Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

Named after Antitam Creek (and also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, especially in the South), the battle was also the first recorded instance of war photography. Scottish-born Alexander Gardner created a number of images of body-strewn battlefields, leaders and soldiers in tents, and layouts of important locations from the battle. In essence, it was a founding moment of photojournalism.

Garnder worked for the studio of New York portrait photographer Matthew Brady, who claimed sole credit for the photos in subsequent show. When Brady showcased the photos in New York, it caused lines around the block to see them. The Times said, “If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our dooryards and along the streets, he has done something very like it.”

Gardner formed his own photography studio in 1863, and continued to document the war. On some occasions, he was known to have hired assistants use blood red paint to enhance injuries and to move bodies to more dramatic locations for photos. Maybe he should be considered the first Photoshop-er as well.

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