"handsome" harry pierpont

Harry Pierpont is a fascinating individual. I firmly believe that Harry Pierpont, not Dillinger, was the leader of the Terror Gang. John, of course, became the leader of the group he created after Harry was arrested in Tucson, Arizona.

Harry led an uneventful childhood. Unlike many outlaws we have studied, Harry was never into any legal trouble nor did he display any deliquent behaviors until later in life.

A few events should be noted from Harry's childhood;

* At around five years of age, Harry had a minor accident and struck his head

* In 1919, Harry's sister Fern passed away from tuberclosis

* In about 1920 Harry was struck in the head with a baseball bat. This was a severe accident and resulted in Harry being unconscious for approximately five full minutes

I mention this details because in 1920, after the baseball bat accident, Harry is afflicted with vision issues, head aches, and stomach problems. Friends and relatives at this point in time describe a different Harry Pierpont. Harry had begun to slip into the darkness of mental illness. The afforementioned historical events may have contributed to this decent.

Fred Pierpont, Harry's brother:

Lena and Joseph Gilbert Pierpont, Harry's Mother and Father:

In 1921, Lena Pierpont had her son, Harry, committed to the Central State Hospital for the Mentally Insane located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Central State Hospital, Indianapolis, Indiana

The inquest papers for Harry's admittance into the Central State Hospital list his illness as dementia praecox of the hebephrenic type. This illness is a form a schizophrenia that manifests itself after puberty and can be attributed to physical trauma (baseball bat to the head) or psychological trauma (death of sister Fern). Harry was furloughed from Central State Hospital at the end of 1921.

LIFE OF CRIME

Shortly after his furlough from Central State, Harry stole a car, robbed a hardware store for a weapon, and attempted to steal another car in Indianapolis from a local man. Unfortunately for Harry, the man's wife was nearby and armed with a roast she had just purchased from the butcher. While Harry grappled with the owner of the automobile he wanted, Harry pulled his gun and shots were fired. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured and the fracas came to an end when the lady struck Harry over the head with her roast and, with the aid of a passer by, restrained Harry until the police arrived.

Harry was tried and convicted of Attempted Auto Theft and Battery with Intent to Murder and sentenced to 10 - 21 years imprisonment. Harry was sent to the Indiana State Prison in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Indiana Reformatory, Clarksville, Indiana

Harry was soon transferred to the Indiana Reformatory in Pendleton, Indiana

Indiana Reformatory, Pendleton, Indiana

Harry was released from prison in 1924

THE BANK ROBBER

Soon after his release from prison, Harry joined in with a group of young men that he had met in Pendleton. These men would soon form a group of robbers that would be responsible for numerous bank robberies within the State of Indiana. The group of men were Harry Pierpont, William Behrens, Charles Northern, Clifford Roth, Thaddeus Skeers, Everett Bridgewater, James Robbins, and Clinton Simms.

BACK TO PRISON

The crime wave was short-lived and soon Harry was arrested in Detroit and charged for Bank Robbery. Harry was convicted for Robbery of the South Side Bank in Kokomo, Indiana and sentenced to 10 - 21 years imprisonment. Soon, Harry found himself back in the Pendleton Reformatory.

While incarcerated within the Pendleton prison, Harry met a man that would forever be intertwined with Harry's notoriety. This man was John Herbert Dillinger.

Harry attempted to escape from the Pendleton Reformatory in 1925 and was trnasferred to the more secure facility located in Michigan City, Indiana. John Dillinger would soon follow Harry to Michigan City and the two would join up with a group of men who would soon come to be known as the Terror Gang.

The Terror Gang would study the art of bank robbery from their teacher, Walter Dietrich. Walter had been a member of the famous Herman "Baron" Lamm and had learned first-hand Lamm's methods of bank robbery. These teachings included casing banks, rehearsing the robberies, using detailed timing of the robbery, utilizing maps taped to the dash boards of the getaway car that detailed the escat route to escape (along with alternate routes), employing first aid kits in the case of an emergency, etc. Such military prevision had never been used in bank robberies prior to Lamm.

The Baron Herman Lamm

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BARON HERMAN LAMM

Walter Dietrich

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WALTER DIETRICH

Indiana State Prison, Michigan City, Indiana

THE PRISON ESCAPE

On September 26, 1933 Harry and Nine other inmates escaped from the Indiana State Prison using guns smuggled into them by the recently paroled John Dillinger. Please see the Michigan City Escape page for further details.

The Escapees

THE TERROR GANG

After the gang made their escape, they soon learned that John Dillinger had been arrested and was incarcerated within the Lima, Ohio jail. The Gang decided to free John from the jail .

On October 12, 1933, armed members of the gang entered the Lima jail and asked that John Dillinger be released. When the sheriif of the jail, Sheriff Sarber, questioned the men as to their authority to have John released to them, Harry Pierpont pulled his pistol on the Sheriff. The Sheriff reached for his desk drawer (or seemed to) and Harry shot him. After the shooting, the Sheriff was pistol whipped by Pierpont and Charles Makley. The gang freed John. Sheriff Sarber later died.

The gang next robbed two police station armories (Auburn Indiana and Peru Indiana) to garner enough fire power to successfully rob local banks and to keep the local police at bay. The Gang committed at least three bank robberies over the next three months.

For more information on the Terror Gang and their three month crime spree, please see our Terror Gang page

THE FALL

Harry's luck soon ran out in Tucson, Arizona. A freak fire had occurred at the boarding house some of the Gang was staying. In an attempt by the Gang to recover their weapons, a local firefighter spoke with Charles Makley and Russell Clark. Later, the firefighter was looking at a detective magazine and recognized Makley and Clark from the scene of the fire. The local authorities were notified and Harry soon found himself under arrest.

After a short stay at the Michigan City prison in Indiana, Harry was extradited back to Ohio to face charges of murder for the death of Sheriff Sarber.

Harry was convicted of Murder in March of 1934 and was sentenced to Death.

Harry had one final plan up his sleeve and he and Charles Makley attempted to escape from the Ohio State Prison using fake guns they had made from soapstone and other supplies. The plan was foiled. Makley was killed and Harry was severly wounded trying to escape. The prison doctors managed to save Harry for the executioner.

Harry was electrocuted in the Ohio State Prison in Columbus, Ohio on October 17, 1934.

Ohio State Prison, Columbus, Ohio