Ross Phares

Reverend Devil: Master Criminal of the Old South Ross Phares

"One of the best books on this outlaw, based on scholarly research." -Adams No. 767, Six Guns and Leather "The narrative is true, documented research and easy reading." -Irving Ward-Steinman In many parts of the South and the Southwest today, they still speak in quiet awe of the intrepid John Murrel-highwayman, bandit, cutthroat, and slaver who spread organized terror through dozens of early nineteenth-century towns. From Tennessee and Arkansas to Georgia eastward, and to the Mexican border westward, Murrel carved a special niche for himself as one of the first American outlaws to operate on a grand scale. Murrel led a band of highly organized, disciplined, and tightly knit bandits, who preyed at will on travelers along the Natchez Trace and on remote settlements. Murrel even impersonated and preached as a reverend. More than a century after his death, Murrell remains one of the most intriguing gangsters in American history.