James Forrest Bondurant (21 November 1901-4 December 1965) was an American Prohibition-era gangster and one of the three Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia. He was the gang's de facto leader during the 1930s, despite being the middle brother.
Biography[]
Bondurant in 1931
James Forrest Bondurant was born in Franklin County, Virginia on 21 November 1901, the son of Granville Thomas Bondurant and Malissa Elizabeth Barbour, the younger brother of Howard Bondurant, and the older brother of Jack Bondurant. He survived a fever outbreak, seemingly proving his brother Howard's belief that he and his brothers were invincible, and the three of them went on to become bootleggers and moonshiners during Prohibition, using their restaurant and gas station as a front. In 1931, the Chicagoan dancer Maggie Mae Harris came to the restaurant in search of work, and she fell in love with Forrest, who was initially hesitant to hire a woman. That same year, the Bondurants' friend Sheriff Pete Hodges broke the news to them that the government had sent in Commonwealth's Attorney Mason Wardell and US Marshal Charley Rakes to crack down on the moonshining business, but Forrest refused to give the rude newcomers a cut of his bootlegging business and instead insulted them. He failed to convince his fellow bootleggers to join him in defying the law, and Rakes retaliated by sending two men to Bondurant's restaurant. They pulled a gun on Maggie, leading to Forrest beating the two men down. Maggie decided to quit and began to leave, but, shortly after, Forrest was assaulted by the two men, who cut his throat and left him for dead. Forrest was said to have walked himself all the way from Blackwater Station to the hospital, seemingly confirming that he was invincible, but it was Maggie who drove him to the hospital and visited him a day later; he assured her that his injuries had nothing to do with her. Shortly after, with the help of Jack's new associate Floyd Banner, Forrest tracked down the two men and cut off their testicles, sending them to Rakes, who was discovered to have sent them. Over the next few weeks, Jack's partnership with Floyd led to the Bondurants expanding their business, building several new stills and evading the police. Rakes cracked down on the local bootlegging organizations and ultimately tailed Jack to the still, resulting in a brief shootout. The brothers escaped, but Rakes captured and executed their associate Cricket Pate. Jack was later warned by Sheriff Hodges that Rakes had blockaded the bridge, and an infuriated Jack drove alone to meet him, with his brothers following him. In the ensuing shootout, both Jack and Forrest were shot by Rakes, with Forrest being shot several times in the chest. However, they were soon reinforced by local bootleggers, and Rakes was shot in the leg by Hodges when he attempted to execute Jack and Forrest. Jack and Howard then chased Rakes into the covered bridge, where Howard stabbed him dead.
Later life[]
Bondurant in 1940
Forrest spent two weeks recuperating, but he ultimately recovered and went on to marry Maggie in secret. He survived many years of alcoholism, but, in the winter of 1965, he drunkenly wandered into the woods and danced on a frozen lake, causing the ice to break and for him to be briefly trapped under cold water. He escaped, but he developed pneumonia and died in Roanoke, Virginia on 4 December 1965 at the age of 64. He was buried at the Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville, where his brothers were also buried.