Van der Linde gang

For the successor gang in Red Dead Redemption, see Dutch's Gang.

Van der Linde gang
The Van der Linde Gang in Valentine. Circa 1899.
Van Der Linde Gang
Status	Disbanded (1899)
Leader(s)	Dutch van der Linde Hosea Matthews (co-founder) Arthur Morgan (lead enforcer)
Members	List of members
Location	Transitory
Game	Red Dead Redemption (mentioned) Red Dead Redemption 2

“	A gang of criminals, dissidents and free-thinkers who have chosen to reject a corrupt system of power and live instead by their own code. As the price on their heads continues to grow, so does the struggle to remain free.	„
	—Rockstar Games.

The Van der Linde gang (also referred to as Dutch's Boys) is an outlaw gang featured in Red Dead Redemption 2 as the main protagonist faction. It is also mentioned in Red Dead Redemption, alongside the appearances of several of its former members.

History

Background

“	We shoot fellers as need shooting, save fellers as need saving, and feed 'em as need feeding.	„
	—The mantra of the gang

Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews, the founders and leaders of the Van der Linde gang.

The gang's roots lie in a fateful meeting between two robbers, Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews around 1877. Van der Linde and Matthews met each other at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con and rob Dutch, but realized that Dutch had done the same and stolen from him in the meantime. They both saw the skill that the other had and laughed, deciding to team up and face the future together. The Van der Linde gang was thus founded. Around this same time, Hosea met a woman named Bessie, who would eventually become his wife.

Dutch convinced Hosea, who described himself as a "degenerate", that they could find redemption by robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Dutch had an anarchistic vision of a world without government or corporate interference, a "savage utopia" free from the pressures and intolerance of civilization. He saw himself as a revolutionary and thought that the gang could be an example to others who would follow their lead. They began pulling tricks and ripping off people they believed deserved it the most.

The pair found themselves in the town of Kettering, Ohio, where they began conning several people. They posed as international merchants, conning twelve locals into buying $300 worth of shares into a fictional Portuguese shipping company. They were eventually discovered and arrested by Sheriff Carmichael. On March 9^th, 1877 the pair escaped from their cell by unknown means, tying up and robbing the sheriff in the process.

The old guard, Hosea, Dutch, and Arthur

The same year they met, the pair stumbled across a fourteen year old orphan named Arthur Morgan. He was an unruly child, and they decided to take him under their wing, teaching him to read, write, shoot and other useful skills. Around this same time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. The gang acted as a family, spending long nights playing poker and other games. Bessie taught Arthur how to play dominoes. At some point the gang acquired a pet dog named Copper, who Arthur grew close to and took care of.

During these early years, Hosea and his wife tried to go straight and took a trip through states like New Hanover and Lemoyne. Hosea slowly drifted back to the gang, unable to fight against his own criminal nature. Bessie understood his struggle and stuck by him. Dutch ended his relationship with Susan, and at some point later became involved with a woman named Annabelle.

In 1885, Dutch came across a group of Illinois homesteaders preparing to hang a young boy for stealing from them. He saved the child, named John Marston, and brought him into the gang, teaching him to read and shoot just as he had done with Morgan. Arthur and John became like brothers, and Dutch often read to them from books by Evelyn Miller and Waldo Emerson, even though most of the concepts went over the young boys' heads. Dutch educated the boys on his anarchistic worldview, instilling them with a distrust and hatred for the government. He told them that America was turning into a society designed to produce apathy in people. He would preach that revenge was a fool's game and that they should never kill in cold blood. Over the years, many members of the gang came to believe that John was Dutch's favorite and "golden boy", much to the envy of others.

In 1887, the gang committed its first bank robbery. At 2 o'clock, Hosea, Dutch and Arthur burst in to the banking house of Lee and Hoyt. Arthur held a firearm up to the teller and demanded he throw up his hands. Dutch then proclaimed, "My fine patriotic friends and I are going to relieve you of some of that gold and introduce a few folks to the benefits of civilization". The gang made off with $5000 in gold. After the robbery, they lingered in town, going to hovels, shanties and orphanages handing out money. It was around this time (likely because of this bank robbery) that Dutch became a wanted man with a price on his head. Between 1887 and 1899, the gang carried out roughly 37 different bank robberies in various locations around the country.

At one point in the past, Dutch and Colm O'Driscoll, the leader of the O'Driscoll Boys, had an uneasy truce between them. Dutch disliked how Colm treated his men as disposable while Colm mocked Dutch for his philosophies about trying to make a "better world". Though the exact reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce when he killed Colm's brother. In retaliation, Colm killed Dutch's lover, Annabelle - an event which greatly angered and devastated him. These events led to a blood feud between the two gangs which would last for years.

During the early years of the gang, they truly did help people in need and tried to make a difference. Dutch even once scolded Arthur for stealing from a poor man's house, saying that it made them no better then the people they were fighting against. As the years went on, Dutch gradually became disillusioned with society as the world around him grew more and more organized and "civilized", with increasing government centralization continuing to encroach on his idea of freedom. The gang eventually stopped giving money to the poor and helping others and instead focused exclusively on caring for themselves and securing their own survival. Dutch even allowed the gang to become involved in loansharking through Leopold Strauss, which often targeted the type of lower class people the gang previously used to fight for. Instead of just thieving, the gang also began killing, much to Hosea's dismay. Despite his objections, Hosea stuck around out of loyalty to Dutch, though his faith in their "mission" gradually declined and eventually vanished over the years.

A group photo of the gang

For the next 7 years the gang traveled throughout the frontier performing many other heists and crimes according to Dutch's values. In this time the gang picked up around a dozen new members, usually people who wished to escape and live outside conventional society, this mostly in included other con artists and gunslingers. It is unclear exactly when these gang members joined but this all took place between between 1877 and 1894.

Examples of these new members included Mac and Davey Callander who were brothers described as vicious and served as gunslingers for the gang. Karen Jones was a con artist and triggerwoman. Mary-Beth Gaskill was a young conwoman who taken in by the gang as she was being chased by someone she had just pick-pocketed. Tilly Jackson left her previous gang after she killed a cousin of Anthony Foreman's, who is the gang's leader. She and lived on the streets until she met Dutch who took her in and taught her to read just as he had done for Morgan and Marston. Simon Pearson was a former Navy Chief who was rescued by Dutch from other loan-sharks; he would become the camp cook. Orville Swanson, a reverend with both server alcoholism and a opium addiction, saved Dutch's life once, as thanks Dutch offered him a permanent place in with the gang. Uncle was a petty thief and drunk who joined the gang, due to his personality he earned the reputation of a bit of a freeloader within the gang, but they let him stay due to his ability to entertain them and do what they wanted when asked. Sean MacGuire was a young Irish gunslinger who attempted to rob and kill Dutch and Hosea in North Elizabeth, but was later adopted into the gang. Molly O'Shea was a woman who abandoned her rich family in search of adventure and romance; it's unclear how she joined the gang, but she later became Dutch's lover. The eccentric Josiah Trelawny was another con artist who formed an association with the gang, he would act as a informant for Dutch on both large and small scale heist opportunities. Due to his line of work he was allowed to come and go from the gang as he pleased, never becoming directly involved with most of the other members besides Dutch himself. At one point, an unnamed member betrayed the gang but was later caught and killed in the gang's camp for it.

In 1894, a drunk veteran named Bill Williamson attempted to rob Dutch, but Dutch simply laughed at him. This infuriated Williamson at first, but Dutch cheered him up and took him into the gang, giving him a purpose and reason to live. Bill lacked conventional intelligence, but he made up for it with his unfailing loyalty to Dutch and the gang. Around this same time, Uncle introduced the gang to a prostitute named Abigail Roberts, who joined the gang and had sexual relations with several gang members.

Abigail eventually started a relationship with John, and soon became pregnant. John refused to accept responsibility for the child, insisting that it was not his. The baby, whose name was Jack, was subsequently raised by the gang, as he grew up he came to know many of the gang members as aunts and uncles since the gang considers themselves all family. When Jack was about a year old, John abandoned his son and the gang, this greatly angered Arthur Morgan who saw it as a act of great betrayal. About a year later John returned to the gang, while Dutch and many other members may have welcomed him back with open arms Arthur never truly forgave John for his actions. This would lead to a rift between the two "brothers" that would steadily grow over the next few years.

Javier circa 1895

In 1895, while stealing chickens, Dutch came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella, who was also stealing chickens just to survive. Javier was starving and alone, so Dutch took him into the gang, feeding and clothing him. Javier, a former revolutionary, had a strong affinity with the gangs philosophy, and began to idolize Dutch. Javier would become one of the gangs most loyal gunmen.

By 1898, the gang found itself in Montana. Hosea caught several large salmon, planning a feast for the whole camp, until Copper found and ate the fish. Sometime after this, Copper passed away. After a fire and some trouble up in the north, the gang traveled south and east, taking a slow and tortuous trail down through the Northern Grizzlies to throw off anyone tracking them. They then spent several months in the wilderness. During the winter, they stuck mostly to the western foothills of the mountain. Food was plentiful, and for a time, the gang lived in peace. Dutch eventually got a lead on some land for the gang to buy for their "savage utopia", but it either did not match up to Dutch's criteria or he grew suspicious that law enforcement was watching them and the gang began wandering again.

While traversing the Grizzlies, the gang picked up several new recruits. The first of these new recruits were Lenny Summers and Charles Smith . At first Hosea was unsure of Lenny, but the two grew to mutually respect each other and become good friends. Lenny was literate even before joining the gang, and tried to use his knowledge to teach Sean how to read. Charles was used to surviving alone, but was surprised by how fairly Dutch treated him despite his race and decided to stick around, having found a place he felt he belonged in. The gang picked up two new members around this time as well: Jenny Kirk, who was found abandoned on the roadside, and Micah Bell, who saved Dutch's life. Dutch met Bell at a place named Crenshaw Hill, while trying to sell gold that the gang had recently stolen. Dutch ended up offending some of the locals, leading to an altercation where Micah stepped in and saved his life. After this, Dutch offered him a place in the gang.

Although still small, the gang by now featured several members who possessed considerable skill in a versatile array of fields. Able to infiltrate, con, or rob virtually any business, bank, or train in the region,  the gang for the rest of its days repeatedly demonstrated elite combat capabilities, time and again defeating or fending off enemy forces that were several times its own size. However, all these skills were increasingly put to the test by the end of the century, as members struggled for survival in a series of successively difficult circumstances. As modern government and law enforcement became more powerful, the gang faced smaller and smaller margin for error in its operations and in turn found fewer and fewer places to run or hide.

Dutch's wanted poster

By 1899, the gang arrived in the state of West Elizabeth and decided to camp outside the town of Blackwater, a town undergoing the process of industrialization. Eventually, Micah convinced Dutch to rob a river boat carrying money from the bank. Arthur and Hosea protested, believing the risks involved to be too great. Despite this, Dutch thought the heist would be worth the risk, and went ahead with it. Fearing the worst Hosea in particular scoped out several safe spots in the state of New Austin for the gang to use as a fallback after the robbery in case something went awry.

The heist did not go as planned with the Law arriving suspiciously quickly. Everything took a turn for the worse and a large gunfight ensued between the gang and the law. In the heat of the moment, Dutch cracked and killed an innocent girl named Heidi McCourt, in a very cruel way, according to Javier. John, Jenny Kirk, and Davey were all shot in the ensuing chaos but managed to escape for the time being, the latter two having much more severe injuries than John. Sean and Mac ended up separated from the rest of the gang and each other, Mac apparently didn't make it very far. He was discovered by Detective Andrew Milton, on the verge of death from injuries sustained in the fight. Detective Milton attemped to question him about the gang but Mac refused to rat out his gang until the very end, he was promptly killed by the Detective who would go on to sarcastically describe it as a "mercy killing". Sean escaped Blackwater but was eventually captured by bounty hunters who planned to sell him over to the Pinkertons.

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2

Colter Chapter

After the disastrous Blackwater heist, the gang fled to the northern state of Ambarino to evade law enforcement. The game opens with the gang being high up in the mountains of north Ambarino. Despite it being May, they become caught in a massive blizzard, which inadvertently helps stall the Pinkertons trailing them. Not wanting anymore surprises, Dutch sends John and Micah to scout ahead. Along the way, Jenny and Davey succumb to their wounds and die. Arthur discovers an abandoned mining camp, Colter, for the gang to take shelter in. After enduring the storm and the deaths of their comrades, the morale of the gang is at an all time low. Dutch gives a speech, asking the gang to keep their faith in him and to make camp for a few days until the storm passes. He assures them that they will survive and be able to outrun the law enforcement tracking them.

He then takes off to go look for John and Micah with Arthur. Arthur questions Dutch on what exactly happened on the boat in Blackwater, but Dutch is not forthcoming with answers. While out searching, they come across Micah, who has found a homestead. The trio travel to the homestead to ask for supplies, but are surprised to discover it being occupied by the O'Driscoll Boys. A gunfight breaks out, which results in the deaths of the occupying O'Driscolls. After looting the ranch, Arthur gets attacked by an O'Driscoll who he easily overpowers. He then interrogates him about where his gang is and what they are doing up in the mountains. He learns that they are planning a train heist nearby using dynamite.

Micah discovers Sadie Adler in the cellar, hiding from the O'Driscolls who murdered her husband and took over her homestead. Mistaking her for an O'Driscoll, a struggle ensues between her and Micah, which causes him to flip a table over with a lantern on it, causing the house to catch on fire. Dutch manages to defuse the situation, and quickly escorts Sadie to safety. He offers to bring her with them back to camp, an offer which she accepts.

The next day, Abigail and several others become concerned that John hasn't returned yet, and urge Arthur and Javier to go out looking for him. Javier is optimistic that they will find him, but Arthur believes that Marston has abandoned the gang again. After scaling the mountain, they come across John badly injured from a wolf attack. Narrowly escaping a second wolf attack, they bring John back to Colter.

Dutch and Hosea begin arguing about their current situation. Hosea is doubtful of Dutch's plan, while Dutch insists that they just need to wait out the storm, go back to Blackwater and collect the money, make even more money, and then head back out west. Hosea points out that they have been heading east, the exact opposite direction, to which Dutch replies with "For now... for now". Dutch also insists that they send someone back to the Adler Ranch to bury Jake Adler, Sadie's late husband.

Arthur and Charles provide the camp with food after a hunting trip, much to the delight of Pearson. A fight breaks out between Micah and Bill, which is interrupted by Dutch, who rallies the gang together to assault an O'Driscoll camp. Arthur objects, reminding Dutch that revenge is a fool's game, but Dutch states that he wants to steal their score, not get revenge, and plans to find out what he can about a train heist the O'Driscolls have planned. They arrive at the camp just as Colm is leaving. After killing everyone in the camp, they find the heist plans and some dynamite.

A few days later, Dutch gathers all able-bodied members of the gang to pull off the train heist, to which Hosea objects, warning that the target of the heist, Leviticus Cornwall, is a rich and influential man and thus highly dangerous. Dutch scoffs at this, urging the gang to ride on. Bill is sent ahead to set up the dynamite on the track, and Dutch asks Arthur to assist him. After setting up the detonator, the gang prepares for the arrival of the train. As it passes over the tracks, the dynamite fails to detonate, forcing Arthur, Javier, and Lenny to chase after and jump on the train. Javier falls off the train, leaving Arthur and Lenny to overpower the guards and stop the train. The rest of the gang catches up, dealing with the remainder of the guards, and forcing their way into Cornwall's personal train car. Inside, they discover a thousand dollars in bonds. Dutch leaves Arthur to clean up the scene, stating they'll leave when he gets back.

As the snow from the blizzard begins to thaw, the gang travels by caravan to the state of New Hanover. Hosea recommends camping at a location called Horseshoe Overlook. Whilst on the trail, they are watched from afar by members of the Wapiti Indian tribe. When they arrive at the campsite, Dutch gives a speech, imploring everyone to go out and earn money. They devise a cover story, that they are itinerant workers from the north who were laid off from their factory and are now searching for work down south. Miss Grimshaw and her girls begin setting up the camp as everyone begins to settle in.

Horseshoe Overlook Chapter

After a few weeks at Horseshoe Overlook, the gang begins to settle in to their new surroundings. Leopold Strauss loans money to several people, including Chick Matthews, Mr. Wróbel, Lilly Millet, and Thomas Downes. Reverend Swanson becomes drunk at a poker game in Flatneck Station and is narrowly saved by Arthur when he stumbles onto the path of an oncoming train. Tilly, Mary-Beth, and Karen grow bored and restless at camp and convince Uncle and Arthur to take them into Valentine, the local town. While there, Mary-Beth gets a lead on a train full of rich tourists passing through Scarlett Meadows at night. Karen and Tilly attempt to rob drunk men but Tilly is discovered by her old gang member Anthony Foreman, who attempts to kidnap her before Arthur steps in to save her. Arthur then steps into the Saints Hotel to rescue Karen from her drunken attacker. Karen relays that she has found out info about the local bank, with Arthur encouraging her to continue investigating. A citizen named Jimmy Brooks recognizes Arthur, forcing him to chase him towards a cliff. Arthur then decides whether to kill him or let him live.

Bill, Javier, and Charles go to Smithfields, the local saloon in Valentine, where they are joined by Arthur. Bill bumps into another patron, which causes a large bar fight to break out. A large man named Tommy ends up throwing Arthur through the window and out onto the street. A brutal fight ensues which Arthur eventually wins. Before landing the final blow, Arthur is interrupted by Thomas Downes, who begs him to show mercy. Arthur begrudgingly complies and sits down to rest. Dutch finds them in Valentine and reveals that he has found Josiah Trelawny. Josiah reveals that Sean is alive but being held captive by a group of bounty hunters outside Blackwater. Javier and Charles leave with Trelawny to scope out where Sean is while Bill is chastised by Dutch.

During the gang's stay, Micah gets arrested in the logging town of Strawberry while on patrol with Lenny. Dutch realizes he can't go for what happened in Blackwater, so he asks Arthur to go, but before he could, he needed to "calm Lenny's nerves" at the local saloon in Valentine first. This ends either in them both being arrested or waking up in the countryside. After his night of debauchery, Arthur sets out to rescue Micah, albeit reluctantly. After Micah decides to shoot up the entire town just for his "precious guns" he and Arthur part ways outside of Strawberry, with Micah refusing to go back to Dutch without a "peace offering". After a few days, Arthur proceeds to accompany Micah on his offer to rob a coach north of Strawberry and while it gets attacked by O'Driscolls. They are successful in the robbery and Micah returns to camp once more.

A few days later, Hosea and Arthur go on a hunting trip in the eastern Ambarino for a "1000 pound" Grizzly bear. After the hunt proves to be too much for the aging Matthews, they either part ways or return to camp together. Not long after, Hosea has a lead at the local Ranch which leads to a stagecoach robbery and a new affiliate, Seamus, who agrees to buy stolen wagons for Arthur. While all these events unfold, Abigail wishes for young Jack to go somewhere outside of the camp, so she asks Arthur to take him fishing. While out fishing, Morgan is approached by Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross, two members of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. They offer Arthur his freedom in exchange for Dutch van der Linde. When Arthur refuses, he suggests leaving camp, but Dutch disagrees, instead suggesting they stay. Arthur is hesitant, but agrees with Dutch.

After these events, John has an idea. Him and Arthur would steal a herd of sheep that was coming into coming into Valentine to be auctioned off. The job proves successful, and they take the herd to Valentine. When the duo attempt to sell the herd, the livestock manager demands 25% off the sale. The price is reduced to 18%, which Arthur gets upset about but brushes off when John and Arthur go to meet Dutch and Leopold Strauss in the local saloon. However, their casual drink goes south when Dutch is confronted by Leviticus Cornwall who takes John and Strauss hostage. A shootout soon follows with Strauss being wounded and the gang having no choice but to shoot their way out and agree to split up. After regrouping back at camp, Dutch knows they can't stay and decides to head South-East. At first, he wants Arthur and Charles to check out an area just over the Lemoyne state line called Dewberry Creek, but less proves to be to open and the gang instead find a small clearing at the edge of Flat Iron Lake, called Clemens Point.

Clemens Point Chapter

A few days after the move down south, Dutch and Arthur plan on going fishing with Hosea. Not long into the journey they come across an arrested Trelawny, whom they eventfully free. After helping the local law with a group of criminals, and their fishing trip, they try to play the locals as deputy Sheriffs after getting the sheriff drunk. After helping the sheriff take care of the Lemoyne Raiders, the gang begin to investigate the feuding families, the Grays and Braithwaites. Arthur takes the Grays while Hosea takes the Braithwaites which leads them to believe that the families are fighting over lost gold and the gang hopes to it.

During his investigation of the Grays, Arthur comes across young Beau Gray who is romantically involved with Penelope Braithwaite which Arthur reluctantly gets involved in to find out more about the gold. After running back and forth for them the end result leads him no further to the gold but with a good standing with Beau and therefor, the Grays as a whole.

After their investigation the gang decides to offload the moonshine they stole right back to the rightful owners, for a price. After surprisingly allowing them to keep it another surprise comes when Catharine Braithwaite tells them to give it away in the Gray controlled town of Rhodes. This sets Hosea with good standing with the Braithwaites while Arthur teams up with John and Javier to steal the Braithwaites prize horses. After the sale comes up to be little over 1/8 of what was promised, Arthur sets sights on destroying the Grays tobacco fields with Sean McGuire. This nets some money, but not as much as promised and is not leading them any close to the gold which is beginning to look more and more made up as things progress.

During all of this, Bill of all people plans on robbing the bank in Valentine that he feels was to go good to let go. Reluctantly, Arthur joins and the heist proves to be useful as it nets in a large sum of cash for the camp and it's members. After the bank job, Lenny plans his own job, robbing the Lemoyne Raiders hideout of weapons. This, like the bank job, proves fruitful as he gang now has weapons and explosives to sell and use.

Later on, Arthur and Charles go to see Trelawny about the bounty hunters and "super agents" he spoke of. While investigating his caravan, they deduce he was kidnapped by said bounty hunters and requires rescue. After saving their British friend, they all agree for Trelawny to stay at camp for safety. A few days later, after recovering from his brush with mortality, he sends Arthur to help him rob a stagecoach out past Rhodes. Like other previous heists, this proves to be good as they both walk away with money in their pockets and their new mutual friend, Alden.

Also during their stay, Sadie Adler begins to become angry with Pearson for she refuses to keep chopping vegetables. In response, Arthur takes her into town and after telling her what not to do, they leave with Sadie gaining a new outfit. On their way home they get ambushed by the Lemoyne Raiders. After Sadie instigates the situation further and starts a shootout with them, they kill them all and return to camp with the food.

During their tenure in Scarlet Meadows, Pearson says that he ran into some O'Driscoll's in town and tells the gang they wish to "parley". Fearing it to be an obvious trap, Micah and Dutch confront Colm in The Heartlands while Arthur watches over them with a rifle. However the whole thing dose prove to be a trap but for Arthur and not Dutch. They plan on holding Arthur until Dutch comes and then they turn him in and run away from the law. The plan does not come to fruition as Arthur, even while injured, manages to escape. He is then put on bed rest for a few weeks before going back out into the world.

After everything that has happened, Arthur meets Bill, Sean and Micah in Rhodes to talk to the Grays about a protection job. The job is actually bait for when the gang stop in town, Sean is killed immediately and the entire town erupts in gunfire. After killing all the lawmen, only one remains. Sheriff Gray. Gray has taken Bill hostage and tells the gang they will all perish before dying himself in a duel with Arthur. They then proceed to bury Sean outside of camp with Arthur saying "he was like an annoying little brother".

After returning to camp, Morgan is informed by Dutch that Jack has gone missing and was taken by Braithwaites. The main members of the gang, Dutch, Arthur, Javier, Bill, Lenny, Hosea and of course the boy's father, John march to Braithwaite Manor in the night. This leads to an epic and bloody showdown with the Van der Linde gang vs the entire Braithwaite family (sans Penelope) which ends with the Van der Linde gang victorious. After killing her sons and nephews, the gang confront the matriarch herself, Catharine Braithwaite. In retaliation for Jack's capture, the gang ultimately burns the mansion to the ground and leave Catharine to die with her house after she tells them that her sons sold him to Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis.

Saint Denis Chapter

The morning after the Battle for Braithwaite Manor, The gang think on what to do on how to get Jack back when, seemingly out of nowhere, Pinkerton agents Milton and Ross show up and demand Dutch turn himself and in exchange, allow every member to flee and not be hunted. The gang obviously refuse and realize that with the shootout in Rhodes and now this, that they need to move, and fast. Arthur tells Dutch that he knows a place deep in the bayou called, Shady Bell. After clearing out the former "tenants", Dutch tasks Arthur with searching Saint Denis in hopes of finding Bronte.

After finding his home, Dutch, Arthur and John walk in and demand that Bronte hand over Jack. He eventfully follows through on this after having John and Arthur clear the local cemetery of robbers. During this, Dutch receives an invitation to the mayor's party. Upon his return the gang celebrate and party over Jack's return and their new home.

Not long after the move, Tilly is captured by the Foreman Brothers south of Rhodes, forcing Arthur and Susan Grimshaw to rescue her. During this rescue another is missed as Kieran is captured by the O'Driscoll gang and is tortured by them for days, presumably. Following the rescue of Tilly, Arthur is taken by Dutch and Hosea to the Mayor's house with Bill to find out any information they can find. After the party proves fruitful, Arthur is given several leads including info about a riverboat heist and to help Evelyn Miller with the Natives.

Arthur later on meets with Trelawny in Saint Denis where they get Arthur a suit and proper haircut to rob the river boat. After the heist proves fruitful and Morgan eventfully helps Miller with the Natives, by invading Cornwall Kerosene & Tar with Eagle Flies he meets with Dutch to rob the trolley station, but their planning is cut short when a headless Kieran comes into camp on horseback. Following this, a large gun battle ensues between the Van der Linde gang and the O'Driscoll's with the former shining victorious. This event is what eventually pushes Dutch to rob the station, and fast. Later on, in Saint Denis, Dutch, Lenny and Arthur rob the station, which ends up sour for as Bronte lied and the station had little to no money. After an escape that ended with crashing a trolley car and Dutch banging his head badly, they now set their sights on Bronte and plan to rob the bank in Saint Denis.

After meeting with a local fisherman, Thomas in Lagras, Dutch takes Arthur with him to make deal for Thomas to float them to the dock behind Bronte's mansion. After helping Thomas and his friend Jules with a gator problem, they are ready to hit Bronte for the trolley and to hit the bank. The following evening, the gang prepare for the raid on the Bronte Estate. After clearing all his hired guns and body guards they find him, hiding in a bathtub. After shooting their way out and back to the boat, Dutch grows angry with Bronte after the latter insults him and calls his men fools for not taking his money. After enough belittlement, Dutch snaps and drowns Bronte and proceeds to throw him overboard in the path of an alligator. After such a, traumatic event to say the least, John angrily asks Dutch what part of his books talk about feeding someone to an alligator. Dutch brushes off the event as "something that needed to be done" and "it is either us, or him". After this and Arthur now scarred they move on with the bank heist.

Now with Bronte out of the picture and the gang ready to leave, they wait until morning and stage the robbery. However the robbery goes south when Pinkerton Agents grab Hosea and Abigail and hold them hostage while having the whole bank surrounded. Abigail manages to slip away while Hosea is shot dead in the streets of Saint Denis with Dutch and the gang watching in horror. After blowing a hole in the wall, and escaping to the roof John is arrested and Lenny is killed by Pinkertons. After finding shelter in an abandoned apartment, the gang devises a plan to wait until nightfall and sneak aboard a boat. This actually turns into a good plan as all surviving members, save for Charles who snuck away to cause a diversion so the rest of the gang can sneak aboard a boat.

After boarding they cut a deal with the captain to have them go to northern Cuba and then Argentina and around the cape to Tahiti. These plans do not come to fruition as a storm sinks the ship and causes everyone to run for safety with the Van der Linde gang landing on the island of Guarma.

Guarma Chapter

TBA

Beaver Hollow Chapter

Following the events of Guarma, and the attack on Lakay, the Gang need to relocate and since they can't go much farther east they have to head north. Dutch has Arthur and Charles scout Beaver Hollow, an old cave inhabited by The Murfree Brood. After clearing the caves and setting up camp, the gang run into Molly O'Shea, drunck and claiming she rat out the gang to the Pinkertons. This conversation is cut short with Miss Grimshaw's shotgun.

Later, in Saint Denis, Sadie hatches a plan for Arthur to fly above Sisaka Penitentiary in hot air balloon to scope out the place to break him out later on. After getting the pilot killed and being chased by O'Driscolls through Roanoke Ridge they fight their way to a river bank after crashing the balloon and formulate a plan to free John. They later meet at Copperhead Landing just west of the island, Arthur sees Abigail and Sadie arguing and after finishing the argument for them, he and Sadie go in and rescue him. After a hostage situation turned shootout ensues, they book it for Beaver Hollow where an angry Dutch and a surprisingly happy Micah. Arthur watches in shock as Dutch screams at him, John and Sadie for their actions.

After day dreaming, Arthur is informed to go to Annesburg to meet Dutch and Micah. Although hesitant he obliges and, like almost all of Dutch's plans, ends in a shootout after Dutch executes Cornwall in cold blood. The shootout leaves the gang with information on Cornwall's refinery. With this new information Dutch formulates a plan to start a war between the army and the natives to be a distraction so they can get a boat and leave. Micah on the other hand is planning on Arthur and Bill to steal a wagon of Dynamite in Van Horn coming from Annesburg to Saint Denis. The plan goes successful with the exception of Van Horn on Lockdown due to the commotion and Dutch plans on using the TNT to blow up Bacchus Bridge.

Dutch on the other hand helps Eagle Flies steal back the Native American's horses and later uses some left over TNT to set a "humiliation" to the Army by setting it off en route. These plans only partly work with the former leading to rising conflict with the Army and the ladder is what causes eagle Flies to be captured. In the middle of all of this Arthur's expediential crisis hits it peek with him telling John to leave while the gang slowly tears itself apart, while blowing up the bridge. And if the player has done both of Strauss' loan sharking missions then Arthur will feel remorse for his actions and kick Strauss out of camp and there for the gang. Also, if the player so choses, Arthur goes to Wapiti to try and help the chief Rains Fall who only wants peace while his son wants war. After trying to help Morgan with his illness, Arthur tries to help Captain Monroe, again at the players choice. After these errands, Arthur sees Trelawny in camp with his bags packed and tells him to leave now, after this he agrees to meet with Colonel Favours and Capt. Monroe on the rising conflict. Unsurprisingly, the meeting turns into shootout with the loss of countless Army lives and retirement of Monroe. Depending if Arthur met Sister Calderon he will talk to either her or Reverend Swanson and, depending on his honor will be given an uplifting and heartfelt speech about how he doing good and is trying to help people or that he is still a bad person but tries to make up for it. No matter what choice is made, Reverend Swanson still leaves the gang.

Following these events, Arthur visits Rains Fall again and is informed that he being held at Fort Wallace, Arthur goes with Charles despite Rains Fall's objections. They wait until nightfall all the while talking about Arthur's sickness and imminent demise with Charles reassuring Arthur that he now has a choice on weather he will die a good man or not. After scouting, Morgan and Smith break in silently and find Eagle Flies, but the Army is soon alerted and the trio must escape to the river where Charles has two boats on standby. After the lengthy shootout they reach a safe spot where they talk about what to do next. Eagle Flies wants revenge but Charles tells him it is futile and that it is not what his father wants. Eagle Flies rebels but cannot do anything until his wounds heal. Arthur, sick and dying sits on a rock and thinks about the future for him and the gang.

Back at camp Dutch plans a raid on a train when Eagle Flies rides in and makes it clear that he wants blood before being cut off by his father who pleads with his son about what he is doing to which Eagle Flies replies that his father is weak and has mistaken it for sympathy. Dutch and what's left of the gang ride after Eagle Flies with exclaiming that this is perfect and its what they need. John, fed up with all of Dutch's "plans" sharply remarks with "what plan Dutch? What GODDAMN PLAN!?". After a slight argument ensues, the gang are somewhat calmed by Dutch until they see a Native that has been shot and says that Eagle Flies needs help. After arriving at the plant, they find it completely in flames and ruin and under attack. The gang splits off, with Bill, Javier, John and Dutch attacking from the front with Arthur, Charles, Sadie and the Natives attacking from the rear and saving Eagle Flies. After saving Eagle Flies and reuniting with Dutch and the rest, Arthur and Dutch go into the refinery and find several thousands worth of state bonds. After they leave the office more Army troops raid the building with Colonel Favours leading them. After trying to escape, a pipe bursts and Arthur is temporality stunned, in this moment Dutch, who could easily grab Arthur, turns and leaves. Arthur, helpless, lies there as an Army solider attempts to stab him, but before he can, Eagle Flies swoops in to save him, but is caught off guard by Favours and shot in the torso before Arthur shoots the colonel back. After this the gang goes back o camp with Arthur and Charles going to Wapiti to try and save Eagle Flies. On the way there, they discuss how the gang has fallen and they're nothing more than killers. By the time they reach Wapiti, Eagle Flies passes on in his fathers tent with his father weeping over what has happened. Charles then decides to stay with the Natives and helps them pack up and leave, this marks the end of Charles as a member of the gang.

Arthur heads back to camp where Dutch is planning a robbery on a train delivering U.S Army payroll to the Soldiers. During the ride to Saint Denis Arthur and John head off to get the explosives were Arthur tells John when the robbery is over he should pack up his family and leave, believing the gang will soon fall apart. During the train robbery John gets shot and falls off the train, Dutch leaves to rescue John but then leaves him due to Arthur insisting that they let him go.

After the robbery, Tilly comes to Dutch telling him that the Pinkertons have kidnapped Abigail, he refuses to rescue her claiming she's a lost cause. This was the final straw for Arthur, so him and Sadie go after her but first Arthur tells Tilly to leave and make a better life for herself and then they leave to get Abigail back.

Arthur and Sadie kill all the Pinkertons but Sadie gets captured by Agent Milton leading to the fight between Arthur and Milton were Arthur, due to his terminal tuberculosis is rapidly losing his strength. Milton proceeds to tell Arthur that Micah has been telling them what the gang has been up to and their plans ever since he returned from Gaurma. Then Abigail shoots Milton in the head, saving Arthur's life. On the ride back Arthur tells Sadie to take Abigail to Jack and Tilly were they say there lasts goodbyes before Arthur goes to confront Dutch.

When Arthur gets to camp he confronts Micah and Dutch, yelling that Micah is a rat and traitor and that he has been telling the Pinkertons about their plans all along. At first Micah continues to deny this, then John arrives holding his wounds and yelling at Dutch saying that he "left him to die" with Dutch responding that he had no choice. Micah and Arthur continue to argue about his betrayal witch ends in a standoff. Dutch yells out and asks everyone present about who is standing with him and who is abandoning him before Micah kills Mrs. Grimshaw.

Shortly after that, the Pinkertons led by Edgar Ross, assault the gang's hideout in full force, intent on capturing Dutch and the rest of the gang.

Arthur and John escape into the caves leaving Dutch and the gang to fight off the Pinkertons. If the player goes for the money he will be confronted by Micah and Dutch. If Arthur helps John they will continue to run up the Mountain until they get to the top. There Arthur will stop and tell John he cannot go any further and demands that John go to his family and make a better life for himself and not suffer the same fate as Arthur himself. John tells Arthur to keep on pushing to which Arthur responds by telling him to be a man and leave.

After John's departure,Arthur stays behind and fights on the the Pinkertons on the Mountain until he is attacked by Micah and both men end up falling down onto a cliff lower down the Mountain were the two engage in a violent fisfight till Micah pulls out his revolver, Arthur charges at Micah and grabs him, with the two then struggling for the gun until Arthur pistol whips Micah in the nose knocking the gun out of Micha's hand and sending both him and Arthur falling to the ground. Arthur is, by this point, dying due to his tuberculosis and desperately crawls across the area for Micah's gun but Dutch stops him when he is about to grab the gun. Dutch tells Arthur that it is over, to which the dying Arthur responds to Dutch that he gave him everything he had, his loyalty, his respect. Micah tells Dutch they have the money and that they made it but Arthur says that John made it and that he tried his best but couldn't. Micah keeps insisting that they go and get the money but a shocked Dutch walks away when the Pinkertons assault the location.

Depending on the player's current honor level Micah will either finish off Arthur or he will run away. If Micah runs away then Arthur, with his last strength crawls over to and lays down on a rock overlooking the mountain, seeing one last peaceful sunrise before peacefully passing away.

Regardless of which ending plays out, the Beaver Hollow shootout marks the end of the Van der Linde gang.

Epilogue

After the events of Beaver Hollow and the final downfall of the Van der Linde gang, several of the surviving gang members going off on their separate ways:

• Micah goes on to form his own gang, taking Cleet and Joe with him. In 1907, he is eventually tracked down by Marston, Sadie, Charles and, with the help of Dutch, murdered in retaliation for his betrayal years prior.
• By 1907 Sadie becomes a bounty hunter and shotgun messenger. After getting vengeance on Micah, she expresses a desire to leave the country. After attending John and Abigail's wedding she presumably leaves the Western States, she had mentioned that she would like to go to South America while continuing her bounty hunter work so it is quite possible that she headed there.
• Charles assisted the Wapiti tribe in moving to Canada, then became a street fighter in Saint Denis. After helping John and Uncle build their house at Beacher's Hope he would go on to help Sadie and John track down and kill Micah as well. He mentions wanting to move to Canada to start a family. After attending John and Abigail's wedding, he presumably heads North to go start a family.
• John and his family move to the Yukon in search of gold, hoping to raise money to buy some land. They return to New Hanover in 1907, and eventually settle down as ranchers in the Great Plains region after John purchases Beecher's Hope on loan. He was able to get some of his former gang members Uncle and Charles to help him build his Ranch House, after it's construction Uncle stuck around and lived with John's family. In the same year Sadie Adler tracked John down and with the help of Charles again they successfully tracked down Micah for his betrayal of the gang years before. By 1911 in Red Dead Redemption John would be blackmailed by the Pinkerton Detective Agency into tracking down his still active gang members including Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella and Dutch Van der Linde.
• Mary-Beth becomes a well known romance author due to her passion for reading.
• Tilly married a lawyer in Saint Denis and the two live happily there, they also had a child but it is only mentioned.
• Karen's whereabouts are unknown at first but, after John meets Tilly, she will speculate in her letter to him that Karen didn't stop drinking over Sean's death and drank herself to death.
• Trelawny left for Saint Denis where he started a family. Although he has a happy life there he commonly disappears on his family for long periods of time just like he did with the gang.
• Javier traveled back to Mexico and was reported to be living in the mountainous regions around 1907. He eventually becomes a mercenary and by 1911 in Red Dead Redemption, he is became a hitman for the Governor of Nuevo Paraiso, Colonel Agustin Allende.
• Bill at this point is unknown but he would go on to form his own gang by the events of Red Dead Redemption. They would become the de-facto remaining outlaw gang of the Rio Bravo region of New Austin by 1911.
• After Reverend Swanson left in Chapter 6 he went on to lead a large congregation in New York by 1907,as seen in a newspaper by John Marston.
• Pearson moved to Rhodes and took over the general store, he mentions how he is now married as well, he greets John as friends when they meet again in 1907.
• Dutch's activities and whereabouts become shrouded in mystery and rumors. Some sources claim that he died, but several sightings of him alive and well throughout the years dispute this. One story claimed that Dutch died in a fire following a bungled robbery in 1906, but he was then spotted a year later in Tall Trees. Dutch would resurface briefly in 1907 to kill Micah Bell only to vanish once more.

Events of Red Dead Redemption

In 1911, John was forced by Bureau of Investigation agents, Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham, into hunting down the last known survivors of the Van der Linde gang at the time. Acting on a tip from a Bureau informant in the area, John confronted Bill Williamson directly at Fort Mercer in New Austin, but was once again shot and left for dead by one of his lieutenants. Rescued by local rancher Bonnie MacFarlane, John later assembled a ragtag group of lawmen and other characters to penetrate the fort, but Williamson managed to escape in the climactic shootout and fled across the border to Nuevo Paraíso.

Following the trail, Marston found himself embroiled in the chaotic Mexican Revolution of 1911, assisting with numerous military operations for the provincial military government in order to coerce Colonel Allende into helping find Williamson and Escuella, the latter of whom was revealed to be in the area shortly after John arrived. After his betrayal and near-execution by Allende's enforcer Vincente de Santa, John discovers that both outlaws had been given shelter by Allende before he arrived, and so began working with rebel leader Abraham Reyes to bring Williamson and Escuella out of hiding by toppling the local government. Marston joins up with Reyes' rebel army in a raid on El Presidio where Escuella is taken down and delivered to the Bureau. In a subsequent assault on the colonel's palace in Escalera, Williamson and Allende are both cornered and killed.

Upon delivering Javier Escuella to Bureau agents Ross and Fordham, John learns that Dutch van der Linde had survived his original gang's dissolution and resurfaced in West Elizabeth with an army of disgruntled young natives. After lengthy preparation and numerous close encounters with Dutch himself, Marston leads an assault on Dutch's hideout of Cochinay in Tall Trees with the help of the Bureau and US Army. In the climactic final confrontation, a mortally wounded Dutch throws himself from the mountain cliffs, electing to commit suicide over being captured or shot, thus putting an end to his decades-long crime spree.

Some time after Dutch's death, John Marston and Uncle are killed by a joint Bureau-Army attack on the Marston ranch. Abigail would later pass away in 1914, effectively leaving Jack Marston as the last known surviving member of the Van der Linde gang.

Members

The following are members who served among the gang's ranks since its formation around 1877 until its demise during the events of 1899.

Member	Role	Mount	Tenure	Status
Dutch van der Linde	founder, leader	The Count	c. 1877 - c. 1899	Deceased
Hosea Matthews	co-founder, co-leader; conman, grifter	Silver Dollar	c. 1877 - c. 1899	Deceased
Arthur Morgan	lead enforcer, gunman	Boadicea (formerly) Buell (determinant)	c. 1877 - c. 1899	Deceased
Susan Grimshaw	arbiter	None	c. 1877 - c. 1899	Deceased
Bessie Matthews	Hosea's wife	Unknown	unknown	Deceased
Annabelle	Dutch's former lover	Unknown	unknown	Deceased
John Marston	gunman	Old Boy Rachel (post-gang)	c. 1885 - c. 1899	Deceased
Simon Pearson	cook, butcher	None	unknown - c. 1899	Alive
Uncle	thief	Nell (presumably) Nell II Nell III (presumably; post-gang) Nell IV (post-gang)	unknown - c. 1899	Deceased
Abigail Roberts	former prostitute	None	c. 1894 - c. 1899	Deceased
Bill Williamson	gunman	Brown Jack	c. 1894 - c. 1899	Deceased
Javier Escuella	gunman	Boaz	c. 1895 - c. 1899	Deceased
Leopold Strauss	bookkeeper, accountant, head loan shark	none	unknown - c. 1899	Deceased
Sean MacGuire	gunman	Ennis	unknown - c. 1899	Deceased
Molly O'Shea	Dutch's lover, conwoman	none	unknown - c. 1899	Deceased
Tilly Jackson	maidhand	Unnamed Tennessee Walker	unknown - c. 1899	Alive
Mary-Beth Gaskill	thief	Unnamed Tennessee Walker	unknown - c. 1899	Alive
Karen Jones	conwoman, thief, gunwoman	Old Belle	unknown - c. 1899	Unknown
Josiah Trelawny	conman	Gwydion	unknown - c. 1899	Unknown
Orville Swanson	priest	none	unknown - c. 1899	Alive
Mac Callander	gunman	unknown	unknown - May 1899	Deceased
Davey Callander	gunman	unknown	unknown - May 1899	Deceased
Unknown Male	former gang member, traitor	unknown	unknown	Deceased
Lenny Summers	gunman	Maggie	c. 1898 - c. 1899	Deceased
Charles Smith	gunman, scout	Taima Falmouth (post-gang)	c. 1898 - c. 1899	Alive
Jenny Kirk	conwoman	Unknown	c. 1898 - May 1899	Deceased
Micah Bell	gunman, hitman	Baylock	c. 1898 - c. 1899	Deceased
Sadie Adler	gunwoman	Bob Hera (post-gang)	c. May 1899	Alive
Kieran Duffy	gunman	Branwen	c. May 1899	Deceased
Cleet	gunman, associate of Micah	Unnamed Morgan	c. June 1899	Deceased
Joe	gunman, associate of Micah	Unnamed Morgan	c. June 1899	Deceased

Associates

• Jack Marston - child of John and Abigail, raised by the gang
• Copper - former camp dog owned by Arthur
• Cain - the camp dog, discovered by Jack at Clemens Point
• Seamus - fence met by Arthur and Hosea
• Alden Carruthers - crooked ticketmaster at Rhodes Post Office, who gives Arthur tips on stagecoaches worth robbing.
• Leigh Gray and Archibald MacGregor - lawmen of Rhodes (unwittingly; c. May 1899)
• Tavish Gray - patriarch of the Gray Family of Rhodes (c. May 1899)
• Catherine Braithwaite - matriarch of the Braithwaite Family of Rhodes (c. May 1899)
• Angelo Bronte - crime lord of Saint Denis (c. June 1899)
• Thomas - boatman in Lagras (c. June 1899)
• Hercule Fontaine and Leon Fuentes - rebel leaders in Guarma (c. June 1899)
• Eagle Flies - son of Wapiti Chief Rains Fall (c. June 1899)

Gallery

Main members of the Van der Linde gang in town. (From left to right) Javier Escuella, Arthur Morgan, Bill Williamson, Charles Smith, Dutch van der Linde

(From left to right) Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Dutch van der Linde, Cleet, Javier Escuella, Micah Bell

The gang's camp

Lenny Summers, Karen Jones, Arthur Morgan, and Bill Williamson fleeing a heist in Valentine

The gang sitting around a fire

(From left to right) Dutch van der Linde, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, Arthur Morgan, Cleet, Micah Bell, Sadie Adler, Joe

The gang as they appear in the first official artwork for Red Dead Redemption II. (From left to right) John Marston, Javier Escuella, Dutch van der Linde, Arthur Morgan,Bill Williamson, Micah Bell and Charles Smith.