Major spoilers forRed Dead Redemption&Red Dead Redemption 2!
By 1899, America was becoming a land of laws, with no room for outlaws and gangs. As such, the Van der Linde gang is presented inRed Dead Redemption 2as already on the decline, far from the glory days, and even worse off after a botched ferry heist in Blackwater. The events ofRed Dead Redemption 2aren’t the kindest to some members of the Van der Linde gang, but to others, they get to see another sunrise.
Those curious about what happened to all gang members inRed Dead Redemption 2might want to check out below to see the fates of the Van der Linde gang so that they can have peace of mind when it comes to these former outlaws, whether they live or die.
Arthur Morgan
The Troubled Outlaw Succumbs to His Illness
Arthur Morgan was Dutch Van der Linde’s protégé, and soon his right-hand man. Arthur was a strong arm in the gang, and undoubtedly one of their best gunslingers, who proved his loyalty with each breath and bullet. Due to the sins of the gang’s loansharking business, Arthur gets into a fight with a debtor, Thomas Downes, who coughs up blood into Arthur’s face, transmitting tuberculosis.
Pursued relentlessly by Pinkertons, and battling the terminal illness of TB, Arthur Morgan makes his last stand at Beaver Hollow where he helps John Marston escape to be with Abigail Roberts and their son, Jack. Unfortunately, Arthur Morgan succumbs to his injuries after a fight with the gang’s rat, Micah Bell, and passes away from tuberculosis while witnessing hisfinal sunrise.
The ending for Arthur Morgan as described is if players help John, but should they go back for the money instead, they will have a fatal fight with Micah Bell who will stab Arthur, thus killing him.
Abigail Roberts
Abigail Gets the Peaceful Life She Wants, Until the U.S. Army Finds Her
Abigail first met the gang as an orphan and a prostitute, and while she did sleep with most of the Van der Linde gang, her eyes fell for John Marston. The two eventually had a son, and although John was a reluctant and doubtful father, Abigail was a loving mother throughout. When the Van der Linde gang fell at Heaver Hollow, Abigail was already safe with the women and children at Copperhead Landing, where she would reunite with John Marston and flee to a better life where they would become farmers with land of their own in Beecher’s Hope.
Despite years of relative peace on Beecher’s Hope, Abigail is abducted in 1911 by government agents to force John Marston to kill the survivors of his old gang. Despite doing their bidding, Abigail loses her husband to the U.S. Army, and Abigail, consumed by grief, dies in 1914 at the age of 37. While it’s never stated what killed Abigail, the loss of John and her age could imply either alcoholism or a disease, like cancer.
Bill Williamson
A Brash Man Who Forms His Own Gang and is Hunted by John Marston
Dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army, Bill Williamson fell into a life of violence and frustration as he tried to find who he actually was, all while riding with the Van der Linde gang. Bill Williamson isn’t the smartest man in the gang, and his susceptibility to those smarter than him sees him loyal to the bitter end of Dutch Van der Linde.
After the gang falls apart at Beaver Hollow, Bill Williamson goes on his own whereby 1911, he has his own gang without his former family, and especially without Dutch, whom Bill seems to somewhat resent at this time. Despite having his own gang, and fleeing to Mexico, John Marston manages to catch up to him and kill him, as forced to by the U.S. Government.
Charles Smith
An Honorable Man Who Seeks a New Life in Canada
One of the newest members of the Van der Linde gang is also one of their best. Charles Smith is an extremely competent man who can both hold himself in a fight and hold his own ethics despite the outlaw nature of the gang. Charles is as decent as he is deadly, which is why he takes no part in the Van der Linde gang’s fall at Beaver Hollow.
By 1907, Charles is competing in fighting tournamentsin Saint Denis, but after reuniting with John Marston, elects to regroup and help build Beecher’s Hope, and eventually find and kill Micah Bell. After avenging Arthur Morgan by helping to kill Micah, Charles leaves Beecher’s Hope and expresses interest in moving to Canada, free from his past sins, with interest in starting a family of his own.
Dutch Van der Linde
The Gang’s Charismatic Leader Lost Himself to Sanity and Gravity
There is perhaps nobody as charismatic and deadly as Dutch Van der Linde, a man who openly opposes government, encroaching civilization, and those who doubt him and his plans. Dutch Van der Linde’s charisma, and sanity, begin to slip as the Pinkertons squeeze the gang ever closer, and by 1899, Dutch has betrayed those most loyal to him like Arthur and John.
Dutch goes missing after his gang falls apart and isn’t seen until 1907 when he’s seen helping Micah get the money back from Blackwater. Dutch shoots Micah in a standoff, and leaves without saying a word to John, his former son. By 1911, Dutch had his own gang of savage Native Americans, who Dutch had manipulated into a band of killers. John Marston hunts Dutch, but before he can be killed, Dutch embraces death by falling off a cliff to commit suicide and avoid capture.
Hosea Matthews
The Voice of Reason in Dutch’s Ear, Killed by Pinkertons
Hosea Matthews might not be the best gunslinger, nor a man who can fight against Father Time, but he is a genius when it comes to being a con artist. Hosea is a great thief, and the closest friend of Dutch Van der Linde, which often sees the two hold heated debates about what the best strategy for the gang is. For Dutch, Hosea is the voice of reason, which is why chaos brews in the gang after his death.
Hosea sends the Van der Linde gang to rob the Lemoyne National Bank in Saint Denis, with himself acting as a prime distraction. However, Hosea is captured by the Pinkertons and held hostage outside the bank, where the Van der Linde gang is forced to witness Agent Milton execute Hosea with a gunshot to the chest.
Javier Escuella
A Dutch Loyalist Turned Mexican Government Hitman
Javier was a young man who killed the wrong man out in Mexico and was forced to flee to the United States of America. From here, he immediately fell in with the Van der Linde gang due to his strong beliefs in Dutch’s ideals, passion, and loyalty. This all but sealed Javier’s fate as he decided to stick by Dutch during the fall of Beaver Hollow, but he would ultimately leave in the disbandment of the gang to return home.
Javier left America to go back to Mexico. The price on Javier’s head soon caught up to him, as he became a forced hitman for Colonel Allende, a Governor of Nuevo Paraiso. Despite the Mexican Army’s protection of Javier, John Marston managed to capture and kill him in 1911 at the request of the Bureau of Investigation.
John Marston
A Family Man Who Was Killed by the U.S. Army After Doing Their Dirty Work
Often teased as the Golden Boy, John Marston would ride with Dutch Van der Linde ever since he was found at the age of 12 by the gang. John is just a young man, confused by his place in the universe as an unwilling father, husband, and outlaw. John’s confidence in questioning the leadership of Dutch is something that leads to the gang betraying him, where he is shot during a train robbery, and left to die. Despite this, John manages to escape to reunite with his family, and should Arthur Morgan help him, he will thank him as a brother.
By 1907, John Marston and Abigail Roberts settle down on some farmland of their own at Beecher’s Hope, but John enters into the cycle of revenge by finding and killing Micah Bell, the gang’s former rat, which draws the attention of the Bureau of Investigation. By 1911, John is forced by the Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the surviving Van der Linde gang in order to save his wife and son. Despite doing their dirty work, John is killed by the U.S. Army at his ranch, where he makes his brave last stand to hold them off so that Abigail and Jack can escape.
Jack Marston
The Last Surviving Member of the Van der Linde Gang Joins the Cycle of Revenge
Little Jack Marston only ever knew the Van der Linde gang as his family, and his innocence was kept in place due to how the gang would be careful when shielding him from the criminal elements of their lives. With Abigail Roberts as a loving mother, Jack was coddled in his youth, and sheltered to lead the life of a more modern citizen who adores literature and the mundane of life, over that of outlaws and murder.
When the gang begins to fall apart with the Pinkertons reaching ever closer, Jack is taken by Tilly Jackson to Copperhead Landing to await escape with his mother. By 1911, Jack was a teen who would often read at the family farm in Beecher’s Hope, and despite his strained relationship with his father, John Marston, the two did love each other – to the point where by 1914, Jack Marston would throw his life away to engage in the cycle of revenge by becoming the last surviving outlaw of the Van der Linde gang after finding and killing Edgar Ross, the Bureau of Investigation agent who had his father murdered.
Josiah Trelawney
A Flamboyant Conman Leaves the Gang to Be With His Wife and Kids in Saint Denis
Few conmen are as flamboyant and skillful as Josiah Trelawney, who may not exactly be a man with a smoking gun, but he will be a man of many charismatic talents, with friends seemingly everywhere, and leads that always result in plenty of cash. Josiah Trelawney was a good friend of Dutch Van der Linde, who often brought good leads, and tried to steer clear of the other less clean and sophisticated members of the gang.
Trelawney often has a talent for disappearing, and he uses this talent for his final adieu, he leaves Beaver Hollow and leaves the criminal life behind togo be with his family, which includes a wife and two sons in Saint Denis.
