Description

The fearless leader of a band of outlaws. ## Personality Dutch was born in 1855 to a woman of English descent named Greta and a father of Dutch ancestry somewhere near Philadelphia. His father fought for the Union in the American Civil War and died in a battle that occurred in Pennsylvania; because of his father's death, Van der Linde developed a sworn grudge against Southerners. At the age of 15, he left his home as he was a disobedient child and rarely got along with his mother, who died in 1881 and was buried in Blackwater, although Dutch only found out several years later from an uncle of his. Van der Linde valued freedom and liberties above all else and dreamed of living an independent existence. To attain these desires, Dutch began to resort to a life of crime. In the mid-1870s,[2] Dutch met a con artist named Hosea Matthews at a campfire on the road to Chicago. Hosea attempted to con and rob him only to realize that Dutch likewise had done the same and stolen from him. Impressed by the other's skills, the pair laughed and decided to partner up and face the future together, founding the famous Van der Linde gang.Later that year, Dutch and Hosea encountered a 14 year-old street orphan named Arthur Morgan. The pair decided to take the boy under their wing. Teaching him how to read, write, hunt, fight, shoot and ride, Arthur became their first protege and alongside Hosea and Dutch, the trio would go on to comprise the old guard of the Van der Linde gang. Around this time, Dutch became romantically involved with a woman named Susan Grimshaw, who also became a member of the gang. He later ended his relationship with Susan as he met and deeply fell in love with a woman named Annabelle. Some time later Van der Linde met the infamous outlaw named Colm O'Driscoll and the leader of his own gang The O'Driscoll Boys. The two maintained a loose and uneasy partnership as Dutch disliked how Colm treated his own men as disposable, Colm likewise mocked Van der Linde for his philosophy in making a 'better world'. Although the exact reason is unknown, Dutch broke the truce and killed Colm's brother. In retaliation Colm murdered Annabelle which left Dutch greatly angered and heartbroken over her death. This event caused Dutch and Colm to become arch-enemies and sparked a years-long blood feud between the two rival gangs. In 1885, Dutch stumbled across a group of Illinois homesteaders who attempted to lynch a 12 year-old boy named John Marston, who had been caught stealing from them. Dutch intervened in saving the boy's life and inducted him into the gang. Dutch taught John how to read, write, fight, shoot and ride just like he had previously done with Arthur. Over time Dutch and Hosea came to regard Arthur and John as their favorite 'sons'. In 1887, Dutch led the gang's first major bank robbery alongside Hosea and young Arthur. At 2 o'clock, the trio burst into the banking house of Lee and Hoyt and held up the staff and customers. As a result of the robbery the gang made off with $5000 in gold. After the robbery they lingered in town; going to hovels, shanties, and orphanages handing out money; envisioning themselves as 'Robin Hood' figures in the process. It was around this period where Dutch became a wanted man and earned a price on his head. In 1893, Dutch encountered a drunk veteran named Bill Williamson who attempted to rob him. However Dutch simply laughed at him and his disorderly conduct which infuriated Bill at first but Dutch encouraged him and inducted him into the gang. Although Bill lacked conventional intelligence Dutch came to value his loyalty. In 1895, Dutch was stealing some chickens where he came across a young Mexican exile named Javier Escuella who attempted to do the same. Alone and starving, Dutch fed him, wrapped him in warm clothing and soon inducted him into the gang. Javier came to value and idolize Dutch's philosophy and became one of his most loyal members. One night, Dutch and Hosea went to a bar in North Elizabeth where they encountered a young Irishman named Sean MacGuire who became fixated on his fancy pocket watch. Overconfident he followed the pair out down an alleyway and attempted to rob them. Dutch and Hosea simply laughed at him as Sean discovered that they had spotted him earlier and unloaded the bullets out of his gun. Instead of killing him, they took Sean into the gang. At this time, Dutch was an altruistic and idealistic rogue, believing the gang could make a difference in the world. He fashioned himself into something of a Robin Hood-like figure, taking money from the rich and wealthy who had plenty of it, and giving it to the poor and destitute who needed it. He saw himself as a symbol of the Wild West in its romanticized form, and a humanitarian champion of the people, opposing government control and corporate exploitation while supporting individual liberty and punishing general human cruelty and selfishness. His romantic image and charisma inspired his gang to believe in his anarchistic vision of a "savage utopia", and it was in the name of Dutch and his cause that they committed many violent crimes such as murder and robbery. By 1899, Dutch was reluctantly starting to realize that the way of life he held so dear was quickly becoming an increasingly unrealistic proposition and that the days of the Wild West were coming to an end, no matter how much he might try to prevent it. In 1898, Dutch looked to sell a cache of stolen gold, aggravating the locals in the process. The deal went south and nearly resulted in him being killed in a bar fight in Crenshaw Hills. Fortunately Dutch was saved by a career outlaw named Micah Bell who was then accepted into the gang. While Dutch took a particular liking towards Micah, Hosea and Arthur found him to be argumentative, reckless and hot-headed.The Van der Linde gang attempted an ambitious ferry robbery in Blackwater and managed to make it off with an immense take of $150,000, but it ended in disaster, and the gang was forced to flee into the mountains of Ambarino during a heavy blizzard to escape the heat. The specifics of the heist are never fully revealed, but it's known that Dutch brutally killed a defenseless young woman named Heidi McCourt during it. The events of Blackwater shook Hosea's faith in Dutch, though he admits that his faith in their mission had been dead for a long time before this. Dutch and his gang reluctantly travel into the heart of the blizzard in a wagon convoy, where they rest up in a small abandoned mining town called Colter. Dutch gives an inspirational speech to the gang and heads out with Arthur to meet up with either John or Micah, who went scouting. They come across Micah, who tells Dutch that he found a homestead which appears to have a party going on, and the three head out to investigate. After showing up at the homestead, the gang members soon discover that the residents are all O'Driscolls when Dutch approaches the door and Micah finds a dead body hidden inside a nearby wagon. A shootout erupts, with Dutch, Arthur and Micah eliminating them. After searching the house, they find a hysterical victim of the O'Driscolls named Sadie. Dutch comforts Sadie and puts a blanket around her, before taking her back to camp. A few days later, Dutch and the gang attack some O'Driscolls camped nearby. The mission is a success, and the gang learns about a Cornwall train traveling nearby and finds dynamite that the O'Driscolls were going to use to take it out. The gang then moves to attack the train themselves, and although the dynamite fails to go off, the train is eventually stopped and its loot is taken by the gang. Now with some money in their pockets, and the spring thaw coming, Dutch decides to finally depart from the mountains and head down south to warmer pastures. Not long after arriving at the new camp location, Micah is arrested in the town of Strawberry. Knowing he can't go to Strawberry himself due to being wanted in the area, Dutch sends Arthur to break Micah out. Later, Arthur reports to Dutch that he was approached by the Pinkertons, who know roughly where the gang were set up. Arthur then urges Dutch to relocate, but Van der Linde says that it's merely an attempt to scare the gang into doing something unwise and has the gang stay put for the time being. Dutch and Strauss go to Valentine to see John and Arthur after their rustling of sheep. During the visit, Leviticus Cornwall and his hired guns capture Strauss and John outside the saloon, and demand that Dutch come outside. Dutch and Arthur rescue them, before fighting their way out of the town back to camp. Realizing that they can't stay in the area, he decides to move further east, and sends Charles and Arthur to investigate an area in Lemoyne for a new camp location. Dutch himself is shown to be a merciless killer who justifies killing innocent people or lawmen as a way of combating the corruption of the federal government. Despite his brutal ways, Dutch is educated and, unlike many outlaws, genuinely believes he is committing these crimes for idealistic reasons rather than greed. His anti-government and pro-individualist idealism, combined with his natural charisma, attracted a following of people who had been downtrodden by the society they lived in. Several members of the gang were orphans, minorities, town drunks, former prostitutes and other lowlifes; people who had felt they had no purpose until they joined the gang and Dutch gave them one. This created a strong sense of unity within the gang and a great sense loyalty to Dutch. Despite at times being rather brutal in his methods, Dutch would often joke around with his fellow gang members and had a kind, playful disposition. He would often make motivational speeches to encourage the gang to come together in times of hardship while preaching that "loyalty" and "faith" were among the highest and most honorable tenets. Before Hosea's demise, he often consulted him and Arthur on important decisions, putting it to a discussion and vote between the three of them when deciding on the direction of the gang, demonstrating how much their opinions meant to him. Dutch employed a highly flexible command system within the gang. At the peak of his power, Dutch displayed genuine compassion for his fellow gang members and treated them as family members in a way that made them feel appreciated. He complimented them on their resilience and ability, thanked them for their loyalty and their work, and saw to it that they were supplied, fed, and sheltered. His generosity endeared him to new members, many of whom had known little but harshness, pain, and struggle. His capacity to believe in others and help them believe in themselves was in turn reciprocated. Although he demanded that members give loyalty and do their share for the gang as a whole, he also encouraged them to be themselves as well as to make use of their free time to optimize their own talents and skill sets. At his best, Dutch commanded a balanced brand of leadership that not only required followers to have structure and discipline but also allowed them to express freedom and individuality. He had utmost faith in his gang to overcome almost any situation regardless of the odds and regarded his most capable lieutenants, such as Arthur Morgan and John Marston, as his collective ace in the hole. Throughout his life, Van der Linde demonstrated incredible courage, although by 1899, his fearlessness often overlapped into recklessness. Whether facing rival gang leaders, powerful men, or law enforcement, Dutch had no qualms with confronting any such opponent head-on, and in the face of imminent danger and gunfire, he often stood at the front of his gang. He displayed this courage most brazenly during the confrontation at Braithwaite Manor, where he approached the Manor full of gunmen directly despite being in the line of fire and sought little cover during the ensuing firefight; and when confronting Leviticus Cornwall and his gunmen, whom he stood a mere gangplank's distance away from, having a simple conversation with before shooting and killing him on the spot. Although not confirmed, some have theorized that the concussion and head injury Dutch sustained on the trolley after a failed robbery in Saint Denis might've affected his personality. This is also insinuated by Arthur constantly questioning Dutch if he is truly okay after the injury. The Pinkertons' relentless pursuit along with the constantly increasing pressure from civilization that the Van der Linde gang faced during its final months began to take a toll on Dutch and affect him. He became more driven by ego, money, and vengeance, beginning to outright despise anyone who questioned him. The trolley crash and possible head injury further exacerbated this issue, causing Dutch to gradually become even more ruthless and reckless. As his behavior grew more aggressive, violent and erratic, so did his plans. Dutch callously killed powerful figures like Angelo Bronte and Leviticus Cornwall solely out of vengeance with little regard for the outcome, which went against his previous ideology that "revenge was a fool's game" as well as launch a full-on assault against Cornwall's oil refinery and attempt to rob a train carrying army payroll. These revenge murders and highly aggressive and destructive attacks ultimately increased the attention of law enforcement and led to more dangerous consequences for the gang as a whole. After the disastrous bank heist in Saint Denis, Dutch begun to tighten his grip on the gang and took his valuing of loyalty to an utmost extreme, labeling anyone who questioned him as a 'doubter' and lessened the freedoms the other members of his gang once had. This made it easier for him to make flat and absolute decisions that decide the course of the gang without taking any input or criticism from those he led, making his leadership increasingly despotic. Unlike before, Dutch began to value Arthur's and John's opinions less and less; as the two often criticized his decision making. Instead Dutch consulted solely with Micah Bell, someone who never questioned his decision making and instead actively encouraged him and loyally stood by him, no matter what. Whenever a member of the gang questioned Dutch's actions, he would immediately see such an action as traitorous and the person doing so as a threat.Dutch commonly referred to John and Arthur as his brothers or sons, with Dutch himself and Hosea becoming fatherly figures to both of them, implementing a family-like relationship with the gang members that had stuck by him over several years. However as Dutch became more erratic and paranoid, Arthur and John started to question his leadership and decisions, resulting in Dutch becoming increasingly resentful as well as suspicious of their motives. His paranoia and disdain for the "doubters" is shown when Dutch leaves both John and Arthur to die in two respective situations, as well as leaving John to be arrested by Pinkertons during the bank robbery in Saint Denis. With Arthur, it is clearly shown that Dutch deliberately left him to die while robbing Cornwall Kerosene & Tar. When Arthur was pinned down and about to be killed by a soldier, Dutch merely glanced at the situation and walked away. Minutes later Arthur confronts him on the subject, Dutch quickly denies this and brushes off Arthur's comment, whilst telling him not to be a "fool". In John's case, Van der Linde was secretly enraged that Marston wished to leave the gang with his family. This was proof of disloyalty in Dutch's eyes and his action of abandoning John, lying to Arthur about the circumstances of this and then denying it when confronted by John, add to the examples of his tendency to lose interest in anyone who did not follow him blindly. Years later upon realizing that Marston never betrayed him after all, Dutch admitted to John that he made a mistake, but immediately and callously brushed off the betrayal by saying "I never claimed to be a saint". Dutch's moral and philosophical hypocrisies can be observed as early as 1899. Despite being vehemently opposed to cultural, technological, and industrial progress, Dutch benefits the most from modern inventions out of any other gang member. His clothing is often far more elegant than anything else the rest of the gang wears (apart from Molly). He plays tracks on a phonograph within his tent and is frequently found reading at camp (the only gang member that reads more than he does is Mary-Beth). Actually, the fact that Dutch has such a well-developed philosophy to believe in and preach to his gang demonstrates a surprising level of intellect, philosophy and culture on his part; all of them prime examples of the very civilization he opposes. By 1911, Dutch's underlying hypocrisy has become even more apparent; both his horse along with his revolvers have disappeared. Instead they have been replaced by an automobile and a Semi-Automatic Pistol and a well-stocked bookshelf and typewriter can be found in his lair. This hypocrisy is noticed and pointed out by Uncle, who once remarked that Dutch is not fighting for the right to pursue "a better life" as separate individuals with their own personal freedoms, but rather for what Dutch monolithically believes "a better life" is. A testament towards how much Dutch values loyalty can be seen in his relationship with Micah. During the final days of the Van der Linde gang, Micah became Dutch's most trusted consultant; unlike Arthur, Micah never openly questioned any of Dutch's actions, no matter what they were. This resulted in Dutch trusting in Micah so much, that when it was revealed that the latter was the Pinkerton spy, Dutch couldn't bring himself to believe it, even after Micah had shot and killed Susan Grimshaw in front of him. Not even Arthur repeating the truth with his dying breath would dislodge Dutch's disbelief, although it did slightly nudge it as Dutch seemingly abandoned Micah and ignored him after the latter tried to convince him to leave with him after beginning to realize it somewhat. It was only years later that Dutch would finally come to terms with Micah's betrayal and exact vengeance by shooting him. In 1899, Dutch is an average built man of approximately 6 feet in height.[3][4][5] He has tanned skin, a large roman nose, brown eyes and a cleft chin, along with a thick, black mustache and soul patch surrounded by a light stubble, and black, slick backed hair that curls at the end reaching his nape. He is always seen in elegant suits or fancy clothing, most often wearing a white and grey striped shirt, charcoal grey striped trousers with pointed black leather boots, an ornate black paisley waistcoat with a blood red silk back, and matching red pocket square, it has glittering gold buttons and is decorated with a gold pocket-watch with twin chains and ruby pendant. Along with a smart black moleskin jacket also with a red pocket square, and leather notch lapels, and a black felt homburg hat with a silk band. He also wears a chunky black gun belt with a square gold buckle and twin holsters, and two ornate gold rings, one on his pinkie and another with a large rectangular face on his forefinger. He also owns a red and cream plaid scarf which he wears both for warmth and as a bandana. During the Saint Denis bank robbery, he wears a gleaming white shirt, red velvet vest and black slacks with a long, black tailcoat complete with red silk lining. While stranded on Guarma, his appearance becomes unkempt: his mustache becomes scruffy and long, he develops thick stubble around his face, and his tailcoat is lost, while his white shirt and red waistcoat that he wore for the robbery become loose, dirty and tattered. After returning to the United States, Dutch's appearance returns to what it was before.