John Marston

History
"Some trees flourish, others die. Some cattle grow strong, others are taken by wolves. Some men are born rich enough and dumb enough to enjoy their lives. Ain't nothing fair. You know that." - John Marston

John Marston was born in 1873. His father was an illiterate Scottish immigrant and his mother was a prostitute who died during childbirth. John's father was blinded in both eyes during a bar fight in Chicago.

In 1881, John's father died of unknown causes, thought to be through drink. John was only 8 years old at the time and was sent to an orphanage where he lived most of his life up to the age of 17 and where he met his future wife, Abigail, with whom he promptly ran away. Both later joined Dutch van der Linde's gang, where Dutch took care of John, teaching him how to read, shoot and the ways of the West.

He was betrayed by the U.S. Army in 1911, where an entire firing squad was sent to kill him. He taken out 6 before his death, after sacrificing himself to save his family.

Description
John Marston is a former outlaw and bandit. He ran with Dutch van der Linde, Bill Williamson and Javier Escuella, committing bank robberies, train raids, murders and other various crimes across the country. According to Marston, the gang stole and fought for a reason. In stealing from the rich and those who were given too much to give to the poor, they wanted to elicit change in the people of the West, although this might just be his own justification for their actions.

In 1906, after being seriously wounded in a bank robbery and being left to die by Bill Williamson and his other former brothers in arms, Marston sought to retire from the outlaw lifestyle. Putting his past deeds behind him, he disappeared along with his wife Abigail Marston and young son Jack and purchased a ranch. Between his abandonment of the gang and the beginning of the game, Marston had a daughter, but she died of an unknown illness.

Despite Marston's apparent reformation, he remains a masterful gunman, rider and hunter. Marston is a rugged survivalist and knows life as a fight for survival; he adheres to the old-fashioned West in a world rapidly experiencing the advancements of technology.

The old American Wild West, at the time, was being tamed by encroaching technological advances such as railroads, telegram offices and stricter law enforcement. The federal government creates the Bureau of Investigation to aid in the process and puts Edgar Ross in charge. One of the Bureau's major goals is to rid the region of all of the violent gangs running wild and unchallenged, especially that of Bill Williamson. Ross decides to use an ex-associate of Williamson's to hunt him down: former outlaw John Marston. By kidnapping John's wife and son, Ross forces him to comply.

He successfully kills the former gang members, and goes to lead a peaceful life, on a ranch with his wife and son. However, in 1911, Edgar double-crosses John. He, along with the Bureau and US Army, launches an attack on the Marston ranch. John and son continue holding off the attack. John tells Abigail and Jack to run while he stays behind in the barn to defend them. But in reality, he realizes that the only way to save his family from the government's crosshairs is to lay down his life so they can be free.

John sacrifices himself in a desperate last-stand against Ross and his men. After exiting the barn calmly and standing before a large firing-squad, he draws his pistol and takes out as many men as he can until they open fire on him. Still standing, with multiple bullet wounds on his bloody body, he breathes vigorously and drops his revolver, falls to his knees and then eventually collapses to the ground. As Ross watches Marston dying, he is clearly satisfied with knowing that the final member of Dutch's gang is dead. Ross and his men leave the ranch. Abigail and Jack, upon hearing the cease-fire, return to find John's body in a pool of blood. They bury him up on top of the hill overlooking the ranch. His grave is inscribed "Blessed are the Peacemakers."

John's death at the hands of Ross is a poetic end to his life. He sacrifices himself to save his family so they could lead a better life - the reason he sought redemption in the first place. By his death, he knew that Ross wouldn't persecute Abigail or Jack any longer, allowing them to start life fresh, allowing Jack the chance to grow up without the brutality and violence that shaped John's early life. Sadly, despite his father's sacrifice, Jack possibly still goes on to become an outlaw; As he tracks down and kills Edgar Ross in revenge, without hesitation. The path to redemption, it seems, is a hard road to follow.

Weapons Used
John Marston had an exotic cache of weaponry, especially considering his period.

Battle Against Rooster Cogburn
To be determined