This page contains information on the character of Bill Williamson in Red Dead Redemption II.
“Well, things are different now, John. Now, I’m in charge! No more Dutch, and no more you!”
– Bill Williamson
Marion Williamson was born in 1866. Embarrassed by his first name, which was supposedly a “family name,” he would later adopt the name “Bill” after his surname.[1] Bill’s father was an alcoholic who slowly lost his mind due to his excessive drinking, notably mixing whiskey with moonshine. Bill was always afraid of suffering the same fate.
At some point, Bill joined the Army and was assigned to the 15th infantry and claimed to have also served in the cavalry as well. He notably fought against Native Americans, before eventually being dishonorably discharged for deviancy and attempted murder on December 27, 1892. He lived rough for the next year or so, drinking heavily and robbing people on the highway. At one point, he was robbed by a “woman” (implied to be a cross-dresser). One day in 1893, he tried to rob Dutch van der Linde, but was taken aback when Dutch simply laughed at him. Though Bill was angry, Dutch cheered him up and gave him purpose, offering him a place in the Van der Linde gang. Despite this, Bill still vividly remembered the horrifying things he’d seen during his time in the Army.
For the next 6 years Bill Williamson would go on to be a gunman for the Van der Linde gang. During his time in the gang, he committed a number of crimes, which included robbery, raids, murder, kidnapping, and various other misdeeds across the frontier.
By 1899, the gang had moved east to West Elizabeth near Blackwater, when Dutch decided to undertake an ambitious heist to rob a boat that was carrying a significant amount of money. However, the robbery turned out to be a disaster, and the gang was forced to flee north into the mountains of Ambarino to escape the law, settling in an abandoned mining town named Colter.