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The Glanton Gang are the main characters of Cormac McCarthy's 1985 historical and anti-Western epic novel Blood Meridian. They serve as scalp hunters seeking profit, and a few key members are based on real people from history.
History[]
Not much is known about when and where the Glanton Gang was formed, apart from the fact that it was formed by Captain Glanton as a way to complete two major goals: execute certain personnel to claim their large bounty (such as Gómez) and hunt various Indians for their scalps, ears, or other body parts to sell (or make necklaces out of). In short, the purpose of the Glanton Gang is to generate profit through hunting and scalping.
Captain John Joel Glanton is the leader of the Glanton Gang, acting as the leading voice that commands every decision. He and another member, Judge Holden, serve as the main antagonists of Blood Meridian. It is unknown when specifically the Judge joined Glanton's Gang, just that he joined before the Kid did. Throughout the novel, Glanton's Gang is constantly recruiting new members, such as the Delawares, to assist them in their xenophobic mission.
Glanton's Gang is seen raiding, murdering, slaughtering, and scalping hundreds of Indian camps without remorse, and there are a few instances where we see Glanton selling the spoils of their battle in local villages for money, which is distributed to the group in an uneven way, as it is implied that most of the profit ends up in the pockets of Glanton and the Judge.
While members of the gang die off throughout the novel, the majority of them die at the hands of the Yuma Indians, who slaughter a large number of members, including Captain Glanton. There were a few escapees, however, such as the Judge. When the Yuma Indians broke into his room, where he was seen in bed with a young girl and the Idiot, he held a howitzer cannon under his arm to blast his way out, where he eventually met back up with the surviving members of the Idiot.
Eventually, as the remaining members are either arrested, executed, or escaped in some other way, the Judge disbands the Glanton Gang as the sole remaining member by process of elimination.
Members[]
Leaders[]
- John Joel Glanton - Founder and Former Leader (deceased)
- Judge Holden - Leader at time of disbandment
Soldiers[]
- The Kid
- Benjamin Tobin
- Louis Toadvine
- David Brown
- White Jackson
- Black Jackson
- The Vandiemenlander (aka Bathcat)
- Gilchrist
- Grannyrat Chambers
- Dick Shelby
- Marcus "Long" Webster
- The Delaware Mercenaries
Doctors[]
- Irving
Other Members[]
- John Prewett
- The Idiot
Trivia[]
- Due to the ambiguous nature of the novel, there is no way of knowing for sure how many members of Glanton's Gang are alive by the end.
- The only person who is confirmed to be alive is Judge Holden. The Kid's fate isn't confirmed, although it is heavily implied that he is dead. Other members such as Webster and the Idiot are have unknown fates, although it could be assumed that they most likely are also dead.