Joe Erin's Gang

Joe Erin's Gang was an American outlaw and mercenary gang of the Wild West which was led by Joe Erin. Erin partnered with fellow gunslingers Ernest Donnegan, Pittsburgh Charlie, Abilene James, Tex Elam, Little-Bit McCallion, Archie Ballard, and Charles Reno to travel to Mexico during the Franco-Mexican War of the 1860s and serve as soldiers-of-fortune, although there was little mutual trust between the gang members, and they only reluctantly agreed to work with Erin's new acquaintance Ben Trane, whom they had attempted to interrogate upon meeting him (falsely believing that he had killed Erin adn stolen his horse). The gang was later hired by the Marquis Henri de Labordere and Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico to escort the Countess Marie Duvarre's carriage (and a secret gold shipment) from Mexico City to Veracruz, despite their boorish manners at the Emperor's palace (even calling the Emperor "Max") and their rowdy behavior around women, and, when they grew suspicious that Erin and Trane were planning on stealing the hidden gold for themselves, the gang mutinied against them. The mutiny was forestalled when Mauricio Ramirez's rebels ambushed the gang, and Erin and Trane decided to side with the rebels ahead of their assault on Veracruz, as Trane promised to secure the $3 million in gold for the Juaristas in exchange for $100,000. Erin's former gang members were killed in the ensuing battle, most while fighting for the government; however, Donnegan was killed by a Mexican marine while trying to steal the gold wagon for himself, while Erin betrayed and killed Ballard after he retrieved the wagon for him. Ultimately, Trane killed Erin in a duel after Erin refused to abide by their agreement with Ramirez and planned to betray Trane instead; this left Erin and his entire gang of mercenaries dead, and the Juaristas recovered the gold as Trane - the sole survivor - made a new life for himself with Nina Fernandez.