Colonel Agustus "Gus" Brennan
Colonel Agustus "Gus" Brennan
"The War may never end, gentlemen, but profit is eternal."
Gus
Physical Appearance
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190 lbs
Hair: Iron grey, worn swept back and well-groomed
Eyes: Steel blue, calculating
Distinguishing Feature: Left hand missing below the wrist, replaced with a custom mechanical prosthetic
Colonel Augustus Brennan cuts an imposing figure despite his moderate height. At 52 years old, he maintains the bearing of a military man even in fine civilian dress. His iron-grey hair and neatly trimmed beard frame a weathered face marked by years of command, war, and ruthless business dealings. His steel-blue eyes miss nothing, assessing everyone and everything with the practiced gaze of a man who built an empire by knowing when to act and when to wait.
He dresses impeccably in tailored suits befitting one of Memphis's wealthiest men, though he's practical enough to own quality field attire for inspecting his operations. His left arm ends at the wrist—a legacy of Shiloh—where a remarkable mechanical hand made by one of his contracted mad scientists now serves. The prosthetic is functional rather than decorative, articulated brass and steel that can grip, write, and even pull a trigger when necessary.
Despite his refined Memphis gentleman appearance, there's nothing soft about Gus Brennan. He carries a Navy Colt in a shoulder holster, and the way he wears it suggests he learned to shoot left-handed after losing his right hand and remains deadly proficient. The war left other scars too—a slight rasp in his voice from breathing too much battlefield smoke, and the cold calculation in his eyes of a man who's sent thousands to their deaths and learned to sleep soundly afterward.
Personality & Traits
General Overview
Colonel Brennan is a pragmatist wrapped in a Southern gentleman's manners. He speaks with the cultured drawl of Memphis aristocracy, treats business associates with unfailing courtesy, and can discuss cotton futures or military strategy with equal facility. He's the kind of man who'll offer you fine bourbon in crystal glasses while explaining exactly why your services are no longer required, or why your business would be better in his hands.
He didn't survive the war and build one of the Confederacy's largest fortunes by being sentimental. Gus makes decisions based on practical considerations, not emotional ones. He's loyal to those who prove their worth, but that loyalty is transactional—you perform, you're rewarded; you fail, you're replaced. He doesn't ask his Troubleshooters to be heroes or saints. He asks them to be effective, discreet, and available when called.
The war changed him. The young artillery officer who enlisted in 1861 believed in glory and the Confederate cause. The colonel who returned with one hand and thousands of dead men on his conscience believes in survival and profit. He saw his cause fail, watched the economy collapse, and chose to adapt rather than cling to a dying past. Some call him a vulture for profiting from the war's continuation. He calls himself a realist.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
- Brilliant strategic mind honed by military service and business warfare
- Extensive network of contacts throughout the Confederate government and business world
- Massive financial resources spanning multiple industries
- Ability to pivot and adapt to changing circumstances
- Remains calm under pressure
- Natural leader who inspires confidence through competence rather than charisma
- Understanding of both military logistics and supernatural threats
- Willing to employ anyone effective regardless of their past
Weaknesses:
- Views most relationships as purely transactional
- Difficulty truly trusting anyone after years of war and betrayal
- Tendency to see people as assets or liabilities rather than human beings
- Haunted by the artillery batteries he commanded and the men who died following his orders
- Sometimes underestimates how personal motivations can override practical considerations
- His success has made him enemies across the Confederacy, Union, and among supernatural forces
- Arrogance born of rarely being proven wrong
- Deep cynicism about human nature that occasionally blinds him to genuine loyalty
Ambitions
Gus wants to build an empire that will outlast the war—whether the Confederacy wins, loses, or the conflict drags on another seventeen years. He's positioning himself to be indispensable regardless of outcome. His diversified holdings in cotton, ghost rock, transportation, and manufacturing ensure that whoever controls the South afterward will need him.
More personally, he wants to prove that he made the right choice. When other Confederate officers chose honor over survival, tradition over adaptation, he chose to build something lasting. Every successful quarter, every new contract, every expansion of his empire is vindication that pragmatism beats principle.
He'll never admit it, but part of him is trying to prove his worth beyond the accident of birth. Unlike many Confederate aristocrats, Gus built his fortune through brilliance and ruthlessness, not inheritance. The war took his hand; he's determined it won't take his legacy.
Hobbies & Interests
Gus is an avid student of military history and economic theory, with a library in his Memphis mansion that rivals some universities. He particularly studies how empires rise and fall, looking for patterns he can exploit or avoid.
He enjoys fine whiskey, good cigars, and high-stakes poker—though he plays cards as much for reading opponents as for the money. He's fascinated by the mad science revolution that ghost rock has enabled, funding numerous inventors not from scientific curiosity but from recognizing practical applications before his competitors.
In rare private moments, he still practices artillery calculations—muscle memory from his war years that he maintains compulsively, though he'll never command a battery again.
Personal History
Augustus Brennan was born in 1825 to a prosperous Memphis merchant family. While wealthy, they were "new money"—merchants and traders rather than plantation aristocracy. This gave Gus both capital and a chip on his shoulder about Southern "old money" families who looked down on mere businessmen.
Pre-War (1825-1861):
Gus proved himself a brilliant businessman, expanding the family cotton operations and building relationships throughout the South. By 1860, he was wealthy in his own right, though still considered an upstart by Memphis's oldest families.
The War (1861-1877):
When Tennessee seceded, Gus enlisted immediately—partly from Confederate patriotism, partly to prove himself worthy of respect from the aristocrats who'd snubbed him. He had a talent for artillery, understanding trajectories and supply logistics with mathematical precision. He rose quickly from captain to colonel, commanding batteries at multiple major engagements.
At Shiloh in April 1862, a Union artillery shell landed directly on his battery's position. He lost his right hand, most of his crew, and nearly his life. After months of recovery, he returned to Memphis rather than the field, his combat days over.
But Gus Brennan doesn't accept defeat. While recuperating, he recognized what others didn't—this war wouldn't end quickly, and the traditional Southern economy was dying. The Union blockade was strangling cotton exports. But ghost rock was powering a new industrial revolution, and the Confederacy desperately needed it.
Using his military connections and business acumen, Brennan secured exclusive contracts to ship ghost rock from the Great Maze to Confederate arsenals and weapons facilities. Other businessmen were too proud or traditional to adapt. Gus saw opportunity where they saw only the end of their world.
Post-War Adaptation (1865-1877):
As the war dragged into its second decade with no end in sight, Gus expanded brilliantly:
- Modernized his cotton operations, hiring paid freedmen after slavery was abolished
- Built ghost rock refineries and processing facilities
- Established steamboat lines on the Mississippi (the "River of Blood")
- Acquired major stake in Black River Railroad
- Diversified into dozens of supporting industries
By 1877, he's richer than half the Confederate Congress combined and infinitely more powerful than the Memphis aristocrats who once snubbed him.
The Current Problem:
But empires make enemies. Someone or something is actively working against his interests—shipments disappearing, workers dying mysteriously, sabotage on his rail lines. The threats are too organized to be random, too strange to be purely mundane. He needs fixers who can handle problems that lawyers and ledgers can't solve.
The moment that defined Gus Brennan came at Shiloh. As the Union shell exploded, he had a split second of clarity before the pain and darkness took him. He realized he was about to die for a cause that might not win, for a country that might not survive, for glory that meant nothing if you were dead.
When he woke weeks later, one-handed and in agony, he made a decision. He would never again stake everything on ideology or honor. He would survive. He would adapt. He would win, regardless of who else lost.
That moment—choosing survival over glory, pragmatism over principle—made him the man he is today. Some nights he wonders if he lost more than just his hand at Shiloh. Other nights he pours another whiskey and counts his money, and the question stops mattering.
Worst Nightmare
Gus's worst nightmare is visceral and specific: his mechanical hand moves without his command. It picks up a pen and begins writing—orders for his artillery batteries at Shiloh, targeting coordinates that he knows will kill Confederate soldiers. He tries to stop it, but the hand keeps writing, calculating, commanding.
The calculations are perfect. The orders are brilliant. And as he watches in horror, he realizes they're the same orders he actually gave—the ones that got good men killed, including most of his own crew when the Union counter-battery found their position.
In the dream, the hand writes faster and faster—orders for his steamboats (accidents acceptable), his railroad crews (casualties expected), his troubleshooters (expendable assets). All in his own handwriting, all perfectly calculated for maximum efficiency and acceptable losses.
He wakes in a cold sweat, staring at the mechanical hand gleaming in the moonlight, wondering if there's any real difference between the colonel who calculated acceptable casualties and the industrialist who views employees as expendable resources. The hand doesn't move. But he can still feel it wanting to write.
Connections
Family
Spouse: Martha Brennan (née Covington), age 48. Daughter of Memphis "old money" family. Marriage in 1850 was strategic—her family name plus his money—but they've developed genuine respect over the years. She manages the social aspects of his empire while he handles business. They have an understanding about his... practical necessities.
Children:
- Augustus Jr. ("Junior"), age 25. Being groomed to eventually take over the empire. Currently manages ghost rock refinery operations. Has his father's mind but not his ruthlessness—which worries Gus.
- Catherine Brennan Morrison, age 23. Married to a Confederate officer. Lives in Atlanta. Gus adores her but rarely sees her.
- Robert Brennan, age 20. Died at Second Manassas in 1862 while serving under Longstreet. Gus keeps his son's Confederate uniform in his office.
Mother: Elizabeth Brennan (née Harrison), deceased 1869. Never approved of how her son made his fortune.
Father: Jonathan Brennan, deceased 1871. Founded the family merchant business. Would have been proud of his son's success but troubled by his methods.
Siblings: Two younger sisters, both married to respectable (but not wealthy) Memphis families.
Allies & Contacts
Mina Devlin: Owner of Black River Railroad. Their relationship is complicated—business partners in some ventures, competitors in others. They respect each other's ruthlessness and meet quarterly to discuss territory and share intelligence.
General Beauregard: Confederate military commander. Old friend from the war who ensures Brennan gets favorable treatment on military contracts—in exchange for discreet financial support.
Ambrose Chesterfield: Memphis banker who handles Brennan's finances. One of the few people who knows the full extent of his empire.
Dr. Marchen: Mad scientist who created Brennan's mechanical hand and numerous other devices. On retainer for exclusive work.
Various agents and managers: Stationed throughout his empire, including his chief operative in Dodge City who recruits and manages the Troubleshooters.
Enemies
Rival Rail Barons: Bayou Vermilion, Wasatch, Union Blue, and others view him as a Confederate threat in the Great Rail Wars.
The Agency: Union intelligence service would love to see a major Confederate industrialist fail. Active efforts to sabotage his operations.
Thomas Covington: Martha's older brother, who resents that "new money" Brennan married into their family. Works to undermine him socially and politically.
Unknown Supernatural Forces: Whatever is targeting his operations with increasing sophistication and malevolence.
Confederate Traditionalists: Some "old guard" Confederates see him as a vulture profiting from the war rather than truly fighting for the cause.
The Workers He's Exploited: A long list of people who've been on the wrong end of his "acceptable losses" calculations.
Deadlands Character Statistics
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Last Updated: 11/21/2025
Player: Reece
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