Nicolas Volage Gang

Nicolas Volage Gang

Left to right from the top: Geoffrey Richet; Clotaire Renaud; Agnan Chessiaux; Rufus Berthier; Joachim Peltier ; Nicolas Volage ; Alceste Lejeune ; Eudes Poignon
Founded	July 28, 1884
Founding location	Louvier
Years active	1894 to 1897
Ethnicity	Louvian/Lysian
Membership	Geoffrey Richet, Clotaire Renaud, Agnan Chessiaux, Rufus Berthier, Joachim Peltier, Nicolas Volage, Alceste Lejeune, Eudes Poignon
Criminal activities	Armed robbery, murder

The Nicolas Volage Gang was an outlaw Louvian gang. Their crime spree took place in the Kingdom of Louvier of the Pieussaud area from July 30 1894 through February 4 of 1897.

Formed by Nicolas Volage, the gang begins to build up a small stock of weapons while remaining in Pieussaud. They began to attack the stagecoaches heading towards Malcouche. In March 1895, they mistakenly attacked an army stagecoach and killed Deputy Marshal Henri Sarnier. The authorities began to put bounties on their heads. The gang began holding up various stores and ranches at the enf of the year 1895. In May 1896, the gang prepared a grand plan to rob Malcouche's bank. The robbery took place on June 5, 1896 and the authorities trapped the members inside the building. This was followed by exchanges of fire for several minutes. Nicolas, Joachim, Clotaire, Rufus and Geoffrey managed to flee, but Alceste, Eudes and Agnan were killed. The gang remained silent for the rest of the year. The 4 February 1897, surviving members of the gang attacked a train on the outskirts of Bas-Vallée. The robbery did not go as planned and the gang fought over the division of the loot. The authorities took advantage of the quarrel to attack the group. A violent gunfight ensued, Clotaire and Rufus were killed for the first few moments. The rest of the group tried to flee on horseback, but found themselves trapped at the foot of Mount Richemond. They were captured, except Geoffrey who disappeared into the wild. Nicolas and Joachim were hanged in Bas-Vallée on February 20, 1897.

Capture and hanging of the gang

Nicolas and Joachim were captured near Mount Richemond by a combined force of lawmen, led by Marshal Maurice Patulacci, on February 4. Geoffrey Richet disappeared into the wild and was never seen again. The men were brought before "Hanging" Judge Leon Grojean. He twice sentenced them to death, they were hanged on March 1, 1897 at Basse-Vallée