Hook Gang
![]() The Hook Gang ofriver piratesraided ship cargo in the mid–late 19th century along theNew York Citywaterfront. | |
Founded | c. 1866 |
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Founding location | Corlear's Hook,Lower East Side,Manhattan, New York,United States |
Years active | c. 1866–1876 |
Territory | Corlear's Hook, Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York, United States |
Ethnicity | predominantlyIrish-American |
Membership(est.) | 50–100 |
Criminal activities | armed robbery, theft, hijacking,river piracy |
Rivals | Patsy Conroy Gangshort tails |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Birds_Eye_View_NYC_John_Bachmann_1865.jpg/250px-Birds_Eye_View_NYC_John_Bachmann_1865.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/New_York_City_Police_Battle_With_River_Pirates_Cropped.jpg/250px-New_York_City_Police_Battle_With_River_Pirates_Cropped.jpg)
TheHook Gangwas astreet gang,and later a band ofriver pirates,active inNew York Cityin the 1860s and 1870s. The gang was prominent in the Fourth Ward andCorlear's Hookdistricts immediately after theAmerican Civil War,until their breakup by theNew York City Police Departmentin 1876.
History[edit]
The Hook Gang was formed during the mid-1860s following the American Civil War. Based from New York's Corlear's Hook waterfront on theEast River,the gang numbered between 50 and 100 members includingJames Coffee,Terry Le Strange,Suds MerrickandTommy Shay.The gang became known for attacking and hijacking shipping. One early robbery took place when James Coffee and Tommy Shay forced a local eight-man rowing club at gunpoint to row the boat to theBrooklynshore. Within 50 yards of the shore, the rowing team were ordered to jump out and swim to the beach while Coffee and Shay escaped with the boat.
One gang member,Slipsey Ward,was arrested and imprisoned atAuburn Prisonafter attempting to hijack a schooner sailing past Pike Street, killing three of the six-man crew before he was detained by the remaining crew members.
The gang's downfall occurred when a member by the name of Wallace attempted to hijack a rowboat which contained off-duty police detectives on a fishing trip. After Wallace's arrest, the idea for a Police "Steamboat Squad" was formed. The remaining members of the gang were arrested by police in 1876.
See also[edit]
- Charlton Street Gang
- Daybreak Boys
- Patsy Conroy
- Patsy Conroy Gang
- Sadie Farrell
- George Gastlin(Steamboat Squad)
References[edit]
- Asbury, Herbert.The Gangs of New York.New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.ISBN1-56025-275-8
- Sifakis, Carl.The Encyclopedia of American Crime.New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001.ISBN0-8160-4040-0