Daybreak Boys: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|19th-century New York City street gang}} |
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{{Infobox Criminal organization |
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| name = Daybreak Boys |
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| image = |
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| caption = |
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| founding location = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]] |
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| founded by = |
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| years active = late 1840s-1859 |
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| territory = |
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| ethnic makeup = |
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| membership est = ? |
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| criminal activities = [[Street fighting]], [[Knife fight|knife fighting]], [[assault]], [[murder]], [[piracy]], [[robbery]] |
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| rivals = |
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}} |
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==History== |
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Formed in the late 1840s, by 1852 the teenaged Daybreak Boys were suspected by police to have been responsible for 20 to 40 murders between 1850 and 1852 as well as stealing goods estimated at $200,000. The gang was said to have a prospective member kill at least one man as a requirement for joining. Newspapers at the time report, perhaps with some exaggeration, that many gang members may have been as young as 12. |
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| ⚫ | Under the leadership of members such as [[Nicholas Saul]], [[Bill Howlett]], [[Patsy the Barber]], [[Slobbery Jim]], [[Sam McCarthy (gangster)|"Cowlegged" Sam McCarthy]], and [[Sow Madden]], the gang was known for its reputation of unprovoked murder and sabotaging ships and other property, regardless of value, along the New York waterfront. The gang's actions would soon force police to take action against them. Led by New York police officers Blair, Spratt, and Gilbert, over 12 gang members were killed in several gunfights in 1858. By the end of 1859 the gang, having lost much of its membership, was eventually broken up. Many of its members later became prominent criminals during the next several decades. |
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==Depictions in fiction== |
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The Daybreak Boys, under the leadership of "Nick Saul and Billie Howlett," are brought to life in Chapter XVIII of [[MacKinlay Kantor]]'s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''[[Andersonville (novel)|Andersonville]]'' (1955). The execution by hanging of Saul and Howlett is also depicted. |
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==See also== |
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*[[B'hoy and g'hal]] |
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*[[Bowery Boys (gang)|Bowery Boys]] |
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*[[Dead Rabbits]] |
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*[[Plug Uglies]] |
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*''[[Gangs of New York]]'' |
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*[[Sadie Farrell]] |
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[[Category:1840s in New York City]] |
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[[Category:1850s in New York City]] |
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[[Category:Organizations established in the 1840s]] |
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[[Category:1840s establishments in New York (state)]] |
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[[Category:Organizations disestablished in 1859]] |
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[[Category:1859 disestablishments in New York (state)]] |
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[[Category:American pirates]] |
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[[Category:19th-century pirates]] |
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{{Organized crime groups in New York City}} |
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Latest revision as of 22:40, 9 February 2024
| Founding location | New York City, New York |
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| Years active | late 1840s-1859 |
| Membership (est.) | ? |
| Criminal activities | Street fighting, knife fighting, assault, murder, piracy, robbery |
The Daybreak Boys was a New York City street gang during the mid nineteenth century.
History
[edit]Formed in the late 1840s, by 1852 the teenaged Daybreak Boys were suspected by police to have been responsible for 20 to 40 murders between 1850 and 1852 as well as stealing goods estimated at $200,000. The gang was said to have a prospective member kill at least one man as a requirement for joining. Newspapers at the time report, perhaps with some exaggeration, that many gang members may have been as young as 12.
Under the leadership of members such as Nicholas Saul, Bill Howlett, Patsy the Barber, Slobbery Jim, "Cowlegged" Sam McCarthy, and Sow Madden, the gang was known for its reputation of unprovoked murder and sabotaging ships and other property, regardless of value, along the New York waterfront. The gang's actions would soon force police to take action against them. Led by New York police officers Blair, Spratt, and Gilbert, over 12 gang members were killed in several gunfights in 1858. By the end of 1859 the gang, having lost much of its membership, was eventually broken up. Many of its members later became prominent criminals during the next several decades.
Depictions in fiction
[edit]The Daybreak Boys, under the leadership of "Nick Saul and Billie Howlett," are brought to life in Chapter XVIII of MacKinlay Kantor's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Andersonville (1955). The execution by hanging of Saul and Howlett is also depicted.
See also
[edit]Resources
[edit]- Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982