The Roach Guards were an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

criminal

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

in Five Points neighborhood of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

the early 19th century. The gang was originally formed to protect New York liquor merchants in Five Points and soon began committing

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

. The Roach Guards took their name from their founder and leader Ted Roach. The Roach Guards began fighting with rivals the Bowery Boys. Some former Roach Guard members were called the

Dead Rabbits The Dead Rabbits was the name of an Irish American criminal street gang active in Lower Manhattan in the 1830s to 1850s. The Dead Rabbits were so named after a dead rabbit was thrown into the center of the room during a gang meeting, prompting s ...

by the media. The internal feud was especially violent as they fought over the Five Points area. Despite constant fighting, they managed to hold their own in the "slugger battles" against the more organized and disciplined "Bowery Boys". The Roach Guards, however, began to decline during the 1850s, disappearing entirely by the end of the American Civil War in 1865.Tyler Anbinder, ''Five Points: the 19th-century New York City neighborhood that invented tap dance, stole elections, and became the world's most notorious slum'' (2001) pp 285-86.

References

* Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. {{Organized crime groups in New York City Former gangs in New York City Irish-American gangs Irish-American culture in New York City Five Points, Manhattan