Annie Walsh (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1870–1880), known under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Battle Annie, was an American outlaw and member of the

Gopher Gang The Gopher Gang was an early 20th-century New York street gang who counted among its members Goo Goo Knox, James "Biff" Ellison, and Owney Madden, born in England of Irish ancestry. Based in the Irish neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen, the Gopher G ...

. A well-known outlaw figure described in the press as "The Queen of Hell's Kitchen" and "the most feared brick hurler of her time", she was the founder and longtime leader of the gang's female auxiliary, the Lady Gophers, headquartered at

Mallet Murphy Mallet Murphy (fl. 1890-1900) was the pseudonym of a popular American saloon keeper and underworld figure in Hell's Kitchen, New York during the late 1890s up until the start of the 20th century. His particular nickname was attributed to his us ...

's Battle Row saloon where they were officially known as the Battle Row Ladies' Social and Athletic Club. She was able to assemble a force from 50 up to several hundred women who, armed with clubs, were used as reserve members in gang fights against rival gangs and police. Walsh and her group were also hired out by businesses and labor unions throughout a number of violent labor disputes during the 1870s. Asbury, Herbert. '' The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (p. 236) She appears as a minor character in the 2003

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''A Passionate Girl'' by Thomas J. Fleming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Annie Year of birth missing Year of death missing American female gangsters American gangsters of Irish descent Gang members of New York City