The Atlantic Guards were a 19th-century

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

active in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

from the 1840s to the 1860s. It was one of the original, and among the most important gangs of the early days of the

Bowery The Bowery () is a street and neighbourhood, neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, New York. The street runs from Chatham Square at Park Row (Manhattan), Park Row, Worth Street, and Mott Street in the south to Cooper Square at 4th ...

, along with the Bowery Boys, American Guards, O'Connell Guards, and the True Blue Americans. Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the New York Underworld''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. (pg. 26-27, 102, 106) Peterson, Virgil W. ''The Mob: 200 Years of Organized Crime in New York''. Ottawa, Illinois: Green Hill Publishers, 1983. (pg. 13) Kenney, Dennis Jay and James O. Finckenauer. ''Organized Crime in America''. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1995. (pg. 75) Although engaging in

street fighting Street fighting or street combat is hand-to-hand combat in public places between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g., a street), and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or even death. Some street ...

, these gangs were generally less criminal in nature than their Five Point rivals, stopping "just short of murder", instead formed as nativist vigilante groups focused on protecting Bowery neighborhoods.Giamo, Benedict. ''On the Bowery: Confronting Homelessness in American Society''. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1989. (pg. 9) Sante, Lucy. ''Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York''. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2003. (pg. 200-203) It was common for Bowery and Five Point gangs alike to imitate (and sometimes parody) actual military companies and wear signature "uniforms" (e.g. the stove pipe hats and long black

frock coat A frock coat is a formal wear, formal men's coat (clothing), coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian era, Victorian and Edwardian era, Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). ...

s of the True Blue Americans). The Atlantic Guards wore a red stripe on their trousers. A longtime ally of the Bowery Boys, they were referred to by journalist

Carleton Beals Carleton Beals (November 13, 1893 – April 4, 1979) was an American journalist, writer, historian, and political activist with a special interest in Latin America. A major journalistic coup for him was his interview with the Nicaraguan rebel Au ...

as " Bill "the Butcher" Poole's

Christopher Street Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue. It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher St ...

thugs" and often warred with the

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

gangs of the Five Points, most especially, the

Dead Rabbits The Dead Rabbits were 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 some members ...

. This feud would continue throughout the 1840s and 50s, at the height of the

Know Nothing The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock Americans, Old Stock Nativism in United States politics, nativist political movem ...

movement, culminating in the Dead Rabbits Riot in 1857. The riot originally began with a Five Points raid on No. 42 Bowery, the headquarters of the Bowery Boys and the Atlantic Guards, in "celebration" of the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

. The Five Pointers showered the saloon with sticks and paving stone before moving on to the nearby Branch Hotel. The guests managed to hold off the mob until they were driven off by an estimated 300 Atlantic Guards and Bowery Boys. Fighting continued, however, and soon escalated into a citywide gang war lasting two days before order was restored by the

New York State Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard ...

under Major-General Charles W. Sandford.Mendelsohn, Joyce. ''The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited: A History and Guide to a Legendary New York Neighborhood''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009. (pg. 238)

In popular culture

*The Atlantic Guards are referenced in the

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 ...

s ''Andersonville'' (1993) by

MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded the ...

and ''The Coming Storm'' (2011) by Dominic Lagan.

In popular culture

References

Further reading