Charles "Charlie" Birger (born Shachna Itzak Birger, February 5, 1881 – April 19, 1928) was an American bootlegger during the

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

period in

southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...

Early life

Charles Birger was born to a Jewish family in the

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, and emigrated to the United States as a child with his parents. Birger and his family settled in

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, where, aged eight, Charlie got a job as a news boy at the ''

St. Louis Post-Dispatch The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the '' Belleville News-Democra ...

'' newspaper. Later, Birger moved to the

O'Fallon, Missouri O'Fallon ( ) is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the St. Louis metropolitan statistical area, located along Interstates 64 and 70 between Lake St. Louis and St. Peters. As of the 2020 census, O'Fallon ha ...

, area, where he started work in a pool room. On July 5, 1901, Birger enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was assigned to Company G of the newly formed 13th Cavalry Regiment, then stationed in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. Birger was described as a good soldier and was honorably discharged on July 4, 1904, at

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States military bands#Army Field Band, United States Army Field Band, and the head ...

, South Dakota. When he left the army, he became a cowboy. However, he eventually returned to Illinois, where he met his first wife, Edna, to whom a daughter was born. Birger went on to marry multiple times, being married to Beatrice Bainbridge of Harrisburg Illinois in 1921. Later became a miner in the quickly expanding coal mining community of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, later to become a keeper at one of the local saloons.

Bootlegger and gang leader

Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1919, the United States adopted national prohibition, which banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Birger recognized this as a business opportunity, and in 1920 he joined forces with the Shelton Brothers. Birger initially based his operation in Harrisburg,

. The law authorities in Saline County eventually persuaded him to leave, and he built a fortified speakeasy called Shady Rest just across the line in Williamson County. Shady Rest stood next to old Highway 13, halfway between Harrisburg and Marion. A small barbecue stand just off the highway served as the guard shack. Birger was involved in at least one murder and bootlegging activity in the Jackson County village of Dowell

War with the Ku Klux Klan

Charlie Birger and the Shelton Brothers Gang fought for control of the coal fields of southern Illinois, but their attention was diverted by a common enemy. In the 1920s, the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

supported national prohibition. Alcohol was regarded as an "un-American" vice practiced by

White ethnic White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they we ...

immigrants, many of whom were

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s and other religions. Many of these immigrants worked in the coal mines of southern Illinois, living mainly in very small towns while maintaining a very strong ethnic pride. Alcohol was a part of their life, and bootlegging came naturally to them. In the spring of 1923, the Klan began organizing in Williamson County, holding meetings attended by more than 5000 people. The Klan drew its support from both the farming community and people in the larger towns, the latter mainly of Scotch-Irish origin and belonging to the

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and other traditional

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churches. The Klan soon found a charismatic leader in Seth Glenn Young, a 58-year-old former federal law enforcement officer. Large mobs began going door to door, forcibly searching houses for alcohol. If alcohol was found, the occupants were taken to Klan "prisons". Federal authorities apparently had deputized the Klansmen to aid in the enforcement of Prohibition. Many elected public officials of Williamson County were viewed as being allies of the bootleggers, perhaps correctly. These elected public officials were driven from office and replaced by Klan members. The Illinois state government was either unable or unwilling to reestablish lawful authority. On January 24, 1925, a shot was fired in the street in Herrin, Illinois. Deputy Sheriff Ora Thomas responded and walked into a cigar store, where he saw Klan leader Young. Thomas drew his pistol and shot Young twice. Young was able to shoot Thomas once before falling to the floor. Two of Young's companions, fellow Klansmen Edward Forbes and Omer Warren joined in the melee, and all four men were fatally wounded. The Klan held a public funeral for Young that was attended by more than 15,000 people. In April 1926, Charlie Birger and the Shelton Brothers joined forces to attack the remaining Klan leaders in Herrin, using

Tommy gun The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy gun", "Chicago typewriter", or "trench broom") is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Arm ...

s and shotguns. The police were called repeatedly, but chose not to respond. Three Klansmen and two anti-Klansmen were killed in a shootout. The Klan buried its dead and the coroner ruled that their deaths were homicides "by parties unknown". Although the Klan's losses were not large, the Herrin attack broke the back of the local KKK. Lawfully elected local officials returned to their offices, and Birger and the Shelton Brothers went back into business.

War with the Shelton Brothers Gang

Birger regarded Harrisburg as his hometown. When a small shop was robbed, Birger publicly made good the owner's losses and the suspected thief was found shot dead a few days later. This incident coincided with the beginning of his war with the Shelton Brothers Gang, fought over control of bootlegging in the area. By October 1926, the Birger and Shelton Gangs were in open conflict. Both gangs built "tanks"—trucks converted into makeshift

armored vehicle Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, shells, rockets, and missiles, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighti ...

s from which they could shoot. The Shelton Gang even tried to bomb Shady Rest from the air. The dynamite they dropped missed. Many were killed during the war, and sometimes it was not clear which side they were on. Three deaths became important in ending Birger's own life. Joseph Adams was the mayor of West City, Illinois, a village near Benton. Birger learned that the Sheltons' tank was in Joe Adams' garage for repairs, and demanded the tank. When Adams failed to surrender it, Birger's men orchestrated a drive-by bombing, destroying Adams' front porch. In December 1926, two men, Harry and Elmo Thomasson, appeared at Joe Adams' house, announcing that they "had a letter from Carl helton. They handed a letter to Adams, and as he started to read it, they drew their pistols and shot him dead. The following month, the Shady Rest was destroyed by a series of large explosions and an ensuing fire. Four bodies (one a woman's)The female victim was identified as Mrs Steve George ''Evening Star''. February 7, 1927 p.13
/ref> were found in the ruins, charred beyond recognition. This was widely seen as a decisive blow struck by the Sheltons. At about the same time, Illinois state trooper Lory Price and his wife went missing. Price was widely believed to be associated with the Birger gang. He had been running a scam in which Birger stole cars and hid them until a reward was offered. Then the trooper pretended to find the cars and split the reward with Birger.

Hanging

In June 1927, Birger was arrested on a charge of ordering the

contract killing Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

of Mayor Joseph Adams. Birger allowed himself to be taken into custody without a fight. He had been arrested many times, and had always been released a few days later. He may not have realized that the trial was to take place in Franklin County, which his political allies did not control. Birger and the two men who did the killing were convicted; however, only Birger was sentenced to hang. Birger objected that it was unfair he should receive the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

while the confessed trigger man was sentenced only to prison in return for his cooperation with investigators. Nevertheless, Birger was hanged for the murder of Adams on April 19, 1928, at the Franklin County Jail in Benton. At Birger's request, he was accompanied to the gallows by a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

and wore a black hood rather than a white one, since he did not want to be mistaken for a Klansman. Charlie Birger was the second to last man to be executed in a public hanging in Illinois; Charles Shader was hanged six months later on October 10, 1928. Birger shook hands with the hangman, Philip Hanna (the "humane hangman"), and his final words were, "It's a beautiful world." (Local southern Illinois legend attests that Birger said "It's a beautiful day", in defiance, while the newspapers reported the remorseful "It's a beautiful world.") Birger's place as a southern Illinois folk legend is recorded in John L. "Ox" Gwaltney's "Charlie Birger": ::I heard of Charlie Birger way back when I was young ::My daddy told me all about the day that Charlie hung. ::I've heard so many stories, some of his ghastly deeds ::Another tells how Charlie helped poor folks in their needs. ::One said he was a kindly man who never told a lie ::But when somebody crossed him, that man was sure to die ::That Charlie had no Master you can tell from all the tales ::He fought the system all the way, and stayed out of their jails ::I've seen so many pictures, they're hanging on the walls ::The pictures tell the story of Birger's rise and fall ::And when they finally caught him he was sentenced to be hung ::But they hadn't broke his spirit the day the trap was sprung ::When the State had had its vengeance—When Charlie's life was done ::It made one stop to wonder, Who had lost, and who had won. :::John Lastle Gwaltney ''Southern Illinois Poetry'' (1985) Charlie Birger is buried in Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in

University City, Missouri University City (colloquially, U. City) is an inner-ring suburb of the city of St. Louis in St. Louis County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was measured at 35,065 by the 2020 census. The city is one of the older suburbs in th ...

, a suburb of

. His marker bears his birth name of Shachna Birger. His sister (Mrs. Rachel Shamsky) and one of his two daughters are buried nearby. Birger's name entered the news again in 2006 when the granddaughter of the county

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

who had supervised the execution sued the local historical museum in an attempt to regain possession of the noose used in the hanging.

References

External links

*
''The Legend of Charlie Birger'' - WSIU-TV documentary (2003)

by Rich Davis *

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Birger, Charles 1881 births 1928 deaths 20th-century executions of American people American bootleggers American crime bosses American people executed for murder Executed American gangsters Executed Russian people Jewish American gangsters Military personnel from Missouri People convicted of murder by Illinois People executed by Illinois by hanging People from Franklin County, Illinois People from Harrisburg, Illinois People from O'Fallon, Missouri Prohibition gangs American gangsters of the interwar period United States Army soldiers Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States People executed by public hanging