New York City Police Battle With River Pirates Cropped

The Hook Gang was a

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 ...

, and later a band of river pirates, 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 ...

in the 1860s and 1870s. The gang was prominent in the Fourth Ward and Corlear's Hook districts immediately after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, until their breakup by the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

in 1876.

History

The Hook Gang was formed during the mid-1860s following the American Civil War. Based from New York's Corlear's Hook waterfront on the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

, the gang numbered between 50 and 100 members including James Coffee, Terry Le Strange, Suds Merrick and Tommy Shay. The gang became known for attacking and hijacking shipping. One early robbery took place when James Coffee and Tommy Shay forced a local eight-man rowing club at gunpoint to row the boat to the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

shore. Within 50 yards of the shore, the rowing team were ordered to jump out and swim to the beach while Coffee and Shay escaped with the boat. One gang member, Slipsey Ward, was arrested and imprisoned at Auburn Prison after attempting to hijack a schooner sailing past Pike Street, killing three of the six-man crew before he was detained by the remaining crew members. The gang's downfall occurred when a member by the name of Wallace attempted to hijack a rowboat which contained off-duty police detectives on a fishing trip. After Wallace's arrest, the idea for a Police "Steamboat Squad" was formed. The remaining members of the gang were arrested by police in 1876.

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 1860s establishments in New York City 1876 disestablishments in New York (state) Organizations established in the 1860s Organizations disestablished in 1876 Former gangs in New York City American pirates Irish-American gangs 19th-century pirates

History

See also

References