The Roach Guards were an ethnically Irish criminal

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 ...

in the Five Points neighborhood of

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 early to mid-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 use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. 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 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 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 ...

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