The Old West was not the only area where gang activity flourished. In East Coastcities, gangs bearing colorful names such as the Hudson Dusters and the Shirttails battled rivals for control of the streets. In New York City, many gangs, including the Plug Uglies, the Swamp Angels, the Daybreak Boys, and the BoweryBoys, competed for dominance in the Five Point section of the lower East Side.Gang battles were extremely brutal, and men were killed with knives, hatchets,cleavers, and anything else that could puncture or slice flesh. One gang leader,William Poole, who was born in 1821, followed in his father’s footsteps, openinga New York City butcher shop. In the 1850s his local street gang became theenforcers for the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing or Native American Party. In1854 Poole, who was also known as “Bill the Butcher,” severely beat John Morrissey, an Irish gang leader. Morrissey and his boys swore vengeance and fatallyshot Poole on February 25, 1855, at Stanwix Hall in New York. As legend has it,Poole’s dying words were “Good-bye, boys: I die a true American!”5 Poole’s storywas told in the 2002 film Gangs of New York.
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