Dead Rabbits
The Dead Rabbits was the name of 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 to treat this as an omen, withdraw, and form an independent gang. Their battle symbol was a dead rabbit on a pike. They often clashed with Nativist political groups who viewed Irish Catholics as a threatening and criminal subculture. The Dead Rabbits were given the nicknames of "Mulberry Boys" and the "Mulberry Street Boys" by the New York City Police Department because they were known to have operated along Mulberry Street in the Five Points.
Dead Rabbit holding a brickbat as a weapon in July 1857 | |
| Founding location | Five Points, Manhattan, New York (present-day Worth Street, Baxter Street, and Columbus Park), Manhattan, New York City |
|---|---|
| Years active | 1830s-1860s |
| Territory | Five Points, Manhattan |
| Ethnicity | Irish and Irish-American |
| Criminal activities | Street fighting, knife fighting, assault, murder, robbery, arson, rioting |
| Allies | Chichesters, Tammany Hall, Plug Uglies, Roach Guards, Mulberry Street Boys, Municipal Police, Forty Thieves, Shirt Tails, Kerryonians |
| Rivals | Bowery Boys, Atlantic Guards, O'Connell Guards, American Guards, True Blue Americans, Empire Guards, New York City Police Department |
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