 George Catlin painting of theFive Points, Manhattan,New York City in 1827 theslum territory of the "Roach Guards" and the other Irish criminal gangs | |
| Founded by | Ted Roach |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Five PointsManhattan,New York City |
| Years active | 1820s-1860s |
| Territory | Five Points, Manhattan, New York City |
| Ethnicity | Irish and Irish American |
| Membership(est.) | ? |
| Criminal activities | street fighting,knife fighting,assault,murder,robbery |
| Allies | Tammany Hall |
| Rivals | Bowery Boys,Atlantic Guards |
TheRoach Guards were an ethnically Irish criminalgang in theFive Points neighborhood ofNew York City in the early to mid-19th century. The gang was originally formed to protect New York liquor merchants in Five Points and soon began committingrobbery andmurder. The Roach Guards took their name from their founder and leaderTed Roach.
The Roach Guards began fighting with rivals theBowery Boys. Some former Roach Guard members were called theDead 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 theAmerican Civil War in 1865.[1]