Tub of Blood Bunch
Encyclopedia
The Tub of Blood Bunch was an early New York waterfront street gang of the late 1860s.
A collection of criminals made up of gang members from the various New York street gangs following the "cleanup" of the Fourth Ward by police shortly after the American Civil War
, the Tub of Blood Bunch included members such as Skinner Meehan, Dutch Hen, Jack Cody, Sweeney the Boy, Brian Boru, and Hop Along Peter. Operating from a local bar, aptly named the Tub of Blood, the gang dominated the Corlears' Hook section of the East River
waterfront. Sweeney the Boy and Brian Boru in particular regularly robbed pedestrians for as simple reasons as a change of clothes. While the fates of the gang are unknown, Brian Boru was said by one account to have fallen asleep in a drunken stupor outside the tavern and, presumably killed by unknown assailants during the night, as he was found the following day nearly half eaten by dock rats.
One of the prominent members of the gang, Hop Along Peter was often hired by gangsters as a lookout during crimes, supposedly for his near pathological hatred of police officers, randomly attacking police officers on sight, usually allowing the other gangsters to escape. A feared "cop fighter" of New York's East Side for almost two decades, after his disappearance in the 1880s the last of the Tub of Blood Bunch faded into obscurity. The Tub of Blood, the last reminder of the gang, eventually closed down shortly after due to bankruptcy.
A collection of criminals made up of gang members from the various New York street gangs following the "cleanup" of the Fourth Ward by police shortly after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Tub of Blood Bunch included members such as Skinner Meehan, Dutch Hen, Jack Cody, Sweeney the Boy, Brian Boru, and Hop Along Peter. Operating from a local bar, aptly named the Tub of Blood, the gang dominated the Corlears' Hook section of the East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
waterfront. Sweeney the Boy and Brian Boru in particular regularly robbed pedestrians for as simple reasons as a change of clothes. While the fates of the gang are unknown, Brian Boru was said by one account to have fallen asleep in a drunken stupor outside the tavern and, presumably killed by unknown assailants during the night, as he was found the following day nearly half eaten by dock rats.
One of the prominent members of the gang, Hop Along Peter was often hired by gangsters as a lookout during crimes, supposedly for his near pathological hatred of police officers, randomly attacking police officers on sight, usually allowing the other gangsters to escape. A feared "cop fighter" of New York's East Side for almost two decades, after his disappearance in the 1880s the last of the Tub of Blood Bunch faded into obscurity. The Tub of Blood, the last reminder of the gang, eventually closed down shortly after due to bankruptcy.