The Charlton Street Gang was a group of

river pirates A river pirate is a pirate who operates along a river. The term has been used to describe many different kinds of pirate groups who carry out riverine attacks in Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. They are usually prosecuted ...

on the Hudson River in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

during the mid-19th century. The Charlton Street Gang were one of the earliest river pirate gangs. They raided small cargo ships in the North River of New York Harbor during the post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

period of the 1860s. After a time the ocean liners and major shipping vessels around the Manhattan west side dockyards became so well protected that the gang moved upriver. In 1869, under the leadership of

Sadie the Goat Sadie FarrellO'Kane, James M. ''The Crooked Ladder: Gangsters, Ethnicity and the American Dream''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. (pg. 49, 52); (fl. 1869) was an alleged semi- folklorish American criminal, gang leade ...

, the gang stole a sloop, and soon began raiding merchant ships and homes along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, from the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...

as far as

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

. Flying the flag of the

Jolly Roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...

, the gang was extremely successful. They became known for kidnapping wealthy men, women and children for ransom. According to newspapers of the period, Sadie the Goat allegedly had forced several male victims to walk the plank. However, after several victims had been murdered by the gang, local

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

residents formed a vigilante group. After a number of Charlton Street gang members were killed in a series of violent battles, the gang decided to retreat to the New York waterfront, where they returned to

street crime Street crime is a loose term for any criminal offense in a public place. The difference between street crime and white-collar crime is that street crime is often violence that occurs in a public area whereas white-collar crime is non-violent crim ...

. They eventually dissolved by the end of the decade.

Gallery

File:Birds Eye View NYC John Bachmann 1865.jpg, The

waterfront where "Sadie the Goat" Farrell the leader of the Charlton Street Gang harassed shipping in the 1860s.

References

Bibliography

*Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982 {{Organized crime groups in New York City 19th-century American criminals Former gangs in New York City American pirates 19th-century pirates

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography