Paddy Whacked - a book that you might find interesting

[terrement]

Your "Bill the Butcher" mini might be a relation (brother? cousin?) of the actual Bill the Butcher.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bill+the+butcher&sca_esv=594082483&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1082US1082&sxsrf=AM9HkKk5AGCpuQE6aWt1xR5bDDept_AcRA%3A1703713445372&ei=pZqMZdSfFp-h5NoPhqq54Ak&gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwMS00MzVg9BJIyszJUSjJSFVIKi1JzkgtAgB3Mgjw&oq=bill+the+&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#ip=1

 The character from Gangs of New York actually existed and was at least if not more so larger than life as the gent in the movie.  Of the many various gangs in the Five Points area, Bill was effectively the leader of the gangs that identified as White Anglo-Saxon Protestants and they fought against any that were not.  Their major opponent were those who were Catholic immigrants, most notably the Irish.  These were considered by the WASPs to be lesser beings and as such did not belong in the same area as Bill's gangs.  The leader of the Irish Catholic side was as big of a character as Bill, one John "Old Smoke" Morrissey

https://www.google.com/search?q=John+%22Old+Smoke%22+Morrissey&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1082US1082&oq=John+%22Old+Smoke%22+Morrissey&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDEwOTdqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

The history of Morrissey is part of the book "Paddy Whacked" by T. J. English

https://www.amazon.com/Paddy-Whacked-Untold-American-Gangster/dp/0060590033

Which might also be of interest to any of the various "cops and robbers" wargaming. (Roaring 20's, Godfather, Mean Streets, Shut it! Geezers, Thugz, etc.)

[mikedemana]

There are a number of very interesting gangs of 19th century America. I researched a number of them when writing my Mean Streets rules (link in signature). In the end, I decided to build my collection on 20th century street gangs, aka the movie "The Warriors." Still, Bill the Butcher, the Dead Rabbits, and such are great fodder for gaming!

I'll give the book a look! Thank you...

Mike Demana

[Andy in Germany]

Just looked up Bill the Butcher in Wikipedia, A really nasty piece of work. It occurs to me that although I like playing Pulp Alley rules, I wouldn't have wanted to live in the era...

[zebcook]

Baltimore was one of the major centers of gang and election day riots at the time. As in New York, most of the gangs were Nativists, opposed to Irish, Germans, and Dutch immigrants. The most notorious of the gangs was the Plug Uglies, centered in Baltimore but who also ranged from Washington and New York to take part in election and draft riots. They used clubs, cutlasses, muskets, and even (on at least two occasions) a carronade to "defend" polling places so only the right people could vote. Other gangs in Baltimore included the Rip Raps, Bloody Tubs, and the Tigers. They fought other gangs, the police, the National Guard (in DC), and even Maryland and Pennsylvania state militia at the start of the Civil War (the Pratt Street Riot in Baltimore).

Their "exploits" make good skirmish scenarios. I've done games of these gang wars using a mix of Perry, Foundry, and Brigade Games figures.

[Carpathian]

The book G of NY is online
https://archive.org/details/gangsofnewyorkin0000herb

Didn't know much about Baltimore, thanks.

Intrigued by the idea of doing something with gold rush or post gold rush San Francisco

Depending on how far you want to stretch history it's got the Sydney ducks, vigilance committees, Shanghai operators, Chinese tongs...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Coast,_San_Francisco#:~:text=The%20term%20Barbary%20Coast%20is,on%20San%20Francisco%27s%20Barbary%20Coast.