Chatham Rabbits

About

The Dead Rabbits riot was a two-day civil disturbance in New York City that occurred on July 4–5, 1857. What began as a small-scale street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys escalated into a citywide gang war. Taking advantage of the disorganized state of the city's police force, which was weakened by conflict between the Municipal and Metropolitan police, the fighting spiraled into widespread looting and damage of property by gangsters and other criminals from across the city. An estimated 800 to 1,000 gang members participated in the riots, along with several hundred others who exploited the disturbance to loot the Bowery area. The riot was the largest disturbance since the Astor Place Riot in 1849 and represented the biggest scene of gang violence until the New York Draft Riots of 1863. Order was eventually restored by the New York State Militia, who were supported by detachments of city police under the command of Major-General Charles W. Sandford.