Live Oak Boys

The Live Oak Boys was a New Orleans Irish street gang which dominated the city's underworld during the mid nineteenth century.

Led by "Red" Bill Wilson, the Live Oak Boys were formed in 1858. Named for the oaken clubs that were their weapon of choice, the gang was less organized than their Five Points counterparts, as members often kept for themselves whatever money or goods they had managed to steal. This would often lead to members' fighting each other, often stealing each other's stolen goods and, at times, even killing other members as in the murder of Henry Thompson by Jimmy O'Brien in 1867.

Based on Gallatin Street, the gang would be hired out by local businessmen to commit assault, arson, and other acts of vandalism against competitors, particularly dance halls, although a popular dance hall hangout was the Fireproof Coffee-House owned by former gang member Bill Swan.

The gang continued to dominate New Orleans for more than a decade. However, many members were eventually killed or imprisoned during the 1870s, and by 1880 the gang had declined to the point where they were often persecuted by the city's younger gangs. The Live Oak Boys disappeared shortly after.

Further reading

*Asbury, Herbert. "The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld". New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 1936. ISBN 1-56025-494-7