Gangster of New York : a violent life in nineteenth-century America / Andrew Wender Cohen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cohen, Andrew Wender, 1968- Author.

Series:

Cambridge historical studies in American law and society.

Cambridge historical studies in American law and society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bieral, Louis, 1814-1900.

Bieral, Louis.

Gangsters--United States.

Gangsters.

Crime--New York (State)--New York--History--19th century.

Crime.

United States--History--United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Veterans.

United States.

New York (N.Y.)--History.

New York (N.Y.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 248 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2026.

Summary:

This is the story of Louis Bieral, a nineteenth-century gangster, politician, sportsman, and Civil War hero. Kidnapped from his birthplace in revolutionary South America, he doused fires in Jacksonian New York, battled Sumatran pirates with the US Navy, and panned for California gold. As a crime boss, he raced horses, boxed champions, and ran brothels. Yet Bieral's adventurous life was also steeped in the brutality of his time. He befriended rowdies like 'Butcher' Bill Poole, returned fugitives like Anthony Burns to slavery, and assaulted abolitionists such as Richard Henry Dana. As a Union officer, Bieral won fame in battle. He was a Gilded-age bodyguard for 'Boss' Tweed, William Seward, and Jim Fisk, becoming a suspect in that tycoon's murder. From the docks of Valparaíso to the dining room of Delmonico's to the cells of Auburn Prison, Bieral's remarkable journey illustrates the violence that bound nineteenth-century America together.

Contents:

Revolutions

Round the world

One of the b'hoys

The fancy

Golden year

The brown man

Spanish Lewy

Gory vision

Reconstruction

Old soldier.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 May 2026).

ISBN:

9781009710619

9781009710589

9781009710602