The Shirt Tails were a New York street gang of Five Points. One of the more violent gangs of the era the Shirt Tails were recognised by wearing their shirts outside of their pants. The Shirt Tails were much more discreet than gangs such as the Plug Uglies often carrying three or four weapons concealed under their shirts. Never numbering more than a few hundred members the Shirt Tails, like many other gangs, disappeared shortly before the American Civil War and its remaining members joined other various gangs.

Further reading

• Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York, New York, 1928