The 19th Street Gang was a New York City predominantly Irish street gang during the 1870s known as a particularly violent anti-Protestant gang. The 19th Street Gang, made up mostly of young pickpockets, muggers, and sneak thieves, was led by a young man known as Little Mike. Operating around New York's to , known as "", the gang mainly robbed defenseless victims, such as the elderly, as well as women and children; however, the gang was sometimes said to spare local Catholics, often asking victims to give their baptismal name, recite psalms, their local church, and other questions.