You probably think of Bill the Butcher as a towering, eye-patched villain carving up a pig carcass in a candlelit basement. Or maybe you see Daniel Day-Lewis tapping his glass eye with a knife. It’s iconic. It’s cinematic. But honestly? The real man behind the myth—William Poole—was a lot weirder and, in some ways, much more dangerous than the movie version.
When people talk about Bill the Butcher, they usually conflate the fictional William Cutting from Gangs of New York with the historical figure who actually walked the streets of Lower Manhattan. The movie puts him in the middle of the 1863 Draft Riots. In reality? Bill had been dead and buried for eight years by the time those riots tore the city apart.
The Real Bill the Butcher Explained (Simply)
William Poole wasn't just a nickname. He was a literal butcher. Born in New Jersey in 1821, his family moved to NYC when he was about ten. They opened a shop in Washington Market. Bill grew up learning how to break down a side of beef with terrifying precision. That's where the knife skills came from. He wasn't just some guy with a blade; he was a professional.
He was a big dude for the 19th century. Standing six feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds of mostly muscle, he stood out in a city of malnourished immigrants. He didn't just stay behind a counter, though. Bill was a "pugilist"—a bare-knuckle boxer back when "rules" were basically suggestions. He was known for a "rough and tumble" style. That's a polite way of saying he would bite off a nose or gouge an eyeball if it meant winning.
Not Just a Gangster, But a Firefighter?
It sounds crazy now, but in the 1840s, fire departments were basically street gangs with better equipment. Bill joined the Howard (Red Rover) Volunteer Fire Engine Company #34.
When a fire broke out, rival companies would race to the scene. Why? Because the first crew to hook up to the hydrant got paid by the insurance companies. Bill’s boys would sometimes find a hydrant and flip an empty barrel over it, sitting on it to hide it until their engine arrived. If another gang showed up? A full-scale riot started while the building burned. This wasn't public service; it was a turf war.
What Really Happened With Bill the Butcher and the Bowery Boys
The "Natives" gang you see in the movie is a bit of a Hollywood invention. The real Bill the Butcher led the Bowery Boys. They weren't just thugs; they were a political force. They wore a specific "uniform": black stovepipe hats, red shirts, and trousers tucked into their boots. They were the muscle for the "Know Nothing" party.
✨ Don't miss: Elaine Cassidy Movies and TV Shows: Why This Irish Icon Is Still Everywhere
The Know Nothings were a nativist, anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic movement. They hated the influx of Irish and German immigrants. Bill wasn't just fighting for fun; he was fighting to keep "foreigners" from voting. He and his gang would stand at polling places and beat the living daylights out of anyone who looked like they might vote for Tammany Hall.
The Rivalry That Ended It All
The movie makes Bill’s main rival a fictional kid named Amsterdam Vallon. In real life, his nemesis was John Morrissey.
Morrissey was the polar opposite of Poole. He was an Irish immigrant, a champion boxer, and a "shoulder-hitter" for Tammany Hall. These two guys genuinely hated each other. They fought a legendary match at the Amos Street dock in 1854. Most accounts say Poole absolutely destroyed Morrissey, even biting a chunk out of his cheek.
But you don't mess with Tammany Hall and walk away forever.
The Assassination at Stanwix Hall
The death of Bill the Butcher wasn't some grand duel in the streets during a war. It was a messy, drunken ambush in a bar.
On February 24, 1855, Bill was at Stanwix Hall on Broadway. He ran into Morrissey’s associates, including a guy named Lewis Baker and a recently fired cop named Jim Turner. Things got heated. Spitting happened. Wagers were made.
🔗 Read more: Ebonie Smith Movies and TV Shows: The Child Star Who Actually Made It Out Okay
Then the guns came out.
Turner shot himself in the arm by mistake (classic), but then shot Bill in the leg. As Bill tried to fight back, Baker shot him in the chest. Here’s the crazy part: Bill the Butcher didn't die right away. He lived for nearly two weeks with a bullet lodged in the sac surrounding his heart. Doctors were baffled. He sat in his bed at 164 Christopher Street, surrounded by his "boys," slowly fading away.
On March 8, 1855, he finally succumbed. His last words?
"Good-bye boys; I die a true American."
Why Bill the Butcher Still Matters
So, why are we still obsessed with a guy who died in a bar fight 170 years ago?
Mainly because he represents a specific, raw tension in American history. The conflict between "established" citizens and new arrivals isn't a new thing—it's the bedrock of New York’s DNA. Scorsese used Bill as a symbol of that friction. Even if the movie gets the dates wrong, it gets the vibe right.
💡 You might also like: Eazy-E: The Business Genius and Street Legend Most People Get Wrong
Bill wasn't a hero. He was a xenophobic, violent brawler who used a butcher knife to intimidate voters. But he was also a product of a city that was literally building itself out of chaos.
Actionable Takeaways: Tracking the History
If you're ever in New York and want to see where the real Bill the Butcher left his mark, here is what's left:
- Green-Wood Cemetery: You can visit his grave in Brooklyn. For over a century, it was unmarked. It wasn't until 2004 that a proper headstone was finally placed there, largely thanks to the interest sparked by the movie.
- The Five Points: The area is now mostly occupied by the New York City Civil Court and Columbus Park. The "Old Brewery" tenement is long gone, but you can still feel the narrowness of the streets in nearby Chinatown.
- 164 Christopher Street: The site of his death. The original building is gone, but the location remains a pilgrimage site for history buffs.
Bill's life reminds us that history is usually more complicated than the movies make it out to be. He wasn't a kingpin ruling a city; he was a guy who knew how to use a knife and a fist to make a point in a very loud, very angry era of New York.
The next time you watch Gangs of New York, remember that the real "Butcher" was a man who lived and died by a code that was as brutal as the cuts of meat he sold in Washington Market. He wasn't just a character; he was a symptom of a city trying to figure out what it meant to be American.
To truly understand the era, look into the records of the Know Nothing Party or read Herbert Asbury’s original The Gangs of New York book. Just be warned: Asbury loved a good tall tale almost as much as Scorsese does. Stick to the municipal records and the newspaper archives like The Brooklyn Eagle if you want the unvarnished truth about the man they called Bill the Butcher.