Battle Row Ladies' Social and Athletic Club
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The Battle Row Ladies' Social and Athletic Club, also known as the Lady Gophers was a gang of women who were affiliated with the Gopher Gang in Hell's Kitchen. It was one of the first "women's auxiliaries" to a New York gang.[1] The group was led by Battle Annie and members were considered just a "vicious as their male counterparts."[2][3] The group gave martial arts lessons.[4]
When the group was active in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, they were notable for being the largest group of women gang members at the time.[5] Battle Annie hired out members of her gang to fight for both trade unions and strikebreakers.[6] Battle Annie often encouraged women in her group to use "more strenuous activity with teeth and nails."[7]