Plug Uglies: The Gang with Their Own City

Posted on April 24, 2012 by atomictv

By Nick Dupree (Yesteeyear.com, 4/11/2012)

“…The Plug Uglies grew and grew to be the most powerful and feared club of nativist thugs in history, the term “plug ugly” itself becoming genericized to mean any such stovepipe hat-wearing street tough. While the Bowery Boys cornered the market on crime in one neighborhood, the Plug Uglies ran an entire city, sometimes even nearing power in all of Maryland.

Controlling the streets and only allowing wards to vote for American Party (know nothing) candidates was their path to power.

One way they steered elections was especially extraordinary: they would “coop” any vulnerable immigrants, homeless people and men weaker than them in basements or shacks, 40-90 men to a shack, then herd them to vote over and over again in different wards wearing different clothes.

Edgar Allan Poe was slipped a mickey and “cooped” by Plug Uglies right before his death, and was seen at different polling places in unfamiliar clothes. Poe experts still speculate about the poet’s death.

For her part, Poe’s cousin’s daughter and important Poe scholar Elisabeth Ellicott Poe, placed blame squarely on the Plug Uglies’ shoulders, writing a piece marking the centennial of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth and recounting his history, that ‘On the night of October 4, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe arrived in Baltimore from Richmond. He was going North to be married, and was last seen to alight from the Richmond train in Baltimore and go into a near-by saloon. What happened after that, in brief, was this: His drink was drugged under direction of a gang of plug-uglies and he was voted about the city next day in the elections as a repeater while still drugged. The plug-uglies were members of a secret political organization, and their lips were sealed. But a certain Passano of that society, in after years said that Edgar Poe was kept in his coop that night. After the plug-uglies had finished with the unfortunate man he was thrown carelessly into the street, left to die if he willed. …he never recovered sufficiently to give the details of his dreadful plight.’”

Continue reading “Plug Uglies: The Gang with Their Own City” at Yesteeyear.com.

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Posted in 1840s, 1850s, Baltimore Babylon, Baltimorons, Crime, Deaths, Edgar Allan Poe | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

George Zimmerman is a Steelers Fan

Posted on April 24, 2012 by atomictv

The Orlando Sentinel reports, “The 28-year-old walked out of the jail wearing a brown Pittsburgh Steelers jacket and carrying a brown paper bag. He quickly got into the back seat of a white BMW and was driven away. He did not comment to reporters, who were kept at a distance.”

Posted in 2010s, Crime, Ravens | Leave a comment

Princess Missing, Kids Devistated

Posted on April 23, 2012 by atomictv

Flier on window of 7-11 on Back River Neck Road in Essex. Email us for phone number if you have a lead.

 

Posted in 2010s, Essex / Middle River | Leave a comment

Slayer at the Seagull Inn, 1985

Posted on April 20, 2012 by atomictv

Mike and Kerry King wearing a Septic Death shirt

(As told by Mike Smith of Deceased)

The day was March 17, 1985. I saw probably the greatest Heavy Metal show of my life. Back then, shows were truly underground, word of mouth was how you found out about a show. About a week before March 17, my friend Tim heard that Slayer was playing a small club called the Seagull Inn in Essex Maryland. Besides the fact that no one knew if Slayer were really playing a show there, there was also the fact that there were probably a hundred bands calling themselves “Slayer” back then. This could have been some lame Baltimore band playing a set of covers in Bumfuck Maryland on a Sunday night. Tim and I didn’t care though, if Slayer were playing a show, we would be there. Another problem was we weren’t 21, and these were the days when they didn’t stamp your hand if you were underage, not 21, you don’t get in. We didn’t care about this either, we’d find someway to get in. So, we headed up to the Baltimore suburbs early, getting to the club around noon that Sunday.

The Seagull Inn was on the bay, really out in the middle of nowhere. When we pulled up there was no one there, we though there was no way Slayer was playing this place and we had wasted a few hours driving up to this place. We went up to the door, and there we saw a Slayer promo picture on the wall, saying that they were indeed playing that night, and I think it was $6 to get in. We were excited, but still had no idea how we were going to get into the show.

Mike and Tom Araya

About an hour after we arrived, a white van pulled in, with a U-Haul trailer behind it. It parked, and out came Slayer!! We went right over to the van, and I explained our situation to Tom Araya. He told us not to worry about it, they would tell the club that we were part of the crew. The guys were so cool, Tom talked to us the whole time we were waiting for the club to open. He said that this show was the second show of the Hell Awaits tour, and that they were going to NY in a couple of days to play with Exodus and Venom at Studio 54,. which we know now was the legendary show that made the Ultimate Revenge video. He told us we should follow them up to the next show in Delaware, and to the NY show. We were SO tempted, but I had school the next day, and my parents would kill me. Tom was so candid with us, as we talked about underground Metal, he said he would quit Slayer to join Exodus in a heartbeat, and he was serious! We took pictures with Tom and Kerry, had our albums signed and got some shirts. Finally, someone came and opened up the club and we went inside…

Continue reading “Slayer at the Seagull Inn” at Deceased… Up the Tombstones

Posted in 1980s, Essex / Middle River, Music | Tagged | 3 Comments