Samuel Morton
Encyclopedia
Samuel J. "Nails" Morton (1894 – May 13, 1923) was a high ranking member of Dean O'Banion
's Northside gang.
. He served with distinction and was awarded the Croix de Guerre
by the French Republic. By the war's end, he had been promoted to Lieutenant
.
, he was thrown from his horse and trampled to death. Grief stricken members of the North Side gang, including George "Bugs" Moran
, Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci
, Earl "Hymie" Weiss
, and Louis "Two Gun" Alterie
took the offending horse from its stables, led it to the spot where Morton died, and then shot the horse "with four slugs to the head".
Morton received a funeral with full military honors by the American Legion
. He was seen off by prominent politicians, city officials, and gangsters. According to the Chicago Daily News
, 5,000 Jews paid their respects to Morton that day.
. After a horse kicks to death his friend "Nails" Nathan (Leslie Fenton
), Tom Powers (James Cagney
) buys the horse and guns it down in the stables. The incident may also have inspired the infamous horse head scene from Mario Puzo
's The Godfather
.
Dean O'Banion
Charles Dean O'Banion was an Irish-American mobster who was the main rival of Johnny Torrio and Al Capone during the brutal Chicago bootlegging wars of the 1920s...
's Northside gang.
Early life
As a young man in the West Side Chicago, Morton won the admiration of the Jewish community for allegedly creating a self-defense society against Anti-Semites. The Chicago police also suspected him of at least two murders.World War I
After the United States declared war on Imperial Germany, Morton enlisted in the American Expeditionary ForceAmerican Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
. He served with distinction and was awarded the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
by the French Republic. By the war's end, he had been promoted to Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
.
Death
Morton was to die an early death at the hands (or hooves) of a horse. While riding in Lincoln ParkLincoln Park
Lincoln Park is an urban park in Chicago, which gave its name to the Lincoln Park, Chicago community area.Lincoln Park may also refer to:-Urban parks:*Lincoln Park , California*Lincoln Park, San Francisco, California...
, he was thrown from his horse and trampled to death. Grief stricken members of the North Side gang, including George "Bugs" Moran
Bugs Moran
George Clarence Moran , better known by the alias "Bugs" Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Moran, of Irish and Polish descent, moved to the north side of Chicago when he was 19, where he became affiliated with several gangs...
, Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci
Vincent Drucci
Vincent Drucci, also known as "The Schemer" , was an American mobster during Chicago's Prohibition era who served as a lieutenant under Dean O'Banion's North Side Gang and later as gang boss. Drucci was one of the few mobsters to ever be killed by a law enforcement officer...
, Earl "Hymie" Weiss
Hymie Weiss
Hymie Weiss was a Polish-American mob boss who became a leader of the Prohibition-era North Side Gang and a bitter rival of Al Capone.-Early years:...
, and Louis "Two Gun" Alterie
Louis Alterie
Louis "Two Gun" Alterie , born Leland A. Varain, and aka "Diamond Jack Alterie", was a Californian who became a notorious hitman for the Chicago North Side Gang during the early years of Prohibition.-Early years:...
took the offending horse from its stables, led it to the spot where Morton died, and then shot the horse "with four slugs to the head".
Morton received a funeral with full military honors by the American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
. He was seen off by prominent politicians, city officials, and gangsters. According to the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
, 5,000 Jews paid their respects to Morton that day.
In popular culture
Morton's death and its aftermath would later be fictionalized in the film The Public EnemyThe Public Enemy
The Public Enemy is a 1931 American Pre-Code crime film starring James Cagney and directed by William A. Wellman. The film relates the story of a young man's rise in the criminal underworld in prohibition-era urban America...
. After a horse kicks to death his friend "Nails" Nathan (Leslie Fenton
Leslie Fenton
Leslie Fenton was an English-born American actor and film director. He appeared in 62 films between 1923 and 1945....
), Tom Powers (James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
) buys the horse and guns it down in the stables. The incident may also have inspired the infamous horse head scene from Mario Puzo
Mario Puzo
Mario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
's The Godfather
The Godfather (novel)
The Godfather is a crime novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
.
Further reading
- Fried, Albert. The Rise and Fall of the Jewish Gangster in America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. ISBN 0-231-09683-6
- Mayer, Milton Sanford. "What Can a Man Do?". University of Chicago Press, 1964.
- O'Kane, James M. The Crooked Ladder. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994. ISBN 0-7658-0994-X
- Reppetto, Thomas. American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7798-7
- Asbury, Herbert. The Gangs of Chicago: An Informal History of the Chicago Underworld. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1986. ISBN 1-56025-454-8