On the night of May 29, 1873, gang members Billy Woods, Bum Mahoney and Conroy's chief lieutenant Socco the Bracer stole a small boat from Jackson Street and sailed downstream along the East River to Pier 27 where the brig Margaret was docked and waiting to be loaded with cargo.
Musgrave flashed a dark lantern out over the water, searching for any sign of the pirates, and saw a boat slowly pull out from underneath a nearby pier.