After catching wind of the detectives’ activities, Matewan Mayor Cabell Testerman and a pro-union sheriff named Sid Hatfield raised a small posse and confronted them near the local train station. At least one person was wounded, and another, a prohibition officer, was killed. [18], This gunfight became known as the Matewan Massacre, and its symbolic significance was enormous for the miners. card. card. It exposed the dark and murderous intentions of corporations. It is a question of master and servant.”[13][14] The UMW set up tent colonies for the homeless miner families, and soon a mass of idle and angry miners was concentrated in a small area along the Tug Fork River. Miners from Battle of Blair Mountain giving up their guns. In early 1920, UMW president John L. Lewis targeted Mingo County for organizing. Posts about Battle of Blair Mountain. Scores of union men streamed up the mountainside, but despite their superior numbers, they were repeatedly driven back by the defenders, who riddled them with machine gun fire from the high ground. Coal mining families in southern West Virginia joined the United Mine Workers of America and rose up against a cruel system created and controlled by the mine owners. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. The miners reached Blair Mountain on August 29, and the first fighting started on August 31. Read more. Communities. Posts about Battle of Blair Mountain. It would be Bill Blizzard's trial where the unexploded bomb was used as evidence of the government and companies' brutality, and ultimately resulted in his acquittal. Striking miners drawing rations in West Virginia. Nov 21, 2020 - Explore Joyce Robertson's board "Blair Mountain", followed by 110 people on Pinterest. The Battle of Blair Mountain covers a profoundly significant but long-neglected slice of American history - the largest armed uprising on American soil since the Civil War. "45 Arrested Miners Say," Charleston Gazette, 7-12-1921. It exposed the dark and murderous intentions of corporations. At a rally on August 7, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones called on the miners not to march into Logan and Mingo counties and set up the union by force. 24.5m members. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and one of the largest, best-organized, and most well-armed uprisings since the American Civil War.. Meanwhile, the reviled and anti-union Sheriff of Logan County, Don Chafin (1887–1954),[34] had begun to set up defenses on Blair Mountain. The first family they evicted was a woman and her children, whose husband was not home at the time. The Battle of Blair Mountain is the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War and is a landmark event in United States history. Albert and Lee were the brothers of Thomas Felts, the founder and director of the agency. Miners' Rebellion (2012) by alt country band The Miners tells the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain. Chafin was supported financially by the Logan County Coal Operators Association, creating the nation's largest private armed force of nearly 2,000. Addressing labor issues in contemporary times, this historical narrative makes clear the human costs of extracting coal for electricity. This “Three Days Battle” was finally ended by a flag of truce and the implementation of martial law. Nov 21, 2020 - Explore Joyce Robertson's board "Blair Mountain", followed by 110 people on Pinterest. On August 24, the main body of coal miners set out from Marmet and headed south toward Mingo County. Battle of Blair Mountain (2004) is a song by folk singer David Rovics and can be found on his album Songs for Mahmud. During the Battle of Blair Mountain, unionized workers from Matewan and southern West Virginia attempted to occupy non-union mines in nearby Logan County to protest mining companies’ treatment of workers. Photo taken looking south on Route 17, from a different perspective that the other distance photo. "Blair Mountain Battle Revived," … The Battle of Blair Mountain, the culmination of the largest armed insurrection in the United States since the Civil War, ended on September 4, 1921. [5][6] Beginning in 1870–1880, coal operators had established the company town system. September 4 marks the end of fighting at the Battle of Blair Mountain, which was the largest example of class war in U.S. history. [31] On 7 August 1921, the leaders of the UMW District 17, which encompasses much of southern West Virginia, called a rally at the state capitol in Charleston. “The Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial events will tell both an historical and contemporary story,” the release read. Those that didn’t crash failed to drop bombs that actually blew up anywhere near people. See more ideas about battle of blair mountain, west virginia, appalachia. The Battle of Blair Mountain is the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War and is a landmark event in United States history. Location: Logan County, West Virginia, U.S. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the result of inhumane treatment of coal miners in the southern West Virginia coalfields. Submit interesting and specific facts … See more ideas about battle of blair mountain, west virginia, appalachia. That in turn led to the UMWA helping organize many better-known unions such as the Steel Workers during the mid-thirties. [25] The enforcement of martial law was from the beginning decidedly against the striking miners. After spending days to assemble his private army, Chafin was not going to be denied his battle to end union attempts at organizing Logan County coal mines. Impatient to get to the fighting, miners near St. Albans, in West Virginia's Kanawha County, commandeered a Chesapeake and Ohio freight train, renamed by the miners as the 'Blue Steel Special', to meet up with the advanced column of marchers at Danville in Boone County on their way to Bloody Mingo. [7] In order to accomplish this objective, agents of the coal operators used intimidation, harassment, espionage and even murder. The coal companies responded by bringing in non-union replacement workers, and over the next several months, the two sides engaged in a fierce guerilla war. The hostilities only ramped up in 1920, when the UMW finally started to organize workers in Mingo County. Infuriated, the miners turned back towards Blair Mountain, many traveling in other stolen and commandeered trains. Blair Mountain holds a special place in West Virginia and U.S. history. card classic compact. The following day, President Warren Harding threatened to send in federal troops and Army Martin MB-1 bombers. Blair Mountain is under threat of Mountaintop Removal mining. The miners proposed to march to Logan and Mingo counties to rescue union miners who had been jailed or mistreated in attempts to unionize the mines. Mayor Testerman fell to the ground in the first volley, mortally wounded. The Battle of Blair Mountain: Home. WVPB News. The Battle of Blair Mountain is the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War and is a landmark event in United States history. Rich and powerful strangers seized the town of Annedal getting hold of the coalfields that the resident coal miners used as the source of their daily bread. The Battle of Blair Mountain is now cited as a pivotal chapter in American labor history, but in the short term, it proved to be a crushing defeat for the miners. The song Black Lung by The Radio Nationals (band) is also based on this conflict. This trial was in the national spotlight, and it brought much attention to the miners’ cause. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest organized armed uprising in United States labor history and led almost directly to the labor laws currently in effect today. During that dispute, agents drove a heavily armored train through a tent colony at night, opening fire on women, men, and children with a machine gun. [9], On May 19, 1920, 12 Baldwin-Felts agents arrived in Matewan, including Lee Felts, and promptly met up with Albert Felts who was already in the area. Up to 30 deaths were reported by Chafin’s side and 50–100 on the union miners' side, with hundreds more injured. The first part of The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart (Glenn Taylor, 2008) concerns the relationship between the book's main character and Sid Hastings, his involvement in the Matewan massacre and the ensuing battle. Sheriff Chafin had chartered three private biplanes and equipped them with teargas and pipe bombs loaded with nuts and bolts for shrapnel. Battle of Blair Mountain Marker. [11] Mingo’s political structure was more independent, and some politicians were pro-union. Teaching Activities (Free) Coal, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mountaintop Removal. Up to 100 people were killed, and many more arrested. 24.5m members. The three-day Battle of Blair Mountain was the climax of a war that had rocked West Virginia since the early years of the twentieth century when the United Mine Workers, led by Mother Jones, tried repeatedly to penetrate tightly controlled company coal towns. In addition, in the summer of 2011, a march commemorating the 90th anniversary of the march was organized by activists including archaeologist and activist Brandon Nida, which traced the 50-mile march of the miners. John Sayles' 1987 film Matewan depicts the Matewan Massacre, a small part of the Blair Mountain story. The song "Battle of Blair Mountain" (2010) written by Louise Mosrie and Mike Richardson can be found on Louise Mosrie's album "Home" (Zoe Cat Music/BMI). Posts. One of their primary tactics of combating the union was firing union sympathizers, blacklisting them, and evicting them from their homes. Many of the marchers were World War I veterans, and they came armed to the teeth with military-issue Springfield rifles and shotguns. Throughout the 20th century, coal miners attempted to overthrow the system laid out by the coal companies and partake in a number of strikes. The war,Battle of Blair Mountain, struck the United States in 1921. The Blair Mountain march, as well as the events leading up to it and those immediately following it, are depicted in the novels Storming Heaven (Denise Giardina, 1987) and Blair Mountain (Jonathan Lynn, 2006). Along with him traveled a good friend, Ed Chambers, and their two wives. The miners’ route to Mingo required them to pass through Logan County, a coal company stronghold ruled by an anti-union sheriff named Don Chafin. In October 2012, a federal judge ruled against a coalition of preservation groups, and in favor of the coal companies that want to mine the historic site.[39]. For years, Blair Mountain has been under assault by such corporations as Natural Resource Partners L.P. and Arch Coal, Inc.—large absentee conglomerates that own most of … Reports of casualties ranged from as few as 20 killed to as many as 100, but the actual number has never been confirmed. In the final analysis, management's success was a pyrrhic victory that helped lead to a much larger and stronger organized labor movement in many other industries and labor union affiliations and umbrella organizations like the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). A combination of events led to this uprising. The Battle of Blair Mountain in Logan County, West Virginia was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. In 1921, some 10,000 West Virginia coal miners, outraged over years of brutality and lawless exploitation, picked up their Winchesters and marched against their tormentors, the powerful mine owners who By Forest McDermott, May 23, 2008. Chris and Dave from the and join Breht to cover the fascinating and crucially important history of the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest labor uprising in American history and the largest armed uprising in America since the Civil War. Thousands of spent and live cartridges have made it into private collections. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia. r/WestVirginia. "Building a Working-Class Archaeology: The Colorado Coal Field War Project". The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia. [22], On January 26, 1921, the trial of Sid Hatfield for killing Albert Felts began. Mining families lived under the terror of Baldwin-Felts detective agents who were professional strikebreakers under the hire of coal operators. Sid Hatfield posed and talked to reporters, fanning the flames of his own stature and legend. Within days, thousands of union supporters had flocked to the outskirts of Marmet, a small town located near the state capital of Charleston. [11] As a teenager, Hatfield had worked in the coalmines and he was sympathetic to the miners' condition. pp. Miners were said to have fired on Brockus and Martin’s men from the colony, and in response the state police shot and arrested miners, ripped the canvas tents to shreds, and scattered the mining families’ belongings. In the spring of 1920, private goons hired by the coal companies were sent in to break a strike of coal miners in Matewan, a town in the southwestern part of West Virginia. The Battle of Blair Mountain Is Still Being Waged. All Rights Reserved. You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? At least one did not explode and was recovered by the miners; it was used months later to great effect during treason and murder trials following the battle. It was fought over the course of five days in 1921 by 10,000 coal miners. [37] Currently, preservation efforts are being led by the Blair Mountain Heritage Alliance, which is located in Blair, WV and which runs the Blair Community Center and Museum. The Battle of Blair Mountain was one of the largest civil uprisings in United States history and the largest armed rebellion since the American Civil War. The miners made more progress when the battle was renewed on September 1. In a short time, the conflict had consumed the entire Tug River Valley. Beginning in 1870–1880, coal operators had established the company town system. The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia. This page was last revised on September 5, 2019. Chafin's men, though outnumbered, had the advantage of higher positions and better weaponry. The first skirmishes occurred on the morning of August 25. The 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain was the most dramatic and heroic of these struggles, and remains the largest armed uprising of the working class in U.S. history. The gunfight marked the beginning of what became known as the Battle of Blair Mountain. In late August 1921, union miners and coal company supporters clashed near Blair Mountain, West Virginia, in what has been called the largest armed uprising since the Civil War. Folk punk band My Life in Black and White released the song Bombs on Blair Mountain on their 2009 album Hold the Line. ", "Berkeley Grad Student Plays Leading Role in West Virginia March on Blair Mountain", http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-06-15/article/37972?headline=Berkeley-Grad-Student-Plays-Leading-Role-in-West-Virginia-March-on-Blair-Mountain--By-Carol-Polsgrove, "Judge Rules Against Groups in Blair Mountain List Case", http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2012/10/02/judge-rules-against-groups-in-blair-mountain-list-case--By-Ken-Ward-Jr, http://books.google.com/books?id=b5-RE_XdH_IC&printsec=frontcover&dq=when+miners+march&hl=en&sa=X&ei=y6D5UJeCJYOc8gTqrYHICg&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=when%20miners%20march&f=false, http://books.google.com/books?id=LwjSAAAAIAAJ&q=inauthor:%22David+Corbin%22&dq=inauthor:%22David+Corbin%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kKD5UIa_MYTQ9ATvl4CIAg&ved=0CGQQ6AEwCA, http://books.google.com/books/about/Last_Mountain_Dancer.html?id=9HtRV_OSK1oC, http://books.google.com/books?id=FfmAAAAAMAAJ&q=bloodletting+in+Appalachia&dq=bloodletting+in+Appalachia&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EYH5UOmPM4Si8QSKk4DQCg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA, http://books.google.com/books/about/Struggle_in_the_coal_fields.html?id=nE3tAAAAMAAJ, http://www.archaeology.org/1201/features/blair_mountain_coal_activism_west_virginia.html, http://books.google.com/books/about/Thunder_in_the_Mountains.html?id=6Nl5PiTRwwMC, http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Battle_of_Blair_Mountain.html?id=XyTuG5fO5E4C, http://books.google.com/books?id=qrXkqj7T7u8C&pg=PA100&dq=A+guide+to+historic+coal+towns+of+the+Big+Sandy+River+Valley&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WKL5UPaeGZDm9gT7iYH4Dw&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA, HistoryPodcast and transcription: "The Battle of Blair Mountain", Baseball and rebellion: The treason trial of Bill Blizzard, Zinn Education Guide: Teaching Guide for Blair Mountain, '"A Moment in the Sun": An Extended Interview with Independent Filmmaker, Author John Sayles', "Detective Tells Story of Fatal Matewan Riot", http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-02-13/ed-1/seq-10/;words=Matewan?date1=1836&rows=20&searchType=basic&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=matewan&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&index=0, Length of U.S. participation in major wars, https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain?oldid=5014934, [[File:{{{image_name}}}|300px|Sheriff's deputies during the battle]]. Diane Gilliam Fisher's poetry collection, Kettle Bottom, published by Perugia Press, also focuses on the events of the Battle of Blair Mountain, from the perspective of the miners' families. "Believe Intervention By U. S. Would Prevent Any Further Disorders," Advertiser, 9-7- 1921. card classic compact. Miners along the Little Coal River were among the first to militarize, and began actions such as patrolling and guarding the area. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. “The Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial events will tell both an historical and contemporary story,” the release read. The assassination outraged the miners, who considered Hatfield a hero for his involvement in the Matewan shootout. In 1921, some 10,000 West Virginia coal miners, outraged over years of brutality and lawless exploitation, picked up their Winchesters and marched against their tormentors, the powerful mine owners who “No armed mob will cross the Logan County line,” he proclaimed. On orders from the famous General Billy Mitchell, Army bombers from Maryland were also used for aerial surveillance, an early example of air power being used by the federal government against US citizens. Realizing he would lose a lot of good miners if the battle continued with the military, union leader Bill Blizzard passed the word for the miners to start heading home the following day. But directly in the way stood Blair Mountain, Logan County, and Sheriff Don Chafin.[33]. It contains music by a number of traditional artists, including Riley Baugus and Tim Eriksen. The Battle of Blair Mountain is the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War and is a landmark event in United States history. Starting in the summer of 2006, Kenneth King, a local avocational archaeologist led a team of professional archaeologists to further investigate the battlefield. “It is time to lay down the bible and take up the rifle,” miner and Baptist reverend John Wilburn declared. Led by UMW organizers Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney, they resolved to march on Mingo County to confront the coal companies and free the union men imprisoned in the area. Caitlin Tan, The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum reopened Sept. 3 in a new location in Matewan, West Virginia featuring more detailed and researched exhibits about… Listen • 5:33 Radio. Collectors and researchers to this day are still finding weapons and ammunition embedded in old trees and in rock crevices. Communities. It was a bloody battle, and it was very deadly to fight or be in. Visit. Up to 100 people were killed, and many more arrested. [28] As they walked up the courthouse stairs, unarmed and flanked by their wives, a group of Baldwin-Felts agents standing at the top of the stairs opened fire. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the result of years of bitter labor disputes between the miners and coal companies of southern West Virginia. Today, the subject is not miners’ rights but the survival of a mountain that has stood for nearly a century as a symbol of workers’ resistance to overwhelming opposition. UMW membership plummeted from more than 50,000 miners to approximately 10,000 over the next several years, and it was not until 1935 — following the Great Depression and the beginning of the New Deal under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — that the UMW fully organized in southern West Virginia. 28.2k members. Battle of Blair Mountain. By September 2, federal troops had arrived. If the servant leaves your employment, if you discharge him, you ask him to get out of the servants’ quarters. It lasted four days, led to dozens of deaths, and ended only after President … Talk began to spread of a march on Mingo to free the confined miners, end martial law, and organize the county. [17], As the agents walked to the train station to leave town, Sid Hatfield and a group of deputized miners confronted them and told the agents they were under arrest. [29] As Sid and Ed’s bodies were returned to Matewan, word of the slayings spread through the mountains. Upon learning of the march, Chafin scraped together a 3,000-strong army of state police, deputies and citizen militiamen and prepared for a fight. Hatfield was killed instantly, while Chambers' bullet-riddled body rolled to the bottom of the stairs. The Battle of Blair Mountain is the largest armed insurrection in the United States other than the Civil War and is a landmark event in United States history. [20] Throughout the summer and into the fall of 1920, the union gained strength in Mingo County, as did the resistance of the coal operators. That morning, a detachment of union men assaulted a spot called Craddock Fork with a Gatling gun looted from a coal company store. Check out Check out A List of Sources: 1. “Thunder In the Mountains” by Lon Savage 2. [19] Sid became an immediate legend and hero to the union miners, and became a symbol of hope that the oppression of coal operators and their hired guns could be overthrown. 50-100 miners were murdered and 985 were arrested for daring to go on strike against anti-union activity. The tensions between the union and the coal companies that led up to the famous Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest open and armed rebellion in United States history, are described in detail, as are its aftermath and legacy. Chafin and his supporters had soon constructed a network of machine gun nests and trenches around Blair Mountain, a 2,000-foot peak that stood directly in the miners’ path. They forced them out at gunpoint, and threw their belongings in the road under a light but steady rain. This research paper discusses the events of the Battle of Blair Mountain, which was the largest labor insurrection in American history. The Battle of Blair Mountain was the result of years of bitter labor disputes between the miners and coal companies of southern West Virginia. Though some were acquitted by sympathetic juries, many were also imprisoned for a number of years, though they were paroled in 1925. Apr 18, 2017 - Explore MT Randolph's board "Battle of Blair Mountain", followed by 290 people on Pinterest. The three-day Battle of Blair Mountain was the climax of a war that had rocked West Virginia since the early years of the twentieth century when the United Mine Workers, led by Mother Jones, tried repeatedly to penetrate tightly controlled company coal towns. Battle of Blair Mountain: Topics in Chronicling America In 1921, West Virginia coal miners revolted at Blair Mountain and forced President Harding to intervene. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. [7][8] Coal operators paid private detectives as well as public law enforcement agents to ensure that union organizers were kept out of the region. In April 2008, Blair Mountain was chosen for the list of protected places on the National Register of Historic Places. Submit interesting and specific facts about something that you just found out here. “Machine guns cracked up there so you would think the whole place was coming down on you,” miner Ira Wilson later recalled. 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