America’s Domestic Wars

Coalfields of Appalachia, U S A

The West Virginia Coal Wars which occurred from 1920 to 1921 are also known as the Mine Wars, which resulted from an ongoing dispute between coal companies and miners who worked in them.

May 19, 1920, a shootout in Matewan, West Virginia, between agents of the Baldwin-Felts detective agency and local miners, sparked what became known as the Battle of Blair Mountain, which is still the largest revolt in the United States since the American Civil War.

The event was dramatized in the 1987 film feature simply titled Matewan.

The war initially started when Seven (7) Baldwin–Felts detectives were killed in Matewan, WV on May 19, 1920, during a shootout known as either the Matewan Massacre or the Battle of Matewan. Three additional townspeople were killed as well which included the Mayor of Matewan. A short time later, Baldwin–Felts gunmen assassinated the Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield and his friend Ed Chambers on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch, West Virginia.

On July 1, UMWA miners went on strike in the region. By this time, over 90 percent of Mingo County's miners had joined the union. Over the next thirteen months, a virtual war existed in the county. Non-union mines were dynamited miners' tent colonies were attacked, and there were numerous deaths on both sides of the cause.

On August 7, a crowd varyingly estimated from 700 to 5,000 gathered on the capitol grounds in Charleston to protest the killing.  UMWA's leaders who were there, such as Frank Keeney and Bill Blizzard, urged the miners to fight. Over the next two weeks, Keeney travelled around the state, calling for a march on Logan. On August 20, miners began assembling in Marmet, WV.

On August 24, the march began as approximately 5,000 men crossed Lens Creek Mountain. The miners wore red bandanas, which earned them the nickname, "red necks."    In Logan County, Sherriff Don Chafin mobilized an army of deputies, mine guards, store clerks, and state police.

The town of Logan was protected by a natural barrier, Blair Mountain, Don Chafin's forces, now under the command of the National Guard, took positions on the crest of Blair Mountain as the miners assembled in the town of Blair, near the bottom of the mountain. On the 28th, the marchers took their first prisoners totaling five men.

On the evening of the 30th, a local Baptist minister James E. Wilburn organized a small armed company to support the miners. On the 31st, Wilburn's men shot and killed three of Chafin's deputies, including John Gore, the father of one of the men captured previously. During the skirmish, a deputy killed one of Wilburn's followers, Eli Kemp. Over the next three days, there was intense fighting as National Guard brought in planes to drop bombs upon the miners.

On September 1, President Harding sent federal troops (following several requests) from Fort Thomas, Kentucky.  By the 3rd, the first federal troops arrived at Blair and Logan.

When confronted with the possibility of fighting against U.S. troops, a majority of the miners surrendered but some of the miners on Blair Mountain continued fighting until the 4th, at which time nearly all surrendered or just went home. The fighting resulted in the death of at least twelve miners and four men from Chafin's army.

Of those miners who surrendered, they were placed on trains and sent home. However, those who were supposed as leaders were to be held accountable for the actions of all the miners. Special grand juries were appointed which handed down 1,217 indictments, including 325 for murder and 24 for treason against the state of West Virginia; only one of the treason charges against the state resulted in convection and that individual skipped bail and was never captured. James E. Wilburn (the preacher) and his son were convicted of murdering the Logan County deputies. However, both were pardoned by Governor Howard Gore after serving only three years of their eleven-year sentences.

There’s generally a reason for everything if you apply the old cause & effect theory to such events.   So for those who may wonder why or what could have led to such bloodshed and violence in small towns like Matewan and Logan, West Virginia (I’ve visited both and they look peaceful enough to me) … Tomorrows post will tell you why / how!

Sources …                                                                        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin-Felts_Detective_Agency  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_Coal_Wars                http://www.wvculture.org/history/minewars.html