Several key events in the West Virginia Mine Wars took place in August of 1921. August is an especially significant month in regards to the Battle of Blair Mountain, which was the largest armed labor uprising in the United States.
Many of the events date back to the spring of 1921. In the aftermath of the Battle of Matewan, commonly referred to as the Matewan Massacre, Chief of Police Sid Hatfield and a group of miners from Matewan were tried and found not guilty of the death of 7 Baldwin Felts Agents. Acts such as the Raid of the Lick Creek Tent Colony had further escalated tensions, with many miners being locked up under the premise of martial law.
A few months later, Hatfield and his Deputy Ed Chambers–unarmed and with their wives–were gunned down by Baldwin Felts agents on the courthouse steps in Welch on August 1st of 1921. This enraged miners across the state and further escalated tensions. Their constitutional rights had been violated time and again. One of the only law enforcement officers to stand up against mine guard rule had been brutally executed in broad daylight.
This caused tensions to boil over in early August as miners began to assemble for a planned march from Marmet into the southern coalfields to free miners being held under martial law.
