WV Mine Wars Museum
In August 1921, an estimated 15,000 coal miners ...

The Redneck Army planned to free their compatriots from jail, help win the Mingo strike, and unionize the southern counties. First, they would have to go through Logan County where Sheriff Don Chafin, whose salary was paid by coal operators, had assembled an army of three thousand deputies and mine guards. Chafin’s “Logan Defenders,” armed with machine guns, took defensive positions along Blair Mountain’s 15-mile ridgeline.

In August 1921, an estimated 15,000 coal miners and their allies participated in the largest armed labor uprising in US history.

Battle of Matewan

On This Day in Labor History, the year was 1921, Mingo County.

On This Day in Labor History, the year was 1921, Mingo County.

Sid Hatfield, Chief of Police in Matewan, West Virginia, stood trial along with 22 others for the murder of Baldwin Felts agent Albert Felts. The backdrop? The United Mine Workers' efforts to organize coal miners. Hatfield, a supporter of miners' rights, confronted Baldwin-Felts agents who were evicting union miners. A phony arrest warrant escalated into a gun battle, known as the Battle of Matewan, leaving 7 detectives, 2 miners, and the Mayor of Matewan dead.

 
 
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