Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1922-04-25

Street Scene in Charles Town u
guns and light artillery was produced
from secret hiding places.
The miners attacked time after
time, only to be thrown back. The
bloodiest fighting occurred at Blair
Mountain and Sharples, where deter
mined attempts were made to break
through the Logan defenses.
The last day of the "war" a party
of New York newspaper men and
press association representatives
were permitted by the miners to pass
through their lines and enter the
Logan defenses. One woman was in
the party. A New York writer was
struck by bullet. The Logan de-
Tenders thought the newspaper peo-
pie were invaders and placed them
under arrest. Their identity, having
been established, they were permit
ted to leave Logan county.
Finally the federal government
stepped into the conflict. The
United States regulars arrived early
in September-it was on a Saturday
afternoon. One detachment ap-
preached the miners rear in Boone
county being rushed to the front on
troop trains. The other force went
directly to Logan county and assum-
ed control there.
Sunday morning, after airplanes
had dropped messages on the miners
that the federal troops were in con
/ troll, the invaders hid their arms in
the mountains and left the front on
the same train which had brought the
soldiers up.
! The actual casualties will never be
known. Logan lost three or four
men. Many charges of cnspiracy to
commit murder are based upon the
killing of Deputy Sheriff John Gore at
Blair Mountain. The miners prob
ably lost between twenty and fifty
dead and large number wounded.
Grand juries Immediately started
probe of the march. The most i'm
portant investigation took place in
Logan county, where more than
1000 were indicted. Among them
are Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney.
officials of District II, United Mine
/ Workers; Frank V. Snyder, editor of
West Virginia Federationist, publish
ed at Charleston, and William Biz
card, alleged field generalissimo of
the instruction.
The trials of course are expected
to determine whether or not the right
parties are in custody, and the ex-
tent of their crimes.
The trials are taking place in the
historic Court House in which John
Brown and his band was tried for
treason in 1859. The John Brown
trials took place on the first floor of
the Court House, which has been
very much improved since that time.
being considerably wrecked dur
ing the War Between the States"
John Brown and his band of some
twenty-five or thirty men attacked
and captured the United States Ar
senal at Harpers Ferry on the night
of October II, 1859, and after
couple of days of fighting between
his band and citizens and Virginia
MALTA, was captured with eight or
ten of his command, the rest all be-
ing killed in the fighting, and were
brought to Charles Town and incar-
cerated in the Old jefferson County
jail, which stood on the vacant lot,
across the street from the Court
House. They were tried immediate
ly and were executed in the south
eastern part of town near the SPOT
where the Gibson residence now
stands.
1t was an impressive scene when
court opened yesterday morning,
Judge j. M. Woods was on the bench.
and the Clerk, Sheriff McCoughtry
and his deputies, Court reporters,
&C., were all in their places. The
counsel table where the Attorneys
sit was moved back several feet, to
make room for a long table i'm
mediately in front of the railing, at
which the dozen or more newspaper
reporters had seats. The right of
the court house was taken up with
more then two hundred defendants,
and the witnesses, &C., for the State,
were given seats on the left.
The State yesterday called I'D the
indictment for treason against the
following defendants:
+. b. Keeney, Fred Mooney, Scott
Reese, VIM. Roy, Dave Ware, Eb.
Cakes, James Corbitt, Vim. Blizzard,
A. G. Porter, R. P. Toney, Frank
Snyder, A. D. Lavender, Walter
Allen, D. A. Muncey, Lawrence Dun
yer. Henry Afford, Dewey Bailey,
Anthony Neff, James Burnside, Okey
johnson, Isaac Scott, Chas. Elswood.
j. I. Carton, Ross Hager.
The Counsel for the Defense NOV
ed to quash the indictments on the
grounds that it was too general and
not specific as to any particular de-
PENDANT and after able arguments
by attorneys on both sides of the
question, the Judge adjourned court
about 4 o'clock until 9 80 this morn
ing to consider the questions involv-
ed.
The defense charged that the in
dictment was faulty in two respects;
one, that it failed to include the word
"felonious, and that it did not al
lege that the acts which were the
basis for he treason charge constitn4-