Battle of Blair Mountain 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 . For five days in late August and early September 1921 , in Logan County , West Virginia , some 10 , 000 armed coal miners confronted 3 , 000 lawmen and strikebreakers , called the Logan Defenders , who were backed by coal mine operators during an attempt by the miners to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coalfields . The battle ended after approximately one million rounds were fired , and the United States Army intervened by presidential order . Background . The Battle of Blair Mountain was the result of economic exploitation of workers during a period of social transformation in the southern West Virginia coalfields . Beginning in 1870 – 1880 , coal operators had established the company town system . Coal operators paid private detectives as well as public law enforcement agents to ensure that union organizers were kept out of the region . In order to accomplish this objective , agents of the coal operators used intimidation , harassment , espionage and even murder . Throughout the early 20th century , West Virginia coal miners attempted to overthrow this system and engaged in a series of strikes , including the Paint Creek - Cabin Creek strike of 1912 , which coal operators attempted to stop through violent means . Mining families lived under the terror of Baldwin - Felts detective agents who were professional strikebreakers under the hire of coal operators . 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 . They would repeat this type of tactic during the Ludlow Massacre in Colorado the next year , with even more disastrous results . By 1920 , the United Mine Workers of America ( UMWA ) organized most of West Virginia . The southern coalfields , however , remained non - unionized bastions of coal operator power . In early 1920 , UMW president John L . Lewis targeted Mingo County for organizing . Certain aspects of Mingo made it more attractive to union leaders than neighboring Logan County , which was under the control of the vehemently anti - union Sheriff Don Chafin and his deputized army . Mingo ’ s political structure was more independent , and some politicians were pro - union . Cabell Testerman , the mayor of the independent town of Matewan was one supporter of the union cause . He appointed 27 - year - old Sid Hatfield as town sheriff . As a teenager , Hatfield had worked in the coalmines and he was sympathetic to the miners ' condition . He also claimed to be a member of the notorious Hatfield family of the Hatfield and McCoy feud . These men provided union organizers an opportunity to gain a foothold , and unionizing accelerated rapidly in the county . In response to the organizing efforts , coal operators used every means to block the union . One of their primary tactics of combating the union was firing union sympathizers , blacklist ing them , and evicting them from their homes . Their legal argument for evictions is best stated by S . B . Avis , a coal company lawyer ; “ It is like a servant lives at your house . If the servant leaves your employment , if you discharge him , you ask him to get out of the servants ’ quarters . It is a question of master and servant . ” 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 . Even with the coal operators ’ suppression , by early May 3 , 000 out of 4 , 000 Mingo miners had joined the union . At the Stone Mountain Coal Company mine near Matewan , every single worker unionized , and was subsequently fired and evicted . 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 . Albert and Lee were the brothers of Thomas Felts , the founder and director of the agency . Albert had already been in the area , and had tried to bribe Mayor Testerman with 500 dollars to place machine guns on roofs in the town , which Testerman refused . That afternoon , Albert and Lee along with eleven other men set out to the Stone Mountain Coal Company property . The first family they evicted was a woman and her children , whose husband was not home at the time . They forced them out at gunpoint , and threw their belongings in the road under a light but steady rain . The miners who saw it were furious , and sent word to town . 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 . Albert Felts replied that in fact , he had a warrant for Sid ’ s arrest . Testerman was alerted , and he ran out into the street after a miner shouted that Sid had been arrested . Hatfield backed into the store , and Testerman asked to see the warrant . After reviewing it , the mayor exclaimed , “ This is a bogus warrant . ” With these words , a gunfight erupted and Sid Hatfield shot Albert Felts . Mayor Testerman fell to the ground in the first volley , mortally wounded . In the end , 10 men were killed , including Albert and Lee Felts . This gunfight became known as the Matewan Massacre , and its symbolic significance was enormous for the miners . The seemingly invincible Baldwin - Felts had been beaten by the miners ’ own hero , Sid Hatfield . 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 . Throughout the summer and into the fall of 1920 , the union gained strength in Mingo County , as did the resistance of the coal operators . Low - intensity warfare was waged up and down the Tug River . In late June , state police under the command of Captain Brockus raided the Lick Creek tent colony near Williamson , West Virginia . 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 . Both sides were bolstering their arms , and Sid Hatfield continued to be a problem , especially when he converted Testerman ’ s jewelry store into a gun shop . On January 26 , 1921 , the trial of Sid Hatfield for killing Albert Felts began . This trial was in the national spotlight , and it brought much attention to the miners ’ cause . Hatfield ’ s stature and mythical status grew as the trial proceeded . Sid Hatfield posed and talked to reporters , fanning the flames of his own stature and legend . All men were acquitted in the end , but overall the union was facing significant setbacks . Eighty percent of mines had reopened with the importation of replacements and the signing of yellow dog contracts by ex - strikers returning to mines . In mid - May 1921 , union miners launched a full assault on nonunion mines . In a short time , the conflict had consumed the entire Tug River Valley . This “ Three Days Battle ” was finally ended by a flag of truce and the implementation of martial law . The enforcement of martial law was from the beginning decidedly against the striking miners . Miners in the scores and hundreds were arrested without habeas corpus and other basic legal rights . The smallest of infractions could mean imprisonment , while those on the other side of this ‘ law and order ’ were immune . The miners responded with guerrilla tactics and violence against this oppressive state - sanctioned system . In the midst of this tense situation , Sid Hatfield traveled to McDowell County on 1 August 1921 to stand trial for charges of dynamiting a coal tipple . Along with him traveled a good friend , Ed Chambers , and their two wives . 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 . Hatfield was killed instantly , while Chambers ' bullet - riddled body rolled to the bottom of the stairs . Over Sally Chambers ' protestation , one of the agents ran down the stairs and shot Chambers once more in the back of the head point blank . As Sid and Ed ’ s bodies were returned to Matewan , word of the slayings spread through the mountains . The miners believed that Hatfield was slain in cold blood , and it soon appeared the assassins would escape punishment . Hatfield ’ s death enraged the miners , and they began to pour out of the mountains to take arms . Miners along the Little Coal River were among the first to militarize , and began actions such as patrolling and guarding the area . Sheriff Don Chafin sent Logan County troopers to Little Coal River area , with the end result the troopers were apprehended , disarmed , and sent fleeing by the miners . 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 . These leaders were Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney , who were veterans of previous mine conflicts in the region . Both were local , and were well read and articulate . Keeney and Mooney met with Governor Ephraim Morgan , and presented him with a petition of the miners ’ demands . Morgan summarily rejected these , and the miners became even more restless . Talk began to spread of a march on Mingo to free the confined miners , end martial law , and organize the county . But directly in the way stood Blair Mountain , Logan County , and Sheriff Don Chafin . The battle . 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 . Accused by some of losing her nerve , she rightly feared a bloodbath in a battle between lightly armed union forces and the more heavily armed deputies from Logan County . Yet , feeling they had been lied to again by West Virginia ' s Governor Morgan , armed men began gathering at Lens Creek Mountain , near Marmet in Kanawha County on August 20 , where four days later up to 13 , 000 had gathered and began marching towards Logan County . 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 " . During this time , Keeney and Mooney Fled to Ohio , while the fiery leader Bill Blizzard assumed quasi - leadership of the miners . Meanwhile , the reviled and anti - union Sheriff of Logan County , Don Chafin ( 1887 – 1954 ) , had begun to set up defenses on 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 . The first skirmishes occurred on the morning of August 25 . The bulk of the miners were still away . The following day , President Warren Harding threatened to send in federal troops and Army Martin MB - 1 bombers . After a long meeting in the town of Madison , the seat of Boone County , agreements were made convincing the miners to return home . However , the struggle was far from over . 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 . Within hours of the Madison decision , reports came in that Sheriff Chafin ' s men were deliberately shooting union sympathizers in the town of Sharples , West Virginia , just north of Blair Mountain — and that families had been caught in crossfire during the skirmishes . Infuriated , the miners turned back towards Blair Mountain , many traveling in other stolen and commandeered trains . By August 29 , battle was fully joined . Chafin ' s men , though outnumbered , had the advantage of higher positions and better weaponry . Private planes were hired to drop homemade bombs on the miners . A combination of gas and explosive bombs left over from the fighting in World War I were dropped in several locations near the towns of Jeffery , Sharples and Blair . 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 . 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 . One Martin bomber crashed on the return flight , killing the three members of the crew . Sporadic gun battles continued for a week , with the miners at one time nearly breaking through to the town of Logan and their target destinations , the non - unionized counties to the south , Logan and Mingo . Up to 30 deaths were reported by Chafin ’ s side and 50 – 100 on the union miners ' side , with hundreds more injured . By September 2 , federal troops had arrived . 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 . Miners fearing jail and confiscation of their guns found clever ways to hide rifles and hand guns in the woods before leaving Logan County . Collectors and researchers to this day are still finding weapons and ammunition embedded in old trees and in rock crevices . Thousands of spent and live cartridges have made it into private collections . Following the battle , 985 miners were indicted for murder , conspiracy to commit murder , accessory to murder , and treason against the State of West Virginia . Though some were acquitted by sympathetic juries , many were also imprisoned for a number of years , though they were paroled in 1925 . 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 . In the short term , the battle was an overwhelming victory for management . 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 . Legacy . In the long - term , the battle raised awareness of the appalling conditions faced by miners in the dangerous West Virginia coalfields , and led directly to a change in union tactics in political battles to get the law on labor ' s side via confrontations with recalcitrant and abusive managements and thence to the much larger organized labor victory a few years later during the New Deal in 1933 . That in turn led to the UMWA helping organize many better - known unions such as the Steel Workers during the mid - thirties . To some degree , it is important also to note that this defeat had major implications for the UMWA as a whole . After World War I , as the coal industry began to collapse , union mining was no longer financially sustainable . Because of the defeat in West Virginia , the union was undermined in Pennsylvania and Kentucky also . By the end of 1925 , Illinois was the only remaining unionized state which could compete , in term of soft coal production , with the others listed . 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 ) . Future of site . In April 2008 , Blair Mountain was chosen for the list of protected places on the National Register of Historic Places . This decision was contested by the state of West Virginia , and the listing was placed under review . As of mid - 2010 , " [ s ] ubsidiaries of two of the United States ' largest coal producers — Arch Coal , Inc . , and Massey Energy Company , . . . — hold permits to blast and strip - mine huge chunks of the upper slopes and ridge of Blair Mountain , removing much of the mountaintop , " the " National Geographic " reported . Starting in the summer of 2006 , Kenneth King , a local avocation al archaeologist led a team of professional archaeologists to further investigate the battlefield . King and the teams initial survey " mapped 15 combat sites and discovered more than a thousand artifacts , from rifle and shotgun shell casings to coins and batteries [ and ] little sign of disturbance " to the site , challenging earlier surveys conducted by Arch . 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 . 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 . 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 . In fiction . 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 ) . 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 . John Sayles ' 1987 film " Matewan " depicts the Matewan Massacre , a small part of the Blair Mountain story . 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 . In music . " Miners ' Rebellion " ( 2012 ) by alt country band The Miners tells the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain . The song is contained on The Miners debut EP also entitled " Miners ' Rebellion " . " When Miners March " ( 2007 ) contains 16 recently written songs ( not music from the 1920s ) from the audiobook " When Miners March — The Battle of Blair Mountain " . " Battle of Blair Mountain " ( 2004 ) is a song by folk singer David Rovics and can be found on his album " Songs for Mahmud " . 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 ) . The song " Red Neck War " by Byzantine is based on the Battle of Blair Mountain and can be found on the group ' s 2005 album " . . . And They Shall Take Up Serpents " ( Prosthetic Records ) . The song " Black Lung " by The Radio Nationals ( band ) is also based on this conflict . " Blair Pathways " ( 2011 ) is a multimedia project , including a CD and maps , tracing the history of the Blair Mountain area and its labor disputes . It contains music by a number of traditional artists , including Riley Baugus and Tim Eriksen . Folk punk band My Life in Black and White released the song " Bombs on Blair Mountain " on their 2009 album " Hold the Line . "