The coal fields of West Virginia were terrible places to work. Not only was the job dangerous, but the housing was poor and the pay was low. Miners lived in company towns provided by the owners. They were paid in scrip which could only be used to buy from the company store. Most fell into debt to the mine owners because they had to buy on credit. It was a form of indentured servitude. The United Mine Workers tried to organize the miners, but it faced strong opposition from the mine owners. Miners were forced to sign yellow dog contracts in which they swore to not join a union. There was continuing conflict between the workers and the owners. Attempts to organize resulted in evictions. There was an incident where machine guns were fired into miners’ tents. On May 19, 1921, a gunfight broke out between a sympathetic mayor and a union-supporting Sheriff Sid Hatfield who exchanged fire with some mercenaries hired by the owners. The Matewan Massacre resulted in the death of the mayor and nine others. Hatfield shot the leader of the anti-union group. He became a hero to the miners. On August 1, Hatfield and a friend were gunned down on the courthouse steps in front of their families. The incident made national news and galvanized the workers. Their leaders decided to march on a city associated with the mine owners. “Mother” Jones was against the march for fear of bloodshed, but she was disregarded. About 10,000 miners set off on the march making it the largest labor uprising in American History. The owners gathered 3,000 townspeople, law enforcement, and strikebreakers. They were known as the Logan Defenders. They blocked the road near Blair Mountain with machine gun nests and trenches. (Many of the people on both sides were WWI veterans.) The march began on August 24. Shots were exchanged along the route. Some miners who were armed wore red handkerchiefs around their necks, hence the nickname “Red Neck Army”. The owners hired private planes to drop tear gas and bombs on the marchers. When they reached the trenches, they tried to break through, but the machine guns were too effective. Between 20-100 miners were killed. It is estimated that around one million rounds were fired. On Sept. 1, Pres. Harding sent in federal troops. The miners gave up because they refused to exchange shots with soldiers. The march was a failure and the United Mine Workers was crippled until the 1930s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Blair_Mountain
https://www.history.com/news/americas-largest-labor-uprising-the-battle-of-blair-mountain
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