Harlan County War

Harlan County War
Part of the Coal Wars
Date	1931–1939
Location	Harlan County, Kentucky, United States
Parties
Striking coal miners United Mine Workers Mine operators Private guards Kentucky National Guard
Lead figures
Harry Simms Sheriff J. H. Blair
Casualties and losses
Deaths: 5

The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal industry skirmishes, executions, bombings and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other.^[1] The Harlan County coal miners campaigned and fought to organize their workplaces and better their wages and working conditions. It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. Before its conclusion, an unknown number of miners, deputies and bosses would be killed, state and federal troops would occupy the county more than half a dozen times, two acclaimed folk singers would emerge, union membership would oscillate wildly and workers in the nation's most anti-labor coal county would ultimately be represented by a union.