Battle of Blair Mountain

Battle of Blair Mountain
Part of the West Virginia Coal Wars
Cover of The Washington Times with the headline that the US airfleet had been sent into West Virginia.
Date	August 25 to September 2, 1921
Location	Logan County, West Virginia 37°51′45″N 81°51′23″W / 37.86250°N 81.85639°W / 37.86250; -81.85639
Resulted in	Tactical law enforcement–military victory Bill Blizzard acquitted of treason Most arrested miners are acquitted or receive short prison sentences
Parties
Striking coal miners United Mine Workers Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency Logan County Sheriff's Department West Virginia State Police United States Army West Virginia Army National Guard
Lead figures
Bill Blizzard Mother Jones Don Chafin William Eubanks
Number
10,000 3,000 27,000
Casualties and losses
50–100 killed[1][2] 30 killed[3] Army: 4 killed[4]

Part of a series on
Organized labour
Labour movement Conflict theories Decent work Exploitation of labour Timeline New unionism Proletariat Social movement unionism Social democracy Democratic socialism Socialism Communism Syndicalism Union busting Anarcho-syndicalism National-syndicalism
Labour rights Annual leave Child labour Collective bargaining Diversity, equity, and inclusion Eight-hour day Employment discrimination Employment protection Equal pay Four-day week Freedom of association Legal working age Minimum wage Occupational safety and health Overwork Paid time off Professional abuse Right to rest and leisure Right to sit Sabbatical Sick leave Six-hour day Toxic workplace Unfree labour Workers' right to access the toilet
Trade unions Trade unions by country Trade union federations International comparisons ITUC WFTU
Strike action Chronological list of strikes Hartal General strike Bandh newspapers Green bans Lockouts Overtime bans Pen-down strikes Sitdown strikes Solidarity action Walkouts Whipsaw strikes Wildcat strikes Work-to-rule
Labour parties Australia Barbados Brazil Fiji Georgia Hong Kong Ireland Israel Malta New Caledonia New Zealand Netherlands Norway Portugal Singapore South Korea United Kingdom Sweden
Academic disciplines Critique of work Industrial relations Labour economics Labour history Labour law Post-work society Refusal of work
v t e

The Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest labor uprising in United States history and is the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War.^[5][6] The conflict occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, as part of the Coal Wars, a series of early-20th-century labor disputes in Appalachia.

For five days from late August to early September 1921, some 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers (called the Logan Defenders)^[7] who were backed by coal mine operators during the miners' attempt to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coalfields when tensions rose between workers and mine management. The battle ended after approximately one million rounds were fired,^[8] and the United States Army, represented by the West Virginia Army National Guard led by McDowell County native William Eubanks,^[9] intervened by presidential order.^[10]