Introduction

This is a chronological timeline of the events that occured surrounding the uprising of coal miners in Logan County, West Virginia in 1921, and how it was portrayed through the press and media.

This conflict would later become known as The Battle of Blair Mountain.

While the mine strikes were focused on local issues within mining camps, they had national implications. Newspapers in West Virginia along with papers across the nation covered the strikes and battles of the mine wars. What we aim to show you is not only the significance of the Battle of Blair Mountain and the impact it had on America today, but the coverage (or lack there of) it received locally and nationwide.

Why is The Battle of Blair Mountain significant?

• The miners were fighting against the coal companies and the horrible working conditions they endured. It is said that it would have been safer for the miners to enlist in war than to go work in the mines. 
• The miners were not paid in cash, but instead they were paid in company script (essentially in coupons or tokens) that could only be redeemed or used in facilities and stores owned by the coal companies, from grocery stores to doctors (Jansen-Montoya, n.d.).
• There were black Americans, white Americans, and immigrant miners who were able to band together to confront their working conditions as a united front. They not only went on strike together but fought alongside each other. In this time period that is significant given the state of inter-race relations during this time (Fagge, 1995).
• The Battle of Blair Mountain was pivotal in the labor movement in the 1920s. 
• The rights the miners marched for would not actually be implemented until approximately 10 years after the Battle of Blair Mountain in The New Deal (Jansen-Montoya, n.d.).
• The uprising also helped lead up to the National Industrial Relations Act (Nida, 2013).

 

Timeline of Events from the Battle of Blair Mountain

(Library of Congress, n.d)

May 1921	Early fighting begins in Mingo County West Virginia.
August 20, 1921	Don Chafin, a W. Va Sheriff, denounces growing mob on the border and claims that they will not enter Logan County.
August 25, 1921	Around 5,000 miners have gathered about 2 miles from Logan County; another round of early fighting begins.
August 29, 1921	Heavier fighting commences. President Harding demands that the miner “mob” disperse and threatens to send in federal troops.
August 30, 1921	Four deputies taken prisoner, presumed dead.
September 1, 1921	Three officers killed when 4,000 to 5,000 miners march into town. President Harding orders use of airplanes to drop bombs on mobs.
September 3, 1921	Troops march into coal fields. Miners wage all-day battle.
September 5, 1921	Miners give up fight.
October 15, 1921	Coal owners seek help from the government to destroy the miners unions.
October 28, 1921	Mining owners reject proposed peace plan put forth by the labor unions. Mining labor unions subsequently fall out of favor in West Virginia.

Our exhibit is meant to tell the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain through the press and media coverage. Each page is dedicated to a time during the battle that was covered by the media. The lack of media coverage is signifiicant and a large reason as to why many people did not know what was happening at Blair Mountain or in the coal mines of West Virginia. 

This project was researched and created by Jessica Mulligan, Cameron Van Deusen, Kayla Starcher and Yasmine Colebank as part of a collaboration between Dr. Erin Brock Carlson’s Multimedia Writing (ENGL 303) West Virginia University course and Dr. Miriam Cady and the West Virginia Regional History Center in Spring 2021