Take Your Rights with a High-Powered Rifle
Organization at the Battle of Blair Mountain
It was more than rifles and marches.
If you bring up the Battle of Blair Mountain around West Virginians today, you may be led to believe that it was only a scuffle between law enforcement and striking miners, which eventually involved the military. Some might be able to recall that bombs were dropped on the miners. Fewer may recall the names of Don Chafin and Bill Blizzard, who led either side.
What most will not know about is the enormous amount of organization that led up to the battle, went on during the battle, and kept the miners united.
Leaving out this information threatens to reduce the Battle to nothing more than a random outburst of violence when in reality it was a coordinated act of resistance against the status quo in West Virginia. In this exhibit, we will explore examples of organization among miners before and during the Battle of Blair Mountain.
Come with us and explore the organization that made the battle of Blair Mountain, and the Miners' labor movement, what it was.
