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The Battle of Blair Mountain: The Story of America's Largest Labor Uprising

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I grew up on the stories of the Mining Wars as my grandfather was a coal miner during this time. When I was in college I was shocked when I took a course on Labor History that did not even mention the Mining Wars or Railroad Wars that raged across the Mason/Dixon line. The Battle of Blair Mountain begins to remedy that for the Miners and their stories.

This book, by Mr. Shogan, should be required reading in every history class that covers the labor movement. Too many folks do not understand the price that regular men and women paid in order for them to enjoy the weekend, overtime, and all sorts of rights now taken for granted. And too many of the folks in power have forgotten the rage that occured when the 'bosses' and 'captain's of industry' were taking more than their fair share through things such as usury and company stores - not to mention being in bed with the politicians of the day on local, state, and national levels.

Shogan's book covers all of this. It is written in an easy to digest style. My father, who also knows these stories from his father and his uncles said it was one of the most accurate portrayals he had read. (Of course, to someone who knew these folks, there were misses - such as no mention of KKK involvement.)

One thing that I find interesting is the note about so few bodies. It makes me think of a great uncle of mine who said about being a sniper: 'Well, we mostly shot at them to scare 'em off ... and it worked most of the time...' He wouldn't say anything about the ones who didn't get scared off.

These Virginians - and Kentuckians - were sharpshooters and descendants of some of the oldest families in the U.S. of A. They believed they were doing what their forefathers did in defending their rights - and Mr. Shogan captures that essence very well.

If you want to understand labor today, you need to read this book. And it might give you insight to the political process as well... There is a saying in the Hills 'Ballots down the River'... read this book and you will understand why elections aren't really trusted on the local level in some parts of the country.

In 1920 there was war in the West Virginia hills, a real war with real soldiers and real deaths. It was a battle between coal miners and coal company operators, and part of it was depicted in John Sayles's fine independent film _Matewan_. Robert Shogan, a political correspondent and historian, has told its story in _The Battle of Blair Mountain: The Story of America's Largest Labor Uprising_ (Westview). Shogan brings immediacy to the story by looking closely at details of the war and also at the larger social movements within the nation and the world. He produces a tense narrative that lets up only when the fate of the lost cause of the miners is decided in the final chapters.

After the labor calm during the World War, labor tension was highest in West Virginia. Mining was inherently a back-breaking and dangerous job. The mine owners often cheated on their own work rules, deliberately fudging the loads of coal cars so that miners would get paid for less coal dug. The Stone Mountain Coal Company did everything it could to prevent unionization; it reminded the miners that they not only owed their jobs to the company but also the very houses in which their families lived, and that anyone who joined a union would lose it all. The Battle for Blair Mountain was sparked after company police came to Matewan to throw families out of their homes. Resentment eventually took form of a march the miners planned, and some dreamed of marching to free union organizers from the jails in which they were held and then bringing an end to martial law. Shogan writes that the uprising was "the largest armed uprising on American soil since the Civil War." With the federal military involved, the outcome was not surprising, although it was a real battle, with roaring machine guns and pincer tactics. With a thousand miners surrendering, many disappearing, and an unknown number killed, it was a staggering defeat for the miners, not just because they lost the battle, but because of the subsequent economic and political consequences. The operators tried, and in some cases succeeded, in bringing the charge against the rebels of treason, actually making war against the state. Not satisfied with a mere legal assault, the operators brought evangelist Billy Sunday in, who said of union organizers, "I'd rather be in hell with Cleopatra, John Wilkes Booth and Charles Guiteau, than to live on earth with such human lice."

The revolution wasn't crushed as much as it simply expired. The problems of the union were worsened because there was abundant supply of coal from other sources. Federal intervention had represented insurmountable strength, but also it sapped the rebel's fury; one miner said, "We wouldn't revolt against the national gov'ment." Shogan has written a moderate, intriguing history of both sides in the conflict, but it is hard not to feel that the downtrodden miners were making a brave attempt at economic fairness. "Middle-class mythology to the contrary," Shogan writes, "class conflict does exist in America," and so the book underscores unfairnesses of how corporations get their bidding done. Those unfairnesses are still there, as Shogan makes plain, while the distribution of wealth continues to shift to the managers of corporations and labor leaders are still on the defensive. The battle is still being fought.

As a citizen of these United States it is one of my great frustrations that young people do not know history. I have my own theories on why that is, but needless to say we all pay the price for this unfortunate state of affairs. That is especially clear to me when I read a book like "The Battle of Blair Mountain: The Story of America's Largest Labor Uprising".

In spite of all of the reading I do I will be the first to admit that I had never even heard about this epic struggle between the United Mine Workers union and the coal mine operators. It is the classic labor-management confrontation. Robert Shogan does a superb job of recreating the events that occurred in the mountains of rural West Virginia in the years 1920 and 1921. During those years the leadership of the United Mine Workers was committed to unionizing all of the non-union mines in the State of West Virginia. On the other hand the mine operators were just as determined to keep the unions out. And as Robert Shogan so eloquently points out the mine owners had friends, powerful friends, in places of authority at all levels of government in West Virginia. The result was a period of violence and unrest that culminated in "The Battle of Blair Mountain". A good many individuals had already lost their lives in the skirmishes that led up to "The Battle". Now nearly 10,000 coal miners were armed and poised to fight for the right to organize. On the other side were the forces of the State of West Virginia backed up by troops from the U.S. Army. But for the grace of God it could have been a blood bath.

History buffs and students of labor-management relations are certain to enjoy "The Battle of Blair Mountain". It would also be a wonderful book for high school civics teachers to assign to their students. Our young people must become aware of the struggles and the sacrifices that were made by previous generations of Americans. This is a well-written book that deserves your time and attention. Very highly recommended!!

I was disappointed with this book after reading several of the academically oriented histories of the period that go into detail about the war particularly from the miners' point of view. I hope for more detail on the actual happenings of the battle, more focus on its aftermath. Shogan is a journalist who seems to have had a fascination with this incident for decades. However, it seems that his career as a Washington based reporter, has shifted too much of this story inside the beltway (of course before the beltway was conceived.)

Shogun spends too much time talking about the reactions of politicians in Washington and for that matter politicians in West Virginia. He will not only tell you what they did, but give you their entire life background. He does this with the union officials on a national level like John Mitchell and John L. Lewis without giving us much of a picture of what their roles were in the union strategy inside West Virginia or with the federal government.

Given the abundance of books that are much better researched about the general struggle for West Virginia coal in the first decades of the 20th Century, I had hoped that Shogan would not provide a rehash of what had already been written. Unfortunately, this is exactly what he did with anecdote and a general outline that appears to have been taken from other texts without much thought.

Likewise, I hoped that he would zero in and provide many more details about the actual battle, which is, after all the subject of his book, but there really isn't much in here that you can't find elsewhere, and elsewhere there is much more serious discussion of the struggle that led to the battle and the economics and politics and sociology of both miners and the coal bosses.

One wishes, someone outside the beltway and close enough to a coal camp had written this story, or even some military writer who is used to giving details of battles.

The author, Robert Shogan, states "For years the union miners and the allies of the coal operators spilled each other's blood in the West Virginia hills until the miners were beaten into submission." He further notes "Yet the great uprising of the West Virginia miners remains only an afterthought in our historical consciousness, earning only a few sentences at the most even in chronicles of the labor movement and no attention at all in more general accounts of the American heritage."

Following WWI, there was excess coal mining capacity. "Only by keeping the union out, allowing them to hold down wages, could the West Virginia's producers make up for their increased transportation costs" to industrial markets "and gain a proportionate share of the market." The miners and the United Mine Workers Union (UMW) wanted union recognition and fair wages thus putting them on a collision course with the operators.

Mine operators used Baldwin-Felts detectives to intimidate union organizers. Miners joining the union were fired and thrown out of company houses. In Mingo County the mayor of Matewan, Police Chief Sid Hatfield and the sheriff managed to serve as a buffer for the miners of Mingo. When they attempted to stop Baldwin-Felts detectives from evicting fired union miners from company houses, a gun battle resulted at the Matewan depot in which two miners, seven detectives and the mayor were killed. The area and its people were now fully caught up in a ruthless conflict between the two old enemies.

This work chronicles the events from the Matewan shoot-out through the final battle on Blair Mountain as the desperate miners were beaten into submission. Robert Shogan gives an excellent account of the often puzzling and conflicting events as the conflict progressed. There was no effective, and often biased, law enforcement, while politicians made the situation critical. The governors wanted intervention by the U.S. Army, while Presidents Wilson and later Harding equivocated. The miners wanted a fair hearing and their grievances addressed. Ultimately, the miners got a hearing before the US Senate, but there was no restraint on the mine owner's side. The result was the standoff continued leaving the miners few options for their struggle. The miners then began to assemble near the town of Marmet (close to Charlestown, WV) intending to storm the town of Logan, WV, the seat of strong union opposition lead by County Sheriff Don Chafin and his standing army.

Meanwhile, Harry Bandholtz of the U.S. War Department, desperately tried to make peace but union leadership was powerless to stop the miner's march. The miners were now leaderless as the union district officials were now under indictment and left the state. To reach Logan in Logan County the miners had to cross Blair Mountain which they began crossing; and on August 27th they confronted Sheriff Logan's troops, bloodshed resulted. However, Friday night September 2, 1921 some 2100 federal troops arrived and began their task of ending the fighting and restoring order.. By Sunday September 4 the war was over. The precise death toll was never established, but estimates range for fewer than twenty to more than Fifty.

Most interesting both sides welcomed the troops as helpful to their case; unfortunately for the miners this belief turned out to be false. The subsequent legal assault by the coal operators was a devastating blow to the UMW in West Virginia where union membership tumbled to a few hundred. The mine owners used their wealth to dominate West Virginia political and legal systems. The hopes of the rebellious miners were not fulfilled until the Roosevelt administration redeemed their rights through legislation. Today's workers have been spared the fear and desperation that haunted the miners who marched on Blair Mountain. Most interesting the miners were patriotic and believed in the American dream, feelings shared with the middle class. They basically wanted protection of their rights under the law.

The running conflict from Matewan to Blair was the largest armed uprising since the American Civil War. This is a well written; well researched work. Shogan gives brief backgrounds on the major figures while his style keeps the narrative moving.The suppression of the Mingo coal miners fight for recognition and fair treatment helped shape the power structure of 20th century America and continues into the 21st century.

Having read Denise Giardina's fictional account of events surrounding the battle (Storming Heaven), having seen John Sayles' film "Matewan," and having viewed the account as offered in the West Virginia documentary of a few years back, I was hoping for some fairly extensive background into the conflict.

Some background is provided -- the book is not a waste for those who have some familiarity with the events. For those without fairly extensive knowledge, the book should prove an eye-opener. Yes, there was a time in this fair nation when corporations had rights and individuals -- human beings who suffered the ignonomy of not being rich -- did not. The economic schism we are plunging into presently existed before, and men whose only crime was demanding to be paid fairly for their work were treated as criminals and rebels.

Shogan provides some insight into the political world that allowed these injustices as well as a good account of the Battle and the events leading up to it. Again, not quite as much background as I had hoped for, but the book is more than good enough to make an impression. Valuable reading!

Since I am a West Virginian, born near the scene of this account, I found it especially interesting and informative. I think it would make good reading for anyone, and very good for history buffs, or students of the labor movement.

Robert Shogan writes a good narrative explaining the Battle of Blair Mountain. He starts some time before the actual battle to help you understand exactly what caused the largest labor uprising in American history. At first though, his writing style can be a little hard to understand as he jumps around a bit but you quickly adapt to it. This is a must read for any one interested in American History, American Labor, or just in America in general. It is a well crafted story that really takes you to the heart of the union struggle in West Virginia.

Shogan's book is a rehash of formerly published ill informed texts. His photos are commonly available and serve to mislead rather than inform--focusing on Sid Hatfield rather than Bill Blizzard. Despite the title, Blair Mountain does not make the index till page 184. Two points should suffice to give a gist of the quality of this work. He repeatedly refers to the Red Bandana Army--while any miner knows that no such fiction ever existed. It was the RED NECK Army, led by Bill Blizzard who later would lead District 17 to dominate the coal fields of West Virginia. Second, and of critical import, Mr Shogan did not even bother to interview William C. Blizzard. W.C. Blizzard is Bill's son, was in the court room when his daddy was acquitted, and wrote the only truly informed history of the Battle back in 1952! On the bright side, I purchased a new,hard bound, autographed, copy of this $26 book for $1.95 on Amazon.

Rather than repeat the numerous errors cited by others, allow me to recommend When Miners March: The Story of Coal Miners in West Virginia, by W.C. Blizzard. A factual account of the events by the son of Bill Blizzard.