The Battle of the Tug

The Battle of the Tug, or the Three Day’s Battle began today, May 12, 1921, along both shores of the Tug River, in West Virginia. The conflict began in 1920, when the United Mine Workers (UMW) started organizing miners in the region. However, whenever miners joined the union, the company fired them and evicted them from their company-owned homes. The miners often fought back by sniping at the scabs from the hillside. On May 12-14, they launched an attack on twelve mining towns in the Matewan-Williamson area. Scabs shot back. Cops, private detectives and Kentucky National Guardsmen joined the battle. In addition to the gun fighting, miners blew up bridges and tipples. Three people died from gunshots. Sheriff Sid Hatfield joined the battle on the miners’ side, punching a coal boss in the face. The war ended on May 15, when State Police arranged a truce.

West Virginia Mine Wars

The Battle of the Tug was part of the West Virginia Mine Wars (1912-1921). The wars began with the Cabin Creek and Paint Creek strikes of 1912-1913. Mother Jones was an important organizer in those strikes. The mine owners refused to negotiate. Instead, they hired Baldwin-Felts detectives to terrorize the miners. Socialist Party activists supplied miners with weapons, including machine guns. The governor declared martial law, seizing over 1800 high-powered rifles and 6 machine guns from the miners. Over 50 people died in the violence. Many more died from starvation.

Battle of Matewan

On May 19, 1920, there was a shootout between Baldwin-Felts agents and miners in the town of Matewan. Ten people died, including the mayor and seven Baldwin-Felts agents. The mayor and sheriff, Sid Hatfield, supported the miners and refused to cooperate with the company’s attempts to evict them from company housing. The Baldwin-Felts agents tried to arrest Hatfield who shot Albert Felts. This event is depicted in the John Sayles film, “Matewan.”

Battle of Blair Mountain

More strikes and skirmishes flared up in the months that followed, leading to the Battle of Blair Mountain. This was the largest insurrection in the U.S. since the Civil War and the largest labor uprising in U.S. history. For five days, 10,000 miners battled 3,000 lawmen and scabs. Over one million rounds were fired. The coal owners hired private planes to drop bombs and poison gas on the miners. This was one of the first and only times U.S. civilians were bombed from the air. (White racists aerially bombed black residents of Tulsa three months prior, during the Tulsa Race Riot). The U.S. Army also used bombers in the Battle of Blair Mountain, supposedly for surveillance. 100 people died and hundreds were arrested during the Battle of Blair Mountain.