In May, 1921, union miners in the Tug Valley area of West Virginia had pretty much had enough of mine owners’ tactics, so they began a full-scale assault on non-union mines in the area. Over three days the conflict had pretty much spread throughout the Tug Valley.
That conflict was ended by a flag of truce and the imposition of martial law by the governor. But this didn’t put an end to things.
Hundreds of miners were soon arrested, causing others to return to battle using what we would call guerrilla warfare tactics.
On this day one hundred years ago state police approached a miner’s tent colony at Lick Creek, near Williamson, with the intent to arrest men who were suspected of having fired upon a car carrying county deputies and state police the day before. This sparked a gun battle in which Alex Breedlove, a miner, was killed and two others, West Virginia State Trooper James A. Bowles and Martin Justice, another miner, were wounded.
47 of the miners were arrested and placed in the Mingo County jail.