One hundred years ago an anthracite coal strike was in full force in the Pennsylvania coal fields, after coal operators in the state rejected UMW demands on wage rates, hours, and working conditions.
A strike was called on April 1st. By July the operators were demanding that Washington provide military protection of non-union miners so that they could reopen their coal mines due to violence that had erupted in July between union and non-union miners just across the West Virginia state line in Cliftonville.
At the time Cliftonville was a West Virginia mining town of 200 inhabitants with a U. S. Post Office, a train station and a mine. On July 17th, 1922, a gun battle broke out when a group of 500 striking union men, who had been fired and evicted from company housing the day before, marched on that mine to stop non-union mining operations. 15 men were killed in the incident, including the sheriff, H. H. Duval.
The picture attached to this post was published in newspapers across the country one hundred years ago today; it shows U. S. troops camped near a coal mine in Cokeburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh.
This strike happened in conjunction with a bituminous coal strike that was called across the country.
The anthracite strike lasted 163 days and caused a heating fuel shortage in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern parts of the United States.
