Part 8/13:
The Battle at Blair Mountain
By late 1921, the conflict was reaching a boiling point. Miners, many of whom had served in World War I and returned with fighting experience, planned to march through Logan County to unionize non-union mines. Their goal was to reach Mingo County, where anti-union forces under Sheriff Don Chafin had fortified the area.
Chafin’s forces prepared defenses on Blair Mountain, constructing trenches and breaching the landscape with planes and homemade bombs. As tensions escalated, the miners gathered on the western side of the mountain, readying for an armed confrontation.