When Miners March

by William C. Blizzard, Wess Harris (Editor)

Chronicling the West Virginia Mine Wars of the 1920s, this first-hand account of the coal miners' uprisings offers a new perspective on labor unrest during this time period. Complete with previously unpublished family photographs and documents, this retelling shares the experiences of Bill Blizzard, the author's father who was the leader of the Red Neck Army. The tensions between the union and the coal companies that led up to the famous Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest open and armed rebellion in United States history, are described in detail, as are its aftermath and legacy. Addressing labor issues in contemporary times, this historical narrative makes clear the human costs of extracting coal for electricity.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Labor, American History

409 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

The account of the West Virginia Coal Wars which culminated in the Battle of Blair Mountains was written by Blizzard, the son of the lead organizer at Blair Mountain, in the early 1950s as serials in a labor newspaper. Written from the point of view of the miners, whom faced poor pay, dangerous conditions, utter company control in the form of only being allowed to shop at company stores and being paid in credit as well as being deducted pay for just about everything involved in the operation. The miners fought to bring the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to carve out a better life, and were met with brutal violence (including murder), blacklisting, and intimidation. All unionist miners were declared Socialists or "Bolsheviki" and all violence was justified by coal operators.

Over the course of the 1910s, even the slightest of dissent in the mine operations were dealt with brutally, with the backing of paramilitaries, the state government, and the federal government. By 1920, miners had armed themselves in self defense and the violence moved from massacres by law enforcement and company thugs to pitched battles between miners and their enemies, with several leaders outright assassinated. That sparked general outrage, as the "Red Neck Army" of masked armed miners marched into the southern West Virginia coal fields to finally force the companies to recognize and deal with the union, which of course was met by company forces at Blair Mountain. After a three day standoff in which the state and feds declared an insurrection and provided WWI equipment to crush it, finally the outgunned miners backed down after hundreds died. Though the UMW was defeated, Blizzard notes it was a Pyrrhic victory for the mine operators because it brought so much attention to the horrible conditions of the miners and laid the groundwork years later for victories in the mines and beyond (as the UMW initially kicked off the CIO organizing in steel as a flanking guard action.)

Good fast read, very accessible.

[R.G. Yoho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wess Harris has done an outstanding job of compiling the writings of William C. Blizzard, the son of Bill Blizzard, Boy General and leader of the Redneck Army.

This book provided a wealth of critical resource material for my biography of notorious coal mine spy, Charles E. Lively.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a GEM! It was given to me - maybe 5 or 6 years ago? And I just got around to reading it. This edition was printed in 2004, before the History Channel got ahold of it by an Appalachian Community group - the formatting is weird, I don't care. It's great.

It gathers together a series of newspaper articles published in 1952-1953, written by William Blizzard, son of Bill Blizzard, who was leader of the Redneck Army. He was put on trial for treason and murder, etc, etc. The mine owners paid 15k for the trial. One thousand to pay their lawyers, the rest to come up with witnesses.

Anyhow, it is a well-documented union/labor history with the lead-up and aftermath of Blair Mountain. Includes info on the Ludlow CO mines massacres I didn't even know about. I am, I mean, is appalled even the word to read over and over about the murdering and extortions and pure evilness of the mine owners?

For a history book, this is a compelling read. I read it article by article, so it took me a while, and I savored the new information I was learning. This is a great book if you want to know Labor struggles in the United States.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the history of each of these 50 United States there are moments of great darkness that the states themselves have to reckon with and some of those stories are at times not well known outside of them or even the regions that border them. William Blizzard's "When Miners March" tells such a story involving the coal wars of West Virginia. This fascinating and at times surreal book explains the resistance at times to the mining companies to unionization and the lengths those owners would go to keep these company towns afloat even if it meant putting the safety of the employees at risk. Blizzard gets into the corruption within the government in Charleston as well which turned a blind eye to what was going on as well as the emergency declarations that were used to send in troops and arrest people simply because they could and convict them in mass trials where the evidence was circumstantial. The federal government thankfully didn't offer much assistance when asked which honestly could've made matters worse. Blizzard himself was also part of this period of time which adds an even more personal touch to this must-read book.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, written by William Blizzard and edited by Wess Harris, was originally printed in installments in the newspaper "Labor's Daily." The installments ran from November 18,1952 and concluded February 27, 1953. I felt I should read this book because I my father was a member of the UMWA his entire mining career and I worked at a school only a few miles away from Blair Mountain. So...I read it. Honestly, I found this book, for the most part, dull and sometimes confusing, but it was a real eye opener. It let me know how very little I knew about the history of the Union. I'm glad I read it even though it wasn't always easy.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

William C. Blizzard gives a first person account of the mine wars in West Virginia, led by his father Bill Blizzard, leader of the "red necks" who marched to Blair Mountain for a fateful confrontation with the operators and the Baldwin Felts guards. ("Red necks" is a term used to identify the striking miners who were fighting against the thugs hired by the coal operators. The men were called this because of the red bandanas they wore.)

Excellent representation of coal mining's turbulent history, full of first hand documents and great primary sources, especially the photographs. Another book that is a must read about labor history.

[Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting part of Appalachian and Labor history in the United States. This is a self proclaimed “peoples history” with clear and provocative prose that does not shy away from throwing its lot in with the UMWA and the coal miners of old.

While reading I noticed several analogues to current day politics so this book is far from a “dusty old history tome.” After reading, it is no wonder that they do not teach in school about the brave heroes of the not so distant past and their struggle for justice in coal laden heart of West Virginia. For it is an unacceptable reality that the goal of education in this country is often to content the learner with the way things are.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Miners March: Great Read

I really enjoyed this book which highlights a pretty dark time in WV history. I read this after reading “Written in Blood” by Wes Harris. This seems very appropriate for today with everything going on in the world. If we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.
This is only one side of the story, but the side that was suppressed for many years in West Virginia.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about WV history or history of the Labor movement in the United States.

[Soph Nova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know if it was a publishing issue, a writing style issue, or what - but this was so dry. The events described were riveting and important history, but the delivery was hard to get through! For serious labor nerds only, honestly.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really incredible history, as told by someone who lived through it.

If you think the government and/or cops are on your side, you should give this a read—they protect the interests of capital. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Garlic Man · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the information presented in this book might be useful for someone seeking an understanding of the historic development of labor conditions in West Virginia’s coal mining industry, the narrative is not very coherent & suffers from poor editing.

I am glad to be finished with it.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by my great uncle. I want to thank every person who has read it and left such kind reviews. This story and the Blizzard legacy mean a lot to me, so thank you so much to the readers for helping keep the memory alive.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

West Virginia doesn't always get its due, where history is concerned. The State and her people have been called many discouraging things. The motto of "Mountaineers Are Always Free" wasn't always true. The story of Blair Mountain tells of a time when the coal conglomerates owned the miner. The unions fought for the rights of the miners and the rights of man. The Federal Government and the State of WV bombed the miners when they marched and for me to try and do this story justice through a review is thinking large. If you are a West Virginian, a history buff or someone interested in what those before you fought for so that we may have what we have today, you should read this book.
My husband and I listened to the audio edition of this book and I think it made the story all the more interesting.

[Brittany Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay it took me a while to actually get serious and finish this book. For a book about history it was very well written and was capable of producing emotion in me while I was reading. I felt anger and tears.For being a coal miner's daughter I know what our men fought for and what is being taken away from them now. I wish people who are so against the coal, that lifted our country from darkness, would read this book. We are a proud people and just like when we fought for better conditions and wages now we must fight for the right to even work in our industry.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biased history of the UMW early trials and tribulations in West Virginia culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain. Good oral history. At times tedious but since my Grandfather was a participant at Blair Mountain, it was worth reading.

[April Raine]

Nice piece of labor history.

[Carol]

Interesting description of union and labor struggles in the coal mines from the perspective of a union man.