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BLAIR MOUNTAIN
The photo was taken at the Hwy 17 crossing of the Blair Mountain saddle. Presumably the road crossing is about in the same location now as it was in August of 1921. The saddle would be where the rednecks and the posse first met. Over the next five days the fighting spread out from there. DAY 17: MAY 8, 2013
West Virginia is designed to be traveled north to south; east to west it is bitch kitty. The eastern part of the state is far more scenic. I have stopped tonight after a drive of 220.4 miles at the Greenbrier Lodge in Marlinville, WV. It is slap on the bank of the Greenbrier River and the river is at an alarmingly high stage. Bill would like it here if we don’t all topple over in our sleep and drown in muddy water. They have good eats downstairs and there is a four piece hillbilly string band keeping things lively. I had a dish of their “West Virginia Original” for supper. It was grilled kielbasa, potatoes, onions, green peppers and mushrooms. I hope to survive long enough to cook it at home. They had some blackberry cobbler and apple dumplings too.
Blair Mountain Coal mining in the western part of the state is in recession. Because of Mr. Obama’s energy policy the mines are loping along at decreased production and many miners have been laid off. The UMWA has a typical solution for every
VANDALISM
The miners are still angry. They took down the historical marker and replaced it a sign indicating support for the UMWA workers impacted at the Patriot Mine. problem. Go out on strike. Price of coal is too low; go out on strike until the demand increases. Price is too high the companies are making too much profit and working conditions are unsafe, go out on strike. Production is down go out on strike until the nation is starved for coal and then more miners will return to work. Labor unrest was in full swing at the Logan and Mingo mines in 1920. Trouble started in Mingo County when company thugs were sent to evict union miners from company houses in Matewan. Sid Hatfield interceded with the thugs on the miners’ behalf and it ended in a massacre in which seven of the thugs were killed and nineteen miners were acquitted. Sid became vocal about miners rights, after all he needed their votes. Sid and a deputy were murdered on the courthouse steps over in Welch in August of 1921 and the UMWA went nuts. Seven thousand striking miners led by Bill Blizzard met at Marmet and began an armed solidarity march to organize miners at Logan. Reaching Blair Mountain on August 31 they collided with Sheriff Don Chafin and a large posse of mine thugs, and special
ENCAMPMENT
When the 22nd Virginia trudged up to Droop Mountain after their overnight hike from Lawrenceburg they went into position on this flat ground behind the Confederate Artillery. They did not rest there long before he battle started. deputies waiting in fortified positions. They fought one another for five days before the governor trotted out the National Guard to put an end to it with machine guns and aerial bombardment. Both sides slunk off into the woods. It halted UMWA organizing efforts in southern WV until 1933.
Droop Mountain When our twice great grampa J. J. Oliver and his brother Charlie joined up with Yankees in 1862 their brother John Hill Oliver stayed home in Memphis, Missouri. Diligent study by our cousin, Bud Irwin, shows that John returned to Virginia in 1863 and joined up with the 22
nd Virginia Infantry. If that is correct information John would have been present at the Battle of Droop Mountain on November 6, 1863. Bud’s research shows that John was wounded in battle, but recovered from his injury and returned to his unit in Virginia. He was one of only 16 surviving members of the 22
nd to surrender at Appomattox in April of 1865. If that information is correct it would seem quite likely that John was wounded at Droop Mountain where the 22
nd took heavy casualties. I had the park ranger to myself
YANKEE ADVANCE
This is the Confederate artillery position. It commanded access to the road leading to the railway junction. for about two hours this afternoon because it was a slow rainy day and nobody else was visiting the park. According to his information John enlisted in Company G in October of 1864 and they have no record of him being wounded at Droop Mountain. After the war John was a farmer at Covington, Virginia and died there in September of 1902. He is buried in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Covington. I hope that the early records of John’s service have simply been lost or overlooked and that he really was wounded at Droop Mountain. It was a rather small battle, but it was not without importance. What was at stake was control of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. West Virginia was admitted to Union in June of 1863. It was a state of divided sympathies. West Virginia regiments in both armies fought at Droop Mountain. John must have felt right at home because he had two brothers who were damn Yankees himself. The national army commanded by General Averill was approaching from the north and the Confederate general in command of the district was headquartered at Lewisburg, about 30 miles from Droop Mountain. Echols heard that Averill was
22ND VIRGINIA
The 22nd moved to a second position along the ridge in support of the artillery. on his way south on November 5, 1863 and rushed John’s brigade on an overnight forced march to reinforce units that already held Droops Mountain. It was a strong defensive position where artillery could control the only road through the area. The reinforcements reached Droop Mountain barely in time. John and his pals were already tired, cold and hungry from the long night march. When the Yankees approached the 22
nd took up a position of support the left of the artillery position. Averill drove the artillery off the ridge and 22
nd covered the retreat. They took up a position in what would later become known affectionately as the Bloody Angle. The retreat turned in to a rout at the Bloody Angle and the Yankees claimed a decisive victory and held control of West Virginia until the war ended. If John was wounded at Droop Mountain he was most likely hit at the Bloody Angle. J. J. and Charlie were overrun by Confederates as the battle opened at Shiloh, and John was overrun by Yankee cavalry at Droop Mountain. The Yankees made camp on November 5 outside of Hillsboro about five miles north of the battlefield. In 1892 Pearl Buck was
BLOODY ANGLE
The artillery was driven from their position and the 22nd moved to the Bloody Angle in order to cover the retreat. The Confederate infantry were overrun here by federal cavalry. It is likely that Uncle John was wounded in fighting in this area. The 22nd suffered heavy casualties here. born on a farm where the Yankees camped. Pearl won the Pulitzer Prize in 1932 for her book The Good Earth. In 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature for the six books in her China series.
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