User:SawyerFrye/sandbox

Battle of Evarts

References

Introduction

The Battle of Evarts (May 5, 1931) occurred in Harlan, Kentucky during the Harlan County Wars and lasted only one day. The miners were unhappy with their unsafe work conditions, poor wages, and lack of housing options for their families. These along with many other factors caused the miners to go on strike. This strike resulted in a dispute that ultimately ended when the police were called in and shots were fired. At the end of the short battle four were dead.

Opposing Forces

There were numerous forces and factors at play during the Battle of Evarts, with some forces being privately armed police intending to shut the strike down and other forces refusing or denying help to the striking miners. The UMWA originally promised help and relief to the miners but once the union realized the amount of resources the Harlan miners needed they were unable to commit to their promises. The red cross was even unable to help by citing the strike as an "Industrial dispute" and keeping clear of the movement. The Black Mountain Coal company was the main opposing force which sent in armed policemen to break up the strike where ultimately four deaths occurred.

Battle

The 'Battle of Evarts' occurred on a May 5, 1931 in the morning. A Motorcade was on its way to Harlan to deliver goods to the 'Scab" or a non-union miner who had been hired to replace someone. The Motorcade was three cars long with a deputy in each car. The deputies were armed and ready to fight because they thought they were going to have issues with the union miners. The union miners were waiting for the motorcade near the Evarts railroad. When the train approached a single shot rang out. Both sides said the other one had shot first; however, it is unclear. The cars came to a stop and a hated miner guard Jim Daniels jump out and hid behind a rock. He got ready to shoot at the miners, but as soon as he peaked was shot in the head and killed. The battle lasted fifteen minutes and over 1,000 shots were fired. In the end three deputies and one miner had been killed. [1]

Causes

Since this Battle happened during the Harlan County Wars, other Battles led up to the Battle of Evarts. Some of the factors that led to the Battle of Evarts included horrible mine conditions, atrocious pay, and where they were allowed to spend their money. Also, the Black Mountain Coal Company created a grocery store where the miners would be able to spend the money that they earned there. Miners didn't like this because they were not allowed to spend their money elsewhere and If the miners were caught spending their money at somewhere other than the grocery store they would be fired and kicked out of town.[2] The final straw though was when Harlan County Coal Operators Association cut wages mines' by 10 %. After this, the first strike occurred, in which only about 13 % of strikers showed up to work. Out of all these battles, the Battle of Evartswas the most violent. After the four deaths, The Kentucky National Guard was called in for protection. After months of rallies, on June 17, all mine workers reported back to their jobs. After the battle occurred, armed military members entered Harlan and joined with the local forces to initiate strikebreaking activities. By June this strike was all but over and any union leaders were banned from the mines, all in all 44 members were to stand trial. One positive that came from this was once the public out cry was heard and spread, authors came and examined and documented the atrocious mine conditions.

References

- This article which also contains two useful videos, goes into detail of the battle and events leading to it. (https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=12137)

Planned Work (just here to help us remember what to do for now) - This existing wikipage will give insight to the time period of the 1930's in Kentucky that consisted of mine strikes and labor disputes which would include the Battle of Evarts. (Harlan County War) -A first hand account of the miners experiences and thoughts on the Kentucky coal fields and what actions it took to fight for their freedom. (https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Harlan%20Miners%20Speak%20-%20Hennen%20Intro.pdf) - This University of Kentucky college of art and science webpage contains three useful sources of information on the background of the 1931 mine strikes and battles that followed. (https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/background-coal-strike) - This first hand source written by Tony Bubka, a union member, could give useful experiences and insight upon the Battle of Evarts, (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00236567008584106?journalCode=clah20) -This news article found in the Telegram.comof Massachusetts recollects the fights and battlesthat miners organized in their fight for better wages and a safer work spaces. (http://www.telegram.com/article/20150905/NEWS/150909469) - This is a video of a guy talking about his experiences of what happened in Harlan at the time of the battle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pfae_sB1FE) - This is a recorded conversation with a woman who was in Harlan at the time of the battle it is just the audio though. http://passtheword.ky.gov/subjects/battle-evarts-evarts-kentucky-harlan-county-kentucky [1]Bryant, Brooks. “The Battle of Evarts, Kentucky, 1931.” Clio, 9 Mar. 2015, www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=12137. 1. http://www.kentuckymonthly.com/culture/history/the-price-of-coal/ 2. https://www.theclio.com/web/entry?id=12137

I plan on doing research about people who have stories and memories about the event and also add images to the wiki page. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:SawyerFrye/sandbox&oldid=830766966