Battle of Virden
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Virden was a labor union conflict in Virden
, southern Illinois
, involving the United Mine Workers of America in October 1898. The battle left four security guards and seven striking mine workers dead, with more than 30 people wounded.
The incident at Virden was one of several fatal conflicts in the area reflecting both labor union tension and racial violence
.
without incident.
On October 12, 1898, another northbound train pulled into the town, loaded with about fifty potential streakbreakers. It had come from Birmingham, Alabama
via East St. Louis, where it had taken on detectives from the Thiel Detective Service Company
armed with Winchester rifle
s. It stopped on the tracks just outside the minehead stockade. As the strikers attempted to surround the train, the guards opened fire.
The strikers were also armed. As a gun battle broke out in and around the strikebreakers' train, there were dead and wounded on both sides. Seven miners were killed, and 30 wounded; four dead Thiel guards, five wounded, and many wounded strikebreakers within the train. Furthermore, had the strikers won the battle, their intentions toward the Alabama African-American strikebreakers would have been hostile. After twenty minutes of firing on both sides, the train's engineer accepted defeat and the train pulled away from the minehead and continued northward to Springfield, Illinois
.
The mine owners capitulated in mid-November and accepted the UMWA unionization of the Virden coal mines. The union and the mine owners agreed to segregate
the Virden mines. Virden itself remained a sundown town
for decades thereafter.
A monument in the Virden town square commemorates the coal strike of 1898 and the battle of October 12 that was its bitter end. The monument contains a large bronze bas-relief that includes the names of those killed in the battle, and a copy of a mendacious recruiting handbill distributed by the Chicago-Virden Company in Birmingham, Alabama
, to recruit the African-American miners. The body of the bas-relief is made of symbolic representations of the Chicago & Alton tracks and the assault on the strikers. The guards are shown pointing their Winchesters at the strikers and their families. Atop the bas-relief is a bronze portrait of Mary Harris Jones ("Mother Jones").
Mother Jones herself is buried in the Union Miners Cemetery in nearby Mount Olive, Illinois
, Illinois
, alongside miners who died in the conflict.
on April 10, 1899, at Lauder (now Cambria, Illinois
) on June 30, and Carterville, Illinois
on September 17.
Non-unionized Pana, both before and after the events at Virden, had a contingent of state militia called in by Governor John Riley Tanner
to keep the peace. The militia withdrew from Pana in March, and on April 10 a skirmish between strikers, guards and strikebreakers left seven killed and at least 15 wounded, many of them bystanders.
At Lauder a group of African American miners traveling by train from Pana were attacked on June 30. One woman, Anna Karr, was murdered, and about twenty others wounded. And at Carterville on September 17, five more non-union African American miners were killed in out-and-out rioting. Local juries acquitted all those accused in those attacks.
Virden, Illinois
Virden is a city in Macoupin and Sangamon counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 3,488 at the 2000 census, and 3,338 at a 2009 estimate....
, southern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, involving the United Mine Workers of America in October 1898. The battle left four security guards and seven striking mine workers dead, with more than 30 people wounded.
The incident at Virden was one of several fatal conflicts in the area reflecting both labor union tension and racial violence
Mass racial violence in the United States
Mass racial violence, also called race riots can include such disparate events as:* attacks on Irish Catholics, the Chinese and other immigrants in the 19th century....
.
Virden
On September 24, a trainload of potential strikebreaking African-American miners recruited by the Chicago-Virden Coal Company, pulled into Virden and were informed by representatives of UMWA Local 693 that they were entering a strike. That train continued to Springfield, IllinoisSpringfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
without incident.
On October 12, 1898, another northbound train pulled into the town, loaded with about fifty potential streakbreakers. It had come from Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
via East St. Louis, where it had taken on detectives from the Thiel Detective Service Company
Thiel Detective Service Company
The Thiel Detective Service Company was a private detective agency formed by George H. Thiel, a former Civil War spy and Pinkerton employee.The Thiel Detective Service Company headquarters were in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was formed to be a direct competitor to the Pinkerton Detective...
armed with Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
s. It stopped on the tracks just outside the minehead stockade. As the strikers attempted to surround the train, the guards opened fire.
The strikers were also armed. As a gun battle broke out in and around the strikebreakers' train, there were dead and wounded on both sides. Seven miners were killed, and 30 wounded; four dead Thiel guards, five wounded, and many wounded strikebreakers within the train. Furthermore, had the strikers won the battle, their intentions toward the Alabama African-American strikebreakers would have been hostile. After twenty minutes of firing on both sides, the train's engineer accepted defeat and the train pulled away from the minehead and continued northward to Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
.
The mine owners capitulated in mid-November and accepted the UMWA unionization of the Virden coal mines. The union and the mine owners agreed to segregate
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
the Virden mines. Virden itself remained a sundown town
Sundown town
A sundown town is a town that is or was purposely all-White. The term is widely used in the United States in areas from Ohio to Oregon and well into the South. The term came from signs that were allegedly posted stating that people of color had to leave the town by sundown...
for decades thereafter.
A monument in the Virden town square commemorates the coal strike of 1898 and the battle of October 12 that was its bitter end. The monument contains a large bronze bas-relief that includes the names of those killed in the battle, and a copy of a mendacious recruiting handbill distributed by the Chicago-Virden Company in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, to recruit the African-American miners. The body of the bas-relief is made of symbolic representations of the Chicago & Alton tracks and the assault on the strikers. The guards are shown pointing their Winchesters at the strikers and their families. Atop the bas-relief is a bronze portrait of Mary Harris Jones ("Mother Jones").
Mother Jones herself is buried in the Union Miners Cemetery in nearby Mount Olive, Illinois
Mount Olive, Illinois
Mount Olive is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,150 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Mount Olive is located at ....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, alongside miners who died in the conflict.
Related conflicts
The same conditions and organizations were also involved in similar conflicts in three nearby towns: Pana, IllinoisPana, Illinois
Pana is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,847 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Pana is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
on April 10, 1899, at Lauder (now Cambria, Illinois
Cambria, Illinois
Cambria is a village in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,330 at the 2000 census.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,330 people, 564 households, and 367 families residing in the village. The population density was 974.3 people per square mile...
) on June 30, and Carterville, Illinois
Carterville, Illinois
Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, in the United States, and is geographically situated between Carbondale, Illinois and Marion, Illinois. The city is located next to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge's of land and water contain a wide diversity of flora and...
on September 17.
Non-unionized Pana, both before and after the events at Virden, had a contingent of state militia called in by Governor John Riley Tanner
John Riley Tanner
John Riley Tanner was the 21st Governor of Illinois, from 1897 until 1901. He was one of the most remarkable governors of the late nineteenth century....
to keep the peace. The militia withdrew from Pana in March, and on April 10 a skirmish between strikers, guards and strikebreakers left seven killed and at least 15 wounded, many of them bystanders.
At Lauder a group of African American miners traveling by train from Pana were attacked on June 30. One woman, Anna Karr, was murdered, and about twenty others wounded. And at Carterville on September 17, five more non-union African American miners were killed in out-and-out rioting. Local juries acquitted all those accused in those attacks.