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Tension escalated between miners and guards, and by March 1931 gunfire became commonplace. Both sides were armed and willing to use their weapons in any dispute. Ambushes, snipers, explosions, and robberies rocked Harlan County, and a Knoxville News-Sentinel headline warned, "Flare-Up in Harlan Area Is Expected." Sheriff Blair, responding to a reporter's questions regarding the use of guns, said, "Hell, yes, I've issued orders to shoot to kill." The fight between miners and deputies came to a climax on 4 May when the "Battle of Evarts" broke out. A group of ten mining officials were ambushed by seventy-five union sympathizers, who exchanged gunfire for more than half an hour, resulting in several deaths and a state of chaos in Harlan County. For two days there was no law and order in the region. Public schools closed, and many families fled the area. Gov. Flem...
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This section contains 288 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) |
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