User blog:Elgb333/Blair Mountain Rebels vs Johnson County Residents



The values that Americans honor the most are freedom and independence. These are the kind of people that will never take shit from anybody, both foreign and even their own government. Throughout its glorious history, ‘ornery citizens have raised arms to defend their rights and stick it up to the Big Man, like the bloody American Civil War, the tragic Indian Wars, the hilariously named Whiskey Rebellion and many others.

But none embodies true American individualism and self-reliance more than these two conflicts and the heroes that fought in it:



Blair Mountain Rebels: Hellbent West Virginian coal miners looking for justice and ended up fighting the largest labor uprising in US History!

VS

Johnson County Residents: Small Wyoming settlers who defended their lands in the greatest range war in US History!

 Both insurrectionists fought against rich and powerful corporates, lost their leaders from assassinations, but successfully fought for what they believed in was right. And today on the 4th of July, US Independence Day, these two good ‘ol rebels will come face to face to decide who is… THE DEADLIER AMERICAN!

Blair Mountain Rebel
The events leading up to the Battle of Blair Mountain of 1921 started in the late 19th and early 20th century with the violent tactics used by mine owners to halt unionization of mine workers. A few weeks before the battle, in May 1920, a gunfight erupted between Sid Hatfield, the town sheriff of Matewan, WV, along with several deputies and several Baldwin-Felts private detectives involved in violent strikebreaking, including Albert and Lee Felts.

A year later, Sid Hatfield was himself assassinated, an act that enraged the local miners. 10,000-15,000 miners took up arms and seized control of the area around Blair Mountain, WV, engaging a week-long battle with police, and eventually U.S Army forces with air support. Over 900 miners were arrested, though only some were convicted. In the end, however, they were paroled in 1925, however, government recognition of labor unions was set back until the 1930s, in part due to the events of Blair Mountain.

Weapons
Melee= Pickaxe
 * A common tool for mine workers, pickaxes later became improvised weapons during the First World War, and the Coal Wars.
 * Has two metal points on each side that can skewer and disembowel a man.
 * Common length is 32 inches long.
 * -|Short= Colt Official Police
 * 6-round, double action revolver
 * .38 Special
 * Swing out cylinder
 * -|Long Range= Swiss Vetterli Rifle
 * The most common bolt-action rifle during the battle, it was also known as the “Poor Man’s Bear Gun”
 * Bolt action
 * 11-round tubular magazine
 * 10.4×38mm Swiss Rimfire
 * 475 yards effective range
 * -|Special= Double-barrel shotgun
 * 12 gauge
 * Can fire two rounds either one at a time or at the same time.

Johnson County Residents
The Johnson County War was a range that was fought in Johnson County, Wyoming in the years between 1889–1893. Considered to be the most popular and recognizable range war in Old West history, the war was fought between large cattle barons and corporations against small ranchers, cowboys and homesteaders who both competed for the open range in the county. In the late 19th century, harsh weather forced the large cattle industries to take control of the land, water and roving cattle in the region to keep their businesses afloat. This monopoly was challenged by the small ranchers and homesteaders who also want to make a living in the region. Tensions soon worsen when the cattle barons started to imprison, lynch and outright murder civilians who they suspected of rustling or going up against them, including Ellen Watson and her husband Jim Averell, who were lynched by workers of the cattle barons. After the death of Nate Champion, a cowboy and prominent leader of the homesteaders, the Sheriff William Angus and the Johnson County Residents retaliated aganst the cattle barons and soon the war involved the state lawmen, two cavalry units and even the national government.

Weapons
Melee= Bowie Knife
 * 9-inch blade with clip point
 * Can also be thrown
 * -|Short= Smith and Wesson .44 Double Action “Frontier Model”
 * The most famous double action revolver during the Old West.
 * .44-40 Winchester, 6-rounds cylinder
 * Uses a top-break cylinder that can automatically eject spent casings, making it one of the fastest revolvers to reload.
 * -|Long Range=  Winchester Model 1876
 * Basically an upgraded version of the classic Winchester Model 1876 that can now fire more powerful rifle cartridges.
 * Lever-action
 * 15-round tubular magazine
 * .40-60 Winchester
 * 200 yard range
 * -|Special= Sharps Carbine
 * .52 caliber
 * Single-shot falling block carbine

X-Factors
Training   While both warrior groups became famous for starting some of the largest “civilian” conflicts in US History, many participants were actually former soldiers and veterans. Many Blair Mountain Rebels fought as soldiers during the First World War, while many Johnson County Residents were veterans of the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars, as well as being trained cowboys, lawmen and even bandits.  Experience   Both groups fought against private militaries and hired thugs in the employs of the rich and the elite. One thing that gives the Johnson County Resident an edge was that they drove out not one, but two cavalry units (the 6th cavalry and the 9th cavalry Buffalo Soldiers) out of their land. However, the Blair Mountain Rebels still faced far greater odds against them since they had to deal with not only armed lawmen, but also machine guns and even bombs and poison gas being dropped from above by airplanes. They also killed way more men during their war than the Johnson County Residents.  Tactics   This one’s quite simple. The Blair Mountain Rebel fought their coal war and failed; the Johnson County Resident fought their range war and won. While the Blair Mountain Rebels did a good job killing more men and almost breaking through enemy lines during the Battle of Blair Mountain, they still failed their main objectives which were to free their fellow miners and put an end to coal barons’ power. They were very ill-equipped, and their leader Mother Jones even believed that they were unprepared for such a conflict. Their War was also a disaster politically, since it took many years after the battle before the coal miners’ union was recognized by the US.

The Johnson County Residents on the other hand were a bit smarter than this. During the Shootout at the KC Ranch, Nate Champion did a bang-up job holding out alone inside his cabin against 20 gunmen. During the Standoff at the TA Ranch, the Residents used proper siege tactics to contain their enemy, and would have killed them if it wasn’t for the cavalry intervening. The Residents also used smarter and stealthier tactics against their enemies, such as the assassination of Marshal George Wellman, the bombing of the 6th Cavalry’s Barracks, and even the shooting and killing of Buffalo Soldiers in Suggs. While they failed to put the barons and their thugs to justice, they did however, successfully put an end to their power in Wyoming.

Logistics 

Both warriors were poor middle-classmen who had to face against richer and more powerful opponents. The miners, while poor, did have supporters who gave them military weapons and machine guns, but these were sadly confiscated by the government before they can use it in battle. The miners ended up having to use whatever weapons their non-existent salary can buy. The Johnson County Residents were not particularly rich but they can afford their own weapons and resources. One advantage the coal miners did have over the settlers were numbers; the Blair Mountain Rebels mobilized over 10, 000 men while the Johnson County Residents only had 200.