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.

Battle vs Filipino Insurrectionist (by SPARTAN 119)
Blair Mountain Miner:

Filipino Insurrectionist:

Five Filipino Insurrectionist walk into a mountain valley. On the slopes above them, they spot a miner revolting against the mine owners in the Blair Mountain area. The Filipino leader sees that he is a white man and assumes he is an enemy. He raises his Mauser 1893 and fires a shot. The Blair Mountain Rebel crumples to the ground, dead from a gunshot to the head.

A Blair Mountain Rebel returns fire with his Springfield M1903, killing a Filipino Insurrectionist. . The Filipinos moved from cover to cover, firing back at the Blair Mountain rebels, who fired back at them. In the storm of bullets, a Filipino and miner were struck down by rifle fire.

Moving it close now, an insurrectionist got out his Colt M1892 and fired three shots into a Blair Mountain miner's torso, killing him. Suddenly, the fallen miner was avenged, however, as half his head exploded, struck by a blast from another miner's sawed off shotgun.

A Filipino Insurrectionist cut the shot-gunner's throat from behind with his bolo. . The boloman then slashed at another Blair Mountain Rebel, only to have the blade blocked by the handle of a mining pick the rebel was using as an improvised weapon. The rebel embedded the pickaxe in the Filipino's skull, only to be impaled second later on a sibat.

The last surviving Blair Mountain rebel raised his shotgun and pulled the trigger, but found he was out of ammunition. The miner instead threw the empty gun at the Filipino as he charged with his sibat. The empty gun hit the insurrectionist in the face, causing him to drop his weapon. The Filipino reached for his bolo, but it was too late. The Blair Mountain miner thrust his Bowie knife into the Filipino's chest three times, killing him.

The Blair Mountain Rebel leader withdrew his knife, as more Blair Mountain rebels showed up, investigating the sounds of battle.

"You see that?", the rebel leader asked, "We work 10 ours down in the mines, and when we ask for a fair deal, what do the mine owners send us in return? First bombs and now some kind of foreign mercenaries!".

WINNER: Blair Mountain Rebel

Expert's Opinion
The Blair Mountain Rebels won this battle because of their superior firepower at both close range with the shotgun and at long range with the Springfield Rifle. In addition, some of the Blair Mountain Rebels would have been World War I, giving them much needed combat experience.

For the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.