Battle of Stanaford facts for kids

The Battle of Stanaford happened on February 25, 1903. It was an armed attack against coal miners who were on strike in the village of Stanaford, West Virginia. This event was the final part of the 1902 New River coal strike.

What Caused the Battle of Stanaford?

This conflict began during a big coal strike in 1902. A US Marshal named Daniel Webster Cunningham had a job to do. He needed to deliver court orders, called injunctions, to a group of 33 miners. These miners had walked from Quinnimont to Atkinsville, which is now part of East Beckley. The miners reportedly told the Marshal they would fight if he tried to arrest them.

Marshal Cunningham then went to Beckley. He asked the local sheriff, Harvey Cook, for help. A sheriff's posse is a group of citizens who help the sheriff keep the peace. Cunningham then traveled to Charleston to gather more officers. Sheriff Cook asked the governor for soldiers. The governor told Cook to gather a posse of citizens instead. About 500 men were called to the courthouse with their guns. They were told to be ready to help if needed.

Later, the lawyer for the United Mine Workers (UMW) union, Sam Burdette, went with Cunningham back to Atkinsville. They arranged for the miners who had broken the court orders to appear in court. The union also paid money, called bonds, to help the striking miners get out of trouble. Sheriff Cook went back to Beckley and told his posse that the problem was over. He sent them home.

However, the striking miners had only moved. They went from Atkinsville back to their camps along the New River. Some miners went to Stanaford and stayed with friends.

On the morning of February 25, 1903, Marshal Cunningham gathered a group of 50 special marshals in Lanark. Sheriff Cook and Howard Smith, a detective from the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency, were with them. This agency was often hired by companies to deal with labor disputes.

Different Stories of the Fight

There are different accounts of what happened during the Battle of Stanaford.

The Officers' Story

The Fayette Journal newspaper, which was owned by a coal mine owner named Samuel Dixon, reported one version of events. It said that the officers left Lanark early in the morning for the miners' camp. The newspaper claimed the miners were staying in a schoolhouse. It also said the miners had dared the officers to come near.

The newspaper reported that officers had guards around the schoolhouse during the night. They knew what the miners planned. It was thought that about 125 "outlaws" were in the schoolhouse. They all had guns and plenty of bullets. The officers stopped a short distance away. Detective Smith and two others went to the schoolhouse and told the group to give up.

The newspaper claimed the miners started shooting at Smith. Four bullets went through his coat, and one hit his finger. When the shooting started from the building, the officers fired back. For about five minutes, both sides shot their guns. Over a thousand shots were fired.

The newspaper said the shooting was too intense for the miners. About half of them ran out and gave up. The others ran into the woods. Officers chased them, and many were arrested. Over 50 people were taken into custody.

An Eyewitness's Story

The Charleston Daily Gazette newspaper gave a different description of the battle. An eyewitness, who did not fight but watched, told his story to a reporter.

He said the people the officers wanted were in certain houses in the village. The officers and their posse went into the camp before dawn. They wanted to be ready to attack early in the morning before anyone could get away. The posse split into five groups. Each group went to a different side of the town. Then, they all moved in at the same time. It was still dark, so he could only see shadowy shapes of men.

He saw men go into a house, then others come out of other houses and run toward the one the officers had entered. Soon after, he saw men come from the house. Then he saw a flash of fire and heard a gun shot. Another shot followed, and the fight began.

Guns were poked out of doors and windows and fired. Soon, the other four groups of officers joined the shooting. Flashes of fire came from all sides of the town. Rifles rang out, and shotguns boomed as the fight became widespread. He saw men running into the woods, still firing as they went. A line of men formed on a low hill above the town and shot at officers on lower ground. Another group on a different hill fired back, but they were too far away to hit anything. The eyewitness said that the three men who died were all in one house. Six others in that house were hurt.

The Union's Story

Chris Evans, an official from the United Mine Workers (UMW) union, was sent to investigate the deaths of three Black men on the day of the battle. Evans reported that a coal company lawyer, W. J. St. Clair, had pushed hard for the striking miners to be arrested. This reportedly made Marshal Cunningham break an earlier agreement with the UMW. The agreement was that the union would pay bonds for the arrested men. Instead, Cunningham decided to go to Atkinsville to arrest them without the bond agreement.

The miners made Cunningham leave Atkinsville, refusing to be arrested. Evans claimed he had sent a message to the miners telling them to give up peacefully. However, he said the coal companies, who owned all the telegraph and telephone lines in the area, refused to deliver his message. Evans accused Cunningham and his officers of going to Stanaford and killing the miners in their beds at night, before Evans could warn them.

After visiting the battle site, Evans reported what he found. In a house where a Black man named Stonewall Jackson lived, he found the bodies of William Dotson, William Clark, and Richard Clayton.

Evans stated that Jackson's wife and her four children, along with eight other Black people, were in the house. He said that around daybreak, everyone was woken up by shots fired into the house from outside. This shooting happened without warning. The three Black men were found dead on the floor. Two were in their nightclothes, and the other was partly dressed. Evans also visited another house where Joe Hiser lay badly wounded in bed. Hiser had been shot as he was getting dressed. Hiser lived with his sister. She said at the investigation that she begged the shooters not to harm her children. She claimed Cunningham replied, "Women and children must take care of themselves."

Evans insisted that the miners were never told to surrender until after the officers started shooting at the people in the houses.

Evans also mentioned visiting Lucien Lausen (Lawson), who was also very badly wounded. He said that this man and others did shoot back at the officers. Evans claimed this was the only time the miners tried to fight back.

The local official who investigates deaths, called a coroner, came to the scene. He found that six men had been killed while they were sleeping. They were shot by gunmen working for the coal company.

What Happened After the Battle?

Between five and eleven men died because of the battle. Three were killed right away, and others died later from their injuries. Newspapers in West Virginia at the time named some of the people who died:

• Richard Clayton, shot in the chest.
• William Dotson.
• William Clark, shot in the heart.
• L(ucien) Lawson, died on February 28 from an infection from his wound.
• Joe Hiser, died on March 6 from his wound, nine days after the battle.
• Bert Irvin, died later in the McKendree Hospital in Fayette County.
• John Winchester, also died in McKendree Hospital.

A jury in Raleigh County, who investigated the deaths, questioned if the attack was truly necessary. They stated: "We, the jury, find that Dick Clayton and W. Dotson each died from gunshot wounds. We cannot say if this was lawful or unlawful. We also find that William Clark died from being shot unfairly by armed men. These men were led by Dan W. Cunningham, a United States marshal, and others."

The jury's decision made many good citizens wonder. They questioned if the officers, who were supposed to enforce the law, acted within reasonable limits when these men lost their lives.