Solved case · 1920
Also known as Matewan massacre
The short answer
On May 19, 1920, a shootout in Matewan, West Virginia, between coal miners and their allies and Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency agents left ten men dead, including detective agency founders' relatives, Matewan's mayor, and two miners, marking a pivotal moment in the West Virginia coal wars.
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Suggest coverage for Battle of MatewanOn May 19, 1920, a violent confrontation known as the Battle of Matewan (or Matewan Massacre) occurred in the town of Matewan, Mingo County, West Virginia. The clash arose amid escalating labor tensions between coal miners attempting to organize with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the Stone Mountain Coal Company, which employed the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency to evict miners' families from company-owned housing.
A contingent of Baldwin–Felts detectives arrived in Matewan by train that morning to carry out evictions at the Stone Mountain Coal Camp. After completing evictions and eating at the Urias Hotel, the detectives headed toward the train depot to leave town. They were intercepted by Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield, a supporter of the miners' unionization efforts, who claimed to hold arrest warrants for the detectives. Detective Albert Felts produced a warrant for Hatfield's arrest, which Mayor Cabell Testerman disputed as fraudulent. Unknown to the detectives, armed miners had surrounded the area from surrounding buildings.
Accounts differ on who fired first. One account says Albert Felts fired from his coat pocket, mortally wounding Mayor Testerman, then fired at Hatfield but instead killed miner Tot Tinsley. Hatfield then shot and killed Albert Felts. A broader gun battle followed. The dead included seven Baldwin–Felts detectives — among them Albert and Lee Felts, brothers of agency founder Tom Felts — along with Mayor Testerman (who died the next day of his wounds) and two miners, Tot Tinsley and Bob Mullins, both reportedly unarmed. Four bystanders were also wounded.
In the aftermath, West Virginia Governor John J. Cornwell dispatched state police to secure the town. Hatfield married Testerman's widow, Jessie, twelve days after the shootout. Labor unrest continued, culminating in a further strike on July 1, 1920, and widespread violence. A trial of miners charged in the deaths of the seven agents ran from January 26 to March 19, 1921, ending in acquittals for all defendants. Tom Felts subsequently sent undercover operatives to build a case against Hatfield; after murder charges against Hatfield and 22 others were dismissed, Baldwin–Felts detectives shot and killed Hatfield and his deputy Ed Chambers on the courthouse steps in Welch, West Virginia, on August 1, 1921. The remaining defendants in related cases were also acquitted.
These events contributed to escalating labor conflict in the region, feeding into the later Battle of Blair Mountain. The Matewan Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 27, 1993. A West Virginia Division of Culture and History historic highway marker in Matewan commemorates the event, noting that none of the nineteen men indicted were convicted.
Town of Matewan founded.
Roughly 3,000 miners sign UMWA union cards in the spring organizing drive.
Gun battle in Matewan between Baldwin–Felts detectives and miners/town officials leaves seven detectives, Mayor Cabell Testerman, and two miners dead.
Mayor Cabell Testerman dies in hospital from gunshot wounds sustained the previous day.
Sid Hatfield marries Jessie Testerman, widow of Mayor Cabell Testerman, twelve days after the shootout.
Miners' union begins another strike; widespread violence including bombings and beatings follows.
Trial of miners charged in the deaths of the seven Baldwin–Felts agents begins.
Trial concludes; all defendants acquitted of all charges.
Baldwin–Felts detectives kill Sid Hatfield and his deputy Ed Chambers on the McDowell County courthouse steps in Welch, West Virginia.
The Urias Hotel, former Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency headquarters, destroyed by fire.
Matewan Historic District added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout after allegedly firing the first shots, age 42.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, age 44.[3]
Mayor of Matewan, fatally wounded during the shootout and died the next day; supported the miners' union.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, age 45.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, age 44.[3]
Unarmed miner killed during the gun battle, age 19.[3]
Deputy of Sid Hatfield, killed alongside Hatfield by Baldwin–Felts detectives on the courthouse steps in Welch, West Virginia, on August 1, 1921.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, age 37.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, age 41.[3]
Baldwin–Felts detective killed in the shootout, brother of agency founder Tom Felts, age 47.[3]
Unarmed miner killed during the gun battle; had just been fired for joining the union, age 53.[3]
Matewan Chief of Police who confronted the detectives and shot Albert Felts; acquitted of all charges related to the killings, later assassinated by Baldwin–Felts detectives on August 1, 1921.[3]
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