hostilities during the Mine Wars. After Albert Sidney Hatfield or “Sid Hatfield” was gunned down on the courthouse steps by Baldwin Felts agents on August 1, 1921, conflict was inevitable, Sid was a hero for his part in the Battle of Matewan. Miners would turn to Bill Blizzard for leadership. In recent years it has been discovered Bill Blizzard was the miners General during the Battle of Blair Mountain. Frank Keeney and Fred Mooney were charged with murder halfway through the battle and fled to Ohio. The miners proceeded to assemble just below the city of Charleston and had gathered plenty of guns, ammunition, and supplies. The ensuing march became known as the “Armed March,” starting at Charleston and ending in Logan County where they encountered Don Chafin and his forces. The miners' strength is estimated at about 10,000 men. Bill Blizzard was an organizer of the armed march and played a key role in supplying guns, ammunition, and supplies to the army. Mother Jones, a well-known advocate of the UMWA labor movement, tried to halt the miners before they entered Logan County. She claimed she had a letter from then President Warren G. Harding that supported many of the rights the miners were fighting for. This letter turned out to be fake and the word quickly spread. Mother Jones left West Virginia shortly after the presentation of the false letter. The miners wore red bandanas around their necks to distinguish friend from foe, and contributed to the term of "redneck". The miners reached Logan County at Blair Mountain and Crooked Creek gap, where Chafin had entrenched 2,000 non-union supporters and volunteers, determined that Mingo and Logan would keep the UMWA out. Each army used an identifying code word. The two opposing forces met in the woods and gave their code words, but neither heard the right reply and started shooting. These were the first casualties of the Battle of Blair Mountain. Blizzard's union forces and Chafin's non-union forces began a week long battle. Estimates of casualties vary among historians: according to some historians, there were 16 killed and an unidentified number wounded. The battle ended when President Harding sent federal troops to restore order. On August 31, 1921, Charles F. Thompson was part of the contingent of troops that attempted to restore order. He testified at Blizzard's May 1922 trial that he had been disregarded after he read the