Battle of Virden

At the northeastern corner of Macoupin County in the village of Virden—the site of the October 1898 great Battle of Virden—Illinois miners from Gillespie, Mt. Olive, and Benld fought for and won their struggle for union representation, and eventually built the United Mine Workers of America’s Illinois locals into the most powerful in the country. 

Mother Jones was not at the Battle of Virden, but Mt. Olive miner Alexander “General” Bradley, an English immigrant, whose intelligence and charisma held the miners together in the time of battle, became her good friend. She often stopped to visit Mt. Olive on her travels from Pennsylvania, Michigan and Colorado. The simple request in her letter is clear, this was to be her resting place. Today, General Bradley, too, lies in the Union Miners Cemetery, along with many local men and women who fought for the union and for justice in Mother Jones’ time and in the near century since.

The nationwide coal strike in 1897 resulted in some concessions from the coal companies across the country. Owners of mines south of Springfield, Illinois refused to honor the agreement and planned to bring in Black miners to run a non-union operation. Union locals in many areas represented Black and white miners, but Black miners were characterized in the press uniformly as strikebreakers. The owners filled a train with non-union miners, who did not know they were bound for a strike-breaking adventure, and armed guards and headed toward the mine at Virden. Bradley and the miners were determined to prevent the strikebreakers from working at the Virden mines.

They fought a gun battle, the train returned north, and men died on October 12, 1898. The shooting lasted for less than 10 minutes. Forty miners were wounded, and seven were killed. Five guards were killed and four were wounded.  The contract was upheld. The Battle of Virden was a turning point in the labor struggles.