e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia Online

Assassinations of Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers

Mine Wars Section 12 of 20

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On August 1, 1921, Baldwin-Felts detectives shot and killed Sid Hatfield and his friend Ed Chambers as they were walking with their wives to the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch. Miners viewed this as an assassination and in response, thousands marched on southern West Virginia later in the month.