Coal Creek war was the war that took place in Coal Creek, a mining town in Tennessee. The town was found in the second half of the 19th century especially for people employed at the local coal mines. The war took place in 1891-1892 and was actually an opposition of free miners to the convict lease system implemented by the state. These people considered themselves law-abiding citizens possessing the right to work and honestly earn their living, while convicts brought to the mines were seen as those stealing bread from free miners (“The Coal Creek War” 1). The miners wanted to protect their right to work, moreover they were said to earn quite a decent living at the mines.
Methods the miners used in their war were various. They started with strikes and riots, opposing the employment of the leased convicts at the mines (“Tennessee’s Ex-Governors” 2). First, the miners wanted to solve the problem without violence, they had meetings and discussed the plans, decided not to damage properties and to avoid encounters with mine guards and militia troops (“An Armed Camp” 1). They tried to put the convicts and guards on trains and send them to Knoxville on multiple occasions. But eventually the miners had to fight troops sent by the state authorities to Coal Creek for the strikes were considered by the latter as infraction of the law. There were a number of collisions of the miners with troops in 1891 and 1892, which first were more like guerrilla warfare but eventually became a real confrontation with numerous victims on both sides (“Seven Killed and Wounded” 5). As a result, the riot was suppressed, and many of its leaders and participants were sentenced for imprisonment of several years (“Very Swift Forger” 1), and many miners participating in the riots died.
It is possible to say that ultimately the Coal Creek war really caused change in the state policy. While this particular riot did not have any immediate results, other subsequent riots in coal mines around the Tennessee state resulted in Governor Buchanan (“Fight at Coal Creek” 1) losing his support, and the new state administration eventually abandoning convict lease system for good in 1896 (“History of a Week” 7).
Works Cited
“An Armed Camp”. The State Republican [Jefferson City, Mo.] 23 July 1891: 1. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“Fight at Coal Creek.” The Sun [New York] 19 Aug. 1892: 1. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“History of a Week.” The True Northerner [Paw Paw, Mich.] 03 Jan. 1896: 7. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“Seven Killed and Wounded.” The Sun [New York] 08 Feb. 1904: 5. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“Tennessee’s Ex-Governors.” The Commercial [Union City, Tenn.] 31 May 1901: 2. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“The Coal Creek War.” The Dalles Weekly Chronicle [The Dalles, Or.] 26 Aug. 1892: 1. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
“Very Swift Forger.” St. Paul Daily Globe [Saint Paul, Minn.] 23 Aug. 1892: 1. Library of Congress. Web. 11 July 2016.
