The Battle of Blair Mountain- Past and Present In 1921 on Blair Mountain, 10,000 coal miners rose up against coal barons in defense of their right to unionize. The undeclared civil war that followed lasted ten days and became known as the Battle of Blair Mountain. This legendary event is now characterized as America's largest-ever labor struggle. The shooting war pitted union and anti-union forces against one another in the mountains of Logan, West Virginia, culminated in the arrival of federal troops at the governor's request and bears the distinction of being the only time the United States has bombed its own soil. [ I have to add this, what happened in the Okla Panhandle was a mistake. ] The battle did not result in the immediate unionization of the southern West Virginia coal fields, but through the confrontation, the United Mine Workers of America won a moral victory. It brought broad exposure to the everyday injustices endured by working men and women in the mines, and support for unions grew. Union efforts in the area were eventually vindicated with the passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act, which in 1933 legalized the right of coal miners to join a union without the fear of reprisals from mine owners or operators. Today, another battle is being fought on Blair Mountain. Despite widespread efforts to preserve this valuable place as a historic site, a mountaintop removal permit is pending on land where parts of the battle occurred. Mountaintop removal blasts the earth and rock of mountaintops apart and fills valleys with debris. This irresponsible mining practice has already destroyed too much of our Appalachian cultural and environmental heritage. Now it threatens to obliterate one of our most hallowed historic sites. Local citizens, historians, and environmental organizations believe that Blair Mountain is too integral a part of American history to be destroyed by this irresponsible practice. Last year, the State of West Virginia submitted a nomination to the Department of Interior for Blair Mountain's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The Interior Department subsequently returned the application, requesting additional information. Meanwhile, mining companies and landowners who stand to profit from mining on the site filed a lawsuit challenging the petition for historic status. The Sierra Club has entered a lawsuit to protect Blair Mountain as a historic place, in conjunction with the State of West Virginia, the Friends of the Mountains Coalition and the Keeper of the Mountains Foundation. The respected National Trust for Historic Preservation also believes that Blair Mountain is too valuable to be blasted apart. The organization named the site as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Places. "It is particularly important, given the recent mining tragedies in West Virginia, that we not lose this symbol of the bravery and determination of union miners to improve their working conditions," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust. "It is incumbent upon the property owners and preservationists to work together to permanently protect and interpret this little known but highly significant historic place." Protecting Blair Mountain and developing an interpretive program for tourists would bring economic benefit to the local community, while allowing West Virginians to pass down this unique piece of American history.