Storming Heaven
A novel based on the Battle of Blair Mountain
In August of 1921, 10,000 armed miners prepared to storm Blair Mountain, West Virginia in an attempt to free their neighbors who were under the rule of exploitative coal camps and company guards. 2,000 federal troops, a chemical warfare division and aerial bombardment squads were called in, as the battle waged for two weeks. At the end of the Mine Wars, over a dozen miners were dead and hundreds more injured.
Although the battle took place in this century, most people, including
West Virginians, have forgotten about it, or have never heard of it. Fortunately,
in the last few years there have been some books as well as movies made
to recount the story. Denise Giardina, a West Virginian who was raised
in a coal camp, has used the Coal Mine Wars as the background for her fictional
novel Storming Heaven.
Justice and Payne counties are under the rule of Sheriff Don Chafin
who, in working with the coal companies, prohibits the right to organize,
therefore keeping unions out of these counties. After a series of grave
injustices, the miners take up arms and march to southern West Virginia
with hopes of defeating Chafin and the coal operators.
Based in fictional Eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia, Storming
Heavenbegins in 1890 when the coal companies moved in and take over
the land, and ends at the Battle of Blair mountain of 1921. The afterword,
dated 1987, updates the reader that since Blair Mountain, nothing has changed,
"the companies still own the land."
Through the voices of four narrators of different backgrounds the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain is told, starting in 1890 and ending in 1987.
C. J. Marcum is the first narrator of the novel who witnesses first hand the cruel and illegal tactics used by the coal companies to take the land. He becomes a martyr in his fight for vengeance when he is killed in a shootout between coal company police and the sheriff and miners of the town.
Rondal Lloyd is born into the world of coal mining and enters the mines with his father at an early age. With the help and encouragement of Marcum, Rondall joins the fight against the operators and eventually becomes a union organizer.
Carrie Bishop is a nurese who gets involved with the plight of the miners. She is a sensible, spiritual person who takes it upon herself to heal everyones' wounds.
Rosa Angelelli is an immigrant from Sicily who represents all of
the minorities that work in the mines. She is the the tragic character
who loses her husband and four sons to mine accidents.
Through the viewpoints of four different narrators, Storming Heavenshows the social situation between the white, black and immigrant miners, between the miners and the coal operators, and between families as well as the changes and hardships that they endure.
Giardina's portrayal of the injustices committed against the people of Appalachia reflects her own personal views and outrage of the situatuion.
By using the four narrators whose lives are intertwined, Giardina
fictionally depicts the tale of the Mine Wars in a powerful manner that
makes the story enjoyable yet haunting, and definitely unforgettable.
Recommended Readings
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This page was created by Kathy Moore as a project
for English 245--Appalachian Literature,
West Virginia University.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact me at kmoore2@wvu.edu