The Ludlow Massacre
Colorado History – The Ludlow Massacre
Ludlow, Colorado U.S.A.
April 20, 1914
After a day-long fight between strikers and the Colorado National Guard, two women, twelve children, six miners and union officials and one National Guardsman were killed. In response, the miners armed themselves and attacked dozens of mines, destroying property and engaging in several skirmishes with the Colorado National Guard.
**
On the morning of April 20, the day after Easter was celebrated by the many Greek immigrants at Ludlow, three Guardsmen appeared at the camp ordering the release of a man they claimed was being held against his will. This request prompted the camp leader, Louis Tikas, to meet with a local militia commander at the train station in Ludlow village, a half mile from the colony. While this meeting was progressing, two companies of militia installed a machine gun on a ridge near the camp and took a position along a rail route about half a mile south of Ludlow. Anticipating trouble, Tikas ran back to the camp. The miners, fearing for the safety of their families, set out to flank the militia positions. A firefight soon broke out.
**
In response to the Ludlow massacre, the leaders of organized labor in Colorado issued a call to arms, urging union members to acquire “all the arms and ammunition legally available,” and a large-scale guerrilla war ensued, lasting ten days. In Trinidad, Colorado, UMW officials openly distributed arms and ammunition to strikers at union headquarters. Believing their women and children to have been “wantonly slaughtered” by the militia, 700 to 1,000 inflamed strikers “attacked mine after mine, driving off or killing the guards and setting fire to the buildings.” At least fifty people, including those at Ludlow, were killed in ten days of fighting against mine guards and hundreds of militia reinforcements rushed back into the strike zone.
**
This conflict, called the Colorado Coalfield War, was the most violent labor conflict in U.S. history; the reported death toll ranged from 69 in the Colorado government report, to 199 in the investigation ordered by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Governor Ammons sent a plea to President Wilson, who dispatched federal troops to restore order. The fighting ended only when U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent in federal troops. They disarmed both sides (displacing, and often arresting, the militia in the process) and reported directly to Washington.
**
In the end, the strikers failed to obtain their demands, the union did not obtain recognition, and many striking workers were replaced by new workers. Over 400 strikers were arrested, 332 of whom were indicted for murder. Only one man, John Lawson, leader of the strike, was convicted of murder, and that verdict was eventually overturned by the Colorado Supreme Court. Twenty-two National Guardsmen, including 10 officers, were court-martialed. All were acquitted, except Lt. Linderfelt, who was found guilty of assault for his attack on Louis Tikas. However, he was given only a light reprimand.
Colorado History – The Ludlow Massacre