Sid Hatfield (1891 - 1921)

Fri May 15, 1891

Image

Image: **

William “Sid” Hatfield, born on this day in 1891, was a police chief of Matewan, West Virginia who helped organizing miners resist the union-busting Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. For this, Hatfield was assassinated in 1921.

Hatfield is most known for his role in “The Battle of Matewan”, a shootout between Hatfield, armed miners, and Baldwin-Felts agents that killed ten people. The shootout occurred when Hatfield and Albert Felts (of the Detective Agency) tried to arrest each other, which culminated in Hatfield killing Felts.

Hatfield and another defendant, Ed Chambers, were later assassinated by Baldwin-Felts agents while standing trial for murder, which increased the tensions between coal miners and company owners. The agents were acquitted on the basis of self-defense despite the fact that both Hatfield and Chambers were unarmed.