Some Interesting Facts from
The Great Railroad Strike in Ohio
The Great Railroad Strike in Ohio
The Strike's First Casualties
Strike-breakers tried to run a Baltimore & Ohio train out of the Martinsburg, WV, yards. As it departed, striker William Vandergriff threw a switch in an effort to derail it. When militiaman Private John Poisal tried to switch it back, Vandergriff shot at and hit him with a pistol shot. Poisal returned fire, hitting his target in the hip. Vandergrift succumbed to his wound a few days later. His was probably the first death during the strike but certainly not the last. This fact came from The Great Railroad Strike in Ohio by this website's creator, Mark Strecker. You can buy it at Amazon or from the History Press.
Blockade of engines in Martinsburg, WV. during the strike.
Library of Congress
Library of Congress
