Program at Union Miners Cemetery

This year is the 125th anniversary of the gun battle that took place on Oct. 12, 1898, in Virden, between union mine workers and guards representing the Chicago/Virden Mine Company. That conflict sparked the effort for workers to obtain the 8-hour workday and contributes to this county’s rich history.

Mt. Olive-based, self-appointed UMWA organizer, “General” Alexander Bradley, who was present during the battle, became the most successful UMWA organizer in history.

The legendary Irish firebrand Mother Jones was known as the miner's angel for her campaign work for the United Mine Workers Union. This battle resulted in Mother Jones requesting that her remains be brought to Mt. Olive and interred in Union Miners Cemetery with four of the eight miners who died in that battle. She declared she wished to “sleep beneath the clay with those brave boys.”

Union Miners Cemetery and Mt. Olive Friends of Mother Jones Museum recogized the importance of these events at a program that occured on Sunday, Oct. 8, which commemorated the gun battle. The program was held at Union Miners Cemetery in Mt. Olive and featured John Alexander, AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, re-enactors of “General” Alexander Bradley and Mother Jones, and other labor leaders.