This is an immensely historic example of an early production Colt Thompson Model 1921 submachine gun manufactured in 1921 and bearing serial number 91. The first 40 Thompson submachine guns were prototypes in various configurations, with serial number 41 considered to be the first production example, per page 5 of the book “The Thompson Submachine Gun” by Roger A. Cox. This makes this rare early Thompson the 51st production example. This is the only two-digit serial numbered Thompson submachine gun that we have ever had the opportunity to offer at Rock Island Auction Company! Adding further to its desirability is that this early example was shipped to Logan County, West Virginia, during the Coal War just months prior to the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, the largest armed uprising in the United States since the Civil War, and is documented as connected to the coal companies and their allied lawmen. The Battle of Blair Mountain is notably one of the earliest known incidents of Thompsons being fired in anger. The serial number shipment records on page 39 of the book "Colt Thompson Submachine Gun" (2014) by Gordon Herigstad list serial number 91 as shipped in a single gun shipment on April 23, 1921, as part of a larger order for 28 guns, to the Logan Hardware and Supply Company of Logan, West Virginia, and indicate it was subsequently forwarded to the Main Island Creek Coal Company of Omar, Logan County, West Virginia, in a 5 gun order with the note “c/o Will Gore”. A list of Don Chafin’s deputies in 1921 compiled by historian Brandon Ray Kirk based on “Record of Bonds E” in the Logan County Clerk’s Office references William Gore along with Albert Gore, Guy F. Gore, and E. D. Gore. Chafin was the sheriff of Logan County in 1912-1924 and led the law enforcement response to the unrest during the Battle of Blair Mountain. Deputy John Gore (1873-1921) is noted as “Chafin’s right hand man” and was shot and killed during the unrest. William Gore (1878-1935) was his younger brother. Herigstad further states: “Mayor G. C. Kincer of Jenkins, Kentucky indicated this Thompson No. 91 belonged to the Consolidation Coal Company of West Virginia and Kentucky, before coming to the city of Jenkins, Kentucky. Consolidation Coal Company was the largest coal company in West Virginia, formed by the consolidation of many smaller mines. Now today, 2012, this company is known as Consol Energy. City of Jenkins, Kentucky [On display in Mayor G. C. Kincer’s Office GH 4/13]”. Main Island Creek Coal Company was one of the companies absorbed by Consolidation Coal Company, and this Thompson likely saw continued use guarding coal mines in Jenkins, Kentucky. The Coal Wars (1890-1930) were a series of dramatic armed conflicts in the United States resulting from the economic exploitation of workers. Four months after the original shipment of this Thompson bearing serial number 91, the Battle of Blair Mountain occurred in Logan County, West Virginia, and lasted for five days from August 25 to September 2, 1921. The battle was fought between as many as 10,000 armed coal miners and 3,000 combined forces of law enforcement, state militia, Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency agents and strikebreakers. “The Logan County Defenders” backed by the coal mine operators fought against the miners. The forwarded shipment of this Thompson to Gore and the Main Island Creek Coal Company would indicate it was used on the side of The Logan County Defenders. The Battle of Blair Mountain was a culmination of decades of unrest, frustration, and tensions between coal mine workers and mine management. The coal miners attempted to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coal fields, and many were forcefully evicted from their company homes by Baldwin-Felts Agency agents hired by the coal mine companies. Many workers were forced into living in tent cities, and a number of incidents and shootouts led to a final breaking point. A major catalyst was the Battle of Matewan (also known as the Matewan Massacre) on May 19, 1920, in the town of Matewan, West Virginia, in bordering Mingo County. The shootout followed a series of evictions carried out by a dozen agents of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. According to some accounts of the incident, when confronted in regards to the legality of their warrants, which included a warrant for the arrest of pro-union Police Chief Sid Hatfield, Baldwin-Felts Superintendent Albert Felts shot Mayor Cabell Testerman, Police Chief Sid Hatfield killed Albert Felts, and a shootout ensued in which seven agents were killed, including Albert Felts’s brother Lee Felts, and two coal miners were killed in the crossfire. Police Chief Sid Hatfield was indicted on murder charges over the incident, and he and his deputy Ed Chambers were ambushed and shot and killed on the courthouse steps by Baldwin-Felts detectives on August 1, 1921. Sid Hatfield’s death galvanized the union movement. The first skirmishes commenced on the morning of August 25, 1921, and within a few days the battle was fully underway. A wide variety of firearms were used during the Battle of Blair Mountain by both sides ranging from muzzle loading Southern Mountain Rifles to a variety of Winchester lever action rifles, older military rifles such as the Springfield Trapdoor and Krag-Jorgensen rifles and imported Swiss Vetterli rifles, a variety of shotguns and handguns, and even Gatling guns, Colt Model 1895 “Potato Digger” machine guns, Colt Model 1917 machine guns, and early Thompson Model 1921 submachine guns such as this one. The West Virginia State Police had 37 Thompson submachine guns on hand at the time of the battle and showed up to Logan County nearly in full force. This serial number 91 Thompson, along with a small handful of other Thompsons, were received by Logan Hardware and Supply Company and forwarded to mining companies prior to the battle and would have been in high demand for use by the mine defenders. There are period photographs of Thompsons being carried in the streets during the battle, one of which could very well be this example! Approximately one million rounds were fired during the Battle of Blair Mountain, covering a stretch of more than 10 miles of barricades and earthworks, and private planes were even hired to drop bombs on the miners, including homemade bombs and a combination of poison gas and explosive bombs leftover from World War I. The intervention of approximately 27,000 Federal troops ultimately ended the battle on September 2, 1921. Many of the miners were veterans of World War I and refused to fire on the U.S. troops. In the end, as many as 100 of the striking coal miners were killed along with 30 killed on the side of the mining companies and 4 soldiers. This early Thompson features a blade front sight, folding Lyman rear sight, Model 1921 nomenclature and markings on the receiver, and the matching numbered trigger housing fitted with knurled control surfaces and proper "AUTOMATIC"/"SEMI-/AUTOMATIC" and "FIRE"/"SAFE" switch configuration. Internals are proper 1921 pattern, with Blish lock mechanism, heavyweight recoil spring, and spring steel oiler. It is mounted with dual pistol grips and a quick detach buttstock with a small "anchor" stamp on the front. One Type "L" 50-round drum magazine is included. The Thompson SMG is one of the most famous submachine guns in the world and rates as one of the truly signature American weapons. This early production Thompson, serial number 91, serves as a significant historical example shipped to Logan County during the heat of the Coal Wars! Provenance: Main Island Creek Coal Company; Consolidation Coal Company; City of Jenkins, Kentucky; Private Collection