Gun Totin’ Hillbilly Redneck Socialist Radicals Unisex Ultra Cotton Tee

Description

Wait, the original rednecks were socialists? Yep, the term redneck was popularized as a description of rural striking Appalachain miners who wore red bandanas as a uniform in battle and allied with socialists in their fight for basic rights. Many of these miners and original rednecks embraced socialist ideas in the first decade or so of the 1900’s.

Everyone in this artwork is a representation of militant miners from the Paint and Cabin Creek War.  From left to right they are Fred Mooney, Dan Chain–known to friends and miners as Few Clothes Johnson, Newt Gump, Lawrence ‘Peggy’ Dwyer, Rocco Spinelli, and Frank Keeney.  

Fred started work at twelve in a timbermill, but his temper lost him the job and he moved on to the mines.  Fred was loyal and intelligent, possessing a strong sense of justice and a stubborn determination that brought him to challenge both company injustices and union officials. He eventually turned the tables, becoming an action oriented district union leader himself. He survived several fights and even an assasination attempt–checking himself out of the hospital to testify mere days after having been stabbed in a lung.  Frank Keeney, who considered him a close friend and partner, said that when things came to a fight, Fred could be “crazy mean.”  Fred spoke often and well, in favor of constitutional rights, natural and labor rights, brotherhood of workers, and embraced direct action socialist ideology as a young leader as a means toward securing economic justice for his fellow miners. Although he considered himself illiterate, he studied law and eventually wrote an autobiography.  In later years Fred traveled the Western United States looking for work before returning as a foreman in a mine near Bullpush Hollow. Fred is depicted here holding a Colt 45.

Although referred to in official documents as Dan Chain, fellow miners and socialists knew him as Few Clothes Johnson.  Few Clothes was a leader in the Paint Creek Strike and War, meeting trains of scabs to turn them away, dynamiting railroad tracks, leading squads in battle, and serving as a sharpshooter.  Few Clothes is one of the few members of the Dirty Eleven, a miner special forces squad, that Mooney lists by name. Although few official records of Few Clothes remain other than the Paint and Cabin Creek Court Martial, sentencing to prison, pardon, and later re-imprisonment without trial, those who knew him believed he had served in the Army in the Philippine War and that he had been one of the black soldiers ordered discharged by Teddy Roosevelt for “shooting up” Fort Brown Texas, despite evidence that no black soldier could have done so.  Mooney described Few Clothes as “tipp[ing] the scales at 252 lbs. He was encumbered with little if any superfluous flesh; his arms were long, and at the end of each arm hung a fist that resembled one of Armour’s picnic hams.”  Miners considered him an unparalleled fistfighter and expert marksman.  While in prison, he asked a visitor to “Tell the boys I’s a better socialist now than I ever was.” Few Clothes has been depicted here holding a Winchester 1895.

Six foot four inch Newt Gump faced military court martial and imprisonment as a civilian along with Few Clothes, Rocco, socialist publishers, Mother Jones, and many other miners.  Legal or even self representation for defense was disallowed during these proceedings and all who were tried were sentenced to prison or confinement.  Newt got five years in the state penitentiary, but along with Rocco and Few Clothes was eventually pardoned.  Newt was called on to testify in the Senate Paint Creek hearings regarding his experience of coal camp oppression and denial of civil rights.  Newt could neither write nor read. Miner accounts describe him as a gentle family man who was often willing to run risks to care for the injured or mistreated. Newt is depicted holding a Winchester 1894.

The son of Irish immigrants, Lawrence Dwyer lost his leg in a slate fall roof collapse in 1907.  Learning to walk on a wooden peg, Lawrence quickly became known as Peggy.  When he received no help nor payment from his employer, he embraced the socialist ideology of caring for those in need and began a personal mission of organizing and assisting his fellow miners.  Peggy became known as the “walking secretary” as he traveled the hills and hollows of West Virginia organizing his fellow miners, passing messages, and scouting.  Peggy was one of the central organizers and agitators in the fight for Paint Creek and continued his work of organizing as the coal wars spread to encompass the southern part of the state.  Peggy served as secretary of District 30. He supported Keeney’s breakaway miner organization and later Keeney and Mooney as officers of UMWA District 17.  Peggy was central to the movement from the early days of Paint Creek through Matewan and Blair Mountain.  He was regularly threatened and arrested dozens of times. Throughout, he remained a lifelong agitator, organizer, and socialist.  He is depicted holding a Colt revolver.

Rocco Spinelli immigrated to West Virginia from Calabria Italy in 1905 and soon thereafter married Nellie Bowles.  When the strike call came, Rocco and Nellie met the Italian scabs brought in as replacements, offering shelter and protection if they would join the union.  The team was convincing and successful. They led new immigrants out of the camps under the noses of guards.  During the Paint Creek Court Martials, Rocco was sentenced to five years in prison and Nellie one year. Rocco is depicted holding a Springfield 1892 which was a commonly used weapon early in the mine wars because of its availability as inexpensive army surplus purchased at a discount through membership in the National Rifle Association.

Frank Keeney is perhaps one of the best known miner leaders of the early 1900’s.  Frank began mining at age twelve as a trapper boy.  When a Paint Creek strike was called in 1912, Frank was determined that Cabin Creek be included, but union leaders counseled patience.  Frank was not willing to wait for someone else’s justice and in defiance of state and national leadership sought out Mother Jones’s aid in organizing his fellow miners.  Frank chose allies carefully and along with these core allies, planned and led armed resistance to coal company rule.  He quickly gained the trust of Mother Jones and of his fellow miners, and like Fred was willing to fight not only the state, but the union itself when it did not serve miners to his satisfaction.  Frank eventually started a breakaway union before coming back to lead UMWA District 17 along with Fred Mooney.  Frank studied law with Fred Mooney until they both decided that their efforts were better spent fighting political and physical battles than seeking redress in court.  Like many miners, Frank embraced socialism until a moderate controlled national investigative committee led by Eugene Debs endorsed the Hatfield settlement imposed by the governor.  The settlement was enforced while striking miners and socialists were still imprisoned, allowed deportation of dissenters, forced work, and abandoned the core goals West Virginia miners had fought and sacrificed to achieve.  After this, Frank continued to work for a true guarantee of constitutional rights for West Virginians, but no longer as an overt socialist.  His friendship with Mother Jones continued until the lead up to the second organized march to Matewan in 1921 when they disagreed over the correct course of action.  In this artwork Frank has a Colt Model 1905 tucked in his belt.

For more information, see our page on the history of rednecks.

This unisex ultra cotton tee is a classic. Quality cotton construction means that designs are sure to shine. The shoulders are tapped for a good upper-body fit. There are no side seams, ensuring a clean, unbroken flow. The collar has ribbed knitting for improved elasticity. The materials that went into this product are sustainably sourced and economically friendly.

.: 100% Cotton (fiber content may vary for different colors)
.: Medium fabric (6.0 oz/yd² (203 g/m²))
.: Classic fit
.: Tear-away label
.: Runs bigger than usual