The Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency was a private police force hired by coal companies in southern West Virginia to stop miners from joining unions. The agents, often called “thugs” by miners, spied on workers, kicked union supporters out of coal camps, and used violence to stop strikes.

They played a major role in the 1912-13 Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike and were involved in the 1920 shootout at Matewan, where seven detectives were killed by miners led by Police Chief Sid Hatfield. In 1921, Baldwin-Felts agents later killed Hatfield, helping spark the Miners’ March and the Battle of Blair Mountain.

The agency was also involved in deadly events in other states, like the 1914 Ludlow Massacre in Colorado. Due to public outrage and government investigations, the use of Baldwin-Felts agents declined, and the agency shut down in the 1930s.