Bisbee Deportation, Arizona 1917 was a Indian Wars and Frontier Conflicts engagement fought in Arizona, 1917. It was a Phelps Dodge / Vigilantes victory.
The Bisbee Deportation occurred on July 12, 1917, in Bisbee, Arizona, during a period of labor unrest among mine workers. The action was orchestrated by Phelps Dodge, the major mining company in the area, in collusion with Cochise County Sheriff Harry C. Wheeler. The company provided lists of workers and others to be arrested, framing the deportation as a response to perceived threats to United States interests during World War I, though the underlying cause was the striking mine workers and their supporters.
Approximately 1,300 striking mine workers, their supporters, and citizen bystanders were arrested beginning on July 12, 1917, by 2,000 members of a deputized posse. The arrested individuals were taken to a local baseball park before being loaded onto cattle cars. They were then deported 200 miles (320 km) to Tres Hermanas in New Mexico. The 16-hour journey through desert conditions was conducted without adequate provisions-the deportees had no food and little water during transport.
Once unloaded at Tres Hermanas, the deportees, most without money or transportation, were warned against returning to Bisbee. Phelps Dodge had closed down access to outside communications, delaying public reporting of the event. Subsequently, the U.S. government brought in members of the U.S. Army to assist with relocating the deportees to Columbus, New Mexico. The deportation represented an illegal action coordinated between a major corporation and local law enforcement against workers and civilians.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
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