William H. Blizzard (September 19, 1892 – July 31, 1958) was an American union organizer, a commander of the miners' army during the Battle of Blair Mountain, and president of District 17 of the United Mine Workers (UMWA).

Blizzard is most remembered for his role in the Battle of Blair Mountain, leading the miners against the forces of Logan County sheriff Don Chafin.

[citation needed] At ten years old Bill Blizzard was evicted from his home along with other miners for being strong supporters of the UMWA.

His sister would describe the eviction as “biscuits and taters thrown out and coal shoveled out of the stove.”[2][better source needed] This would have a profound impact upon the young Bill Blizzard and he later became an outspoken asset to the UMWA.

The coal operators sent armed mine guards, who were their own private police force, to break the striking miners.

Douglas Estep draws this conclusion about West Virginia, “it is an industrial police state where all roads and train depots were patrolled by armed guards…to defy the guards or to even hint at union sympathy was to invite a beating, exile, or even death.

"[2][better source needed] During the Paint Creek/Cabin Creek Strike armed mine guards were sent to West Virginia with the main objective of getting the UMWA out of the state and to keep them out.

In recent years it has been discovered Bill Blizzard was the miners General during the Battle of Blair Mountain.

Mother Jones, a well-known advocate of the UMWA labor movement, tried to halt the miners before they entered Logan County.

The miners wore red bandanas around their necks to distinguish friend from foe, and contributed to the term of "redneck".

The two opposing forces met in the woods and gave their code words, but neither heard the right reply and started shooting.

[5] He testified at Blizzard's May 1922 trial that he had been disregarded after he read the president's proclamation demanding an end to violence, after which he communicated to his superiors that troops were needed.

[5] The plan to restore order by dispatching troops worked because the miners refused to fight against soldiers many had fought alongside during World War I.

UMWA leader John Lewis, who had opposed the Battle of Blair Mountain, expelled Blizzard from the union.

Blizzard also became a strong opponent of the West Virginia Miners Union, created by ousted UMWA members Frank Keeney and Bill Mooney.