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Most Americans in the Northeast have heard the story of John Henry and how he died outcompeting the steam machine on a railroad crew.
Scott Reynolds Nelson provides critical context in his discovery of the 19 year old historical John Henry. Who was worked to death on the C&O Railroad in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.
That was very interesting. I had always thought him a mythical hero as well, but no. A 19 year old, sentenced to a felony for stealing something worth ~$10 (at the time). Then through the urging of a private company that utilized prison labor, worked him to death on the C & O railroad.
He wasn't driving down the steel spikes that hold the trail rails down, but instead was tasked with punching 6 inch holes into sheer rock, so that dynamite could be set inside. Miners who were familiar with the practice, would refuse to work in the holes until the dust settled from the dynamite blasts, which was delaying completion of the tunnel. But if they used convicts, instead of professional miners, then they could push the workers back into the tunnel while it remained filled to choking with silica dust. This private company, worked these young men to death, then shipped them back to their prison, where they were unceremoniously buried in a mass grave behind the prison. This is the fate of the famous John Henry.