At the same time, National Guard officers and mine owners conspired to organize a new troop of cavalry, Troop A, made up of mine guards, pit bosses, mine superintendents, and clerks. They were to be paid by the mine operators, except when actually serving as National Guardsmen.
Thus, by April 20, "the Colorado National Guard no longer offered even a pretense of fairness or impartiality, and its units in the field had degenerated into a force of professional gunmen and adventurers . . . subservient to the will of the coal operators" (United State Commission on Industrial Relations, p. 126).
On April 20, 1914, militiamen destroyed the Ludlow Tent Colony.
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