Reconsidering Virginia City, Montana's China War of 1881.

The article presents a historical overview of the China War, a dispute between rival mining companies owned by Chinese immigrant laborers which took place in the towns of Virginia City and Alder Gulch, Montana territory in 1881. The article details how race and religious conflict between Chinese immigrants and white settlers played a role in the trials of Ah Wah and Ah Yen, two miners alleged to have murdered others during incidents of the China War. Other topics include the history of gold and placer mining in the region, the Chinese Methodist preacher C. H. Han Bo, and the 1882 U.S. Chinese Exclusion Act.