Thiel Detective Service Company Thiel Detective Service Company The Thiel Detective Service Company was a private detective agency formed by George H. Thiel, a former Civil War spy and Pinkerton employee. The Thiel Detective Service Company headquarters were in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was formed to be a direct competitor to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, but never achieved this status. The Burns Detective Agency was Pinkerton's largest competitor. The Thiel Agency was involved in infiltrating and breaking a number of labor union strikes in the United States and Canada, much as the Pinkerton agency was. After the Homestead Strike, the Thiel Detective Agency,
Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency The Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency was a private detective agency in the United States from the early 1890's to 1937. Today, it is most remembered for its violent confrontations with labor union members as part of the Coal Wars in such places as the Pocahontas Coalfield region of West Virginia, the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912 in West Virginia, the Ludlow Massacre in 1914 and the Battle of Matewan in 1920. Members of the agency were also central actors in the events that led to the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. The agency was founded in