On November 1, 1913, the Colorado National Guard enter Colorado's southern coalfields to keep the peace. To aid in their mission, the Guard's Company K established a camp to the southwest of the Ludlow strikers' colony. The company was responsible for keeping the peace in Delagua Canyon and the area around the Ludlow colony and the Ludlow depot. The closeness in space between the troops and the strikers meant they had daily interaction. Company K had some of the better relations with strikers. The guard company, led by Capt. Philip Van Cise, was primarily composed of college students. These troops would play sports with strikers and their children was well as attend occasional dances and dinners in the strikers' colony.