The Hatfield-McCoy feud

Kentucky Studies

The two sides

The two sides

The Hatfields• Led by patriarch Anderson

“Devil Anse” Hatfield• Lived in Logan County,

Virginia (now West Virginia)• Devil Anse was not a

church-going man, though much of his family was (he was finally baptized in 1911)

• Owned a logging operation

The McCoys• Led by patriarch Randolph

“Randall” or “Ol’ Ran’l” McCoy• Lived in Pike County, Kentucky• Religious• Raised Tobacco and pigs• The two families lived across

the Tug Fork (a tributary of the Big Sandy) from each other

The beginnings of the feud

• Devil Anse formed a guerilla group during the civil war called the “Logan Wildcats”

• Asa Harmon McCoy, a cousin to Ran’l McCoy, fought for the Union and was ambushed and murdered on his way home

• Many believed the “Wildcats” were to blame, though Devil Anse always denied it

• Even if they were, Devil Anse was home sick at the time, so the group would have been led by Devil Anse’s uncle, Big Jim Vance

Origins of the Feud

• 13 years later, Ran’l McCoy saw a hog on the farm of Floyd Hatfield and said it was one of his that had run away

• The notches on the pig’s ears were clearly McCoy’s doing according to Ran’l

• According to Floyd, the hog was on his land, that made it his

Origins• The case was brought to trial• The Justice of the Peace was

Anderson “Preacher Anse” Hatfield

• Hatfields won based on the testimony of Bill Staton, who was related to both families

• Two McCoy brothers murdered Bill Staton fro revenge

• It was later deemed self defense because Staton was drunk at the time

The Feud

• Johnse Hatfield began a relationship with Roseanna McCoy Both children of patriarchs

• McCoys arrested Johnse on bootlegging charges

• Hatfields ride into Kentucky and take him back

• Johnse then abandoned Roseanna and married her cousin, Nancy

The Feud

• On election day 1882, Devil Anse’s brother, Ellison was attacked by 3 of Roseanna’s brothers

• He was stabbed 26 times and shot once

• He initially survived the attack

• Constables arrested the three brothers and began transporting them to Pikeville for trial

The Feud

• Devil Anse organized a posse and intercepted the transport

• They kidnapped the brothers and took them back across the West Virginia to await Ellison’s fate

• Ellison eventually died from his wounds

• The brothers were tied to Pawpaw bushes and executed

The New Years Night Massacre• January 1st 1888• Hatfield gunmen surrounded

the house of Ran’l McCoy• Fired repeated volleys into the

house• Lit the house on fire• Ol’ Ran’l escaped into the

forest• Two McCoy children were

murdered• McCoy’s wife, Sarah “Sally”

McCoy was beaten and left for dead (she ultimately survived)

The effects• McCoy and his remaining

family moved to Pikeville to escape the West Virginia raiding parties

• More than a dozen members of the families were murdered during the feud

• Both Governors had to call state militia in to try and keep the peace

• The Governor of West Virginia even threatened to have his militia invade Kentucky

The effects

• Kentucky Governor sent General Sam Hill and his troops to investigate

• In the resulting battle, a dozen more men died and ten were wounded

• In 1888 a posse led by Frank Phillips arrested nine Hatfields, including Wall Hatfield, Devil Anse’s brother and brought them back to Kentucky for trial

The Effects• They were to be tried for the

murder of Alisair McCoy, one of the children who was murdered in the New Years Massacre

• The U.S. Supreme Court got involved because of illegal extradition

• The U.S.S.C ruled in favor of Kentucky, stating even though the men were arrested illegally, they could still stand trial

Aftermath

• Wall Hatfield and all but one of the others sentenced to life

• Ellison “Cottontop” Mounts, an illegitimate and developmentally challenged Hatfield was sentenced to hang

• Thousands came to the hanging in Pikeville

Aftermath

• June 14th, 2003 descendants of both families offered an official truce

• More than sixty descendants signed the truce

• June 14th declared Hatfield/McCoy reconciliation day in both Kentucky, and West Virginia

• Many films, television shows, and books made about or mentioning the feud