The name Hatfield-McCoy feud conjures images of unbridled conflict and generations of animosity, a legendary chapter in American history rooted deep in the Appalachian Mountains. This infamous dispute, which captivated a nation, unfolded along the West Virginia and Kentucky border between 1863 and 1891, pitting two prominent families against each other in a series of violent confrontations. The bitter feud, fueled by personal grievances, land disputes, and wartime loyalties, escalated to involve law enforcement, state governors, and even the Supreme Court, leaving an indelible mark on American folklore.
The Two Clans: Leaders, Lands, and Loyalties
The two families at the heart of the conflict were distinct yet deeply intertwined through their shared mountain culture and proximity. On the West Virginia side of Tug Fork, a tributary of the Big Sandy River in what was then Logan County (now Mingo County), lived the Hatfields, led by the formidable William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield. The Hatfields were generally more affluent and politically connected than their Kentucky counterparts. Devil Anse’s wealth stemmed primarily from his thriving timber operation, which employed dozens of men, including some McCoys, illustrating the complex web of relationships that existed even amidst growing tensions.
Across the Tug Fork in Pike County, Kentucky, resided the McCoys, under the patriarchal leadership of Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy. The McCoys were a lower to middle-class family, though Randolph himself was a landowner, possessing a 300-acre farm and livestock. Both families were deeply involved in the illicit manufacture and sale of moonshine, a common economic activity in the region. Their social networks were intricate, with family loyalty often dictated by blood, employment ties, and sheer geographical proximity. Initially, both clans fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, but a crucial exception existed within the McCoy family.
Randolph’s brother, Asa Harmon McCoy, chose to fight for the Union, serving in the Pike County Home Guards. This decision branded Asa as a “traitor” in the eyes of many locals, including members of his own family and the Hatfields. This underlying tension, born from the divided loyalties of the Civil War, would prove to be one of the earliest catalysts for the prolonged and bloody Hatfield-McCoy feud.
The Early Sparks: Wartime Grievances and a Stolen Pig
Asa Harmon McCoy’s Tragic Fate
William “Devil Anse” Hatfield and Randolph McCoy both served in the Confederate Home Guard unit known as the Logan Wildcats. In the fall of 1863, Union guerrilla attacks, instigated by William H. Francis, Jr., intensified on the West Virginia side of the Tug River. In retaliation, the Logan Wildcats surrounded Francis’s home in Pike County, Kentucky, where Devil Anse personally killed him. Asa Harmon McCoy, a friend and neighbor of William Francis, was undoubtedly affected by this act.
After being discharged from the Army in December 1864 due to a broken leg, Asa McCoy returned to Kentucky. He was soon warned by Jim Vance, Devil Anse Hatfield’s uncle, that the Logan Wildcats intended to pay him a visit. On January 7, 1865, Asa was ambushed near his well. He sought refuge in a nearby cave but was tracked down and shot to death. While Devil Anse Hatfield was initially suspected, it was later widely believed that his uncle, Jim Vance, committed the murder. This event profoundly soured relations between the two families, marking a dark turning point.
The Infamous Pig Trial of 1878
The animosity simmered for over a decade before erupting again in 1878. Randolph McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield, a cousin of Devil Anse, of stealing one of his pigs. The subsequent trial, presided over by Justice of the Peace Anderson “Preacher Anse” Hatfield—another cousin of Devil Anse—became a flashpoint. The case hinged on the testimony of Bill Staton, who sided with Floyd Hatfield. When the charges against Floyd were dropped, the McCoys were absolutely infuriated, feeling justice had been denied and family favoritism had prevailed.
Two years later, on June 18, 1880, Bill Staton was violently killed in a dispute with Sam and Paris McCoy, nephews of Randolph. Sam McCoy was tried for murder but acquitted on grounds of self-defense, further inflaming the Hatfields’ sense of grievance.
Forbidden Love and Escalating Violence
Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield: A Doomed Romance
Just months after Staton’s death, at a local election day gathering in 1880, an 18-year-old Johnse Hatfield, Devil Anse’s son, met Roseanna McCoy, Randolph’s daughter. Their instant attraction blossomed into a secret affair, and Roseanna, defying her father’s vehement disapproval, fled to West Virginia to be with Johnse. A McCoy posse soon followed, apprehending Johnse at the Hatfield home on outstanding Kentucky bootlegging warrants. Devil Anse, in turn, gathered his own men to rescue his son, intercepting the McCoys and freeing Johnse.
Despite the drama, the couple’s union was not to be. Both families refused to sanction their marriage. Roseanna gave birth to their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, in the spring of 1881. However, Johnse had already moved on, marrying Nancy McCoy, Roseanna’s cousin and daughter of the late Asa Harmon McCoy, in May 1881. Heartbroken, Roseanna was shunned by her father and eventually moved in with her Aunt Betty. Tragically, baby Sarah died at eight months old from measles, a loss from which Roseanna reportedly never recovered emotionally. She passed away at the young age of 29.
The Election Day Massacre of 1882
The affair between Roseanna and Johnse further deepened the chasm between the families, but the ultimate catalyst for widespread bloodshed came on August 5, 1882, at another election day event in Kentucky. Randolph McCoy’s three sons, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud, became embroiled in a violent altercation with Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anse’s brother. In the ensuing melee, the McCoy brothers stabbed Ellison multiple times before one shot him in the back. The McCoys attempted to flee but were soon apprehended.
However, the Hatfields intercepted the constables, forcibly taking custody of the McCoy brothers. They were held in West Virginia, awaiting the fate of the mortally wounded Ellison Hatfield. When Ellison finally succumbed to his injuries, the Hatfields retaliated brutally. The McCoy brothers were tied to pawpaw bushes and executed, shot a total of 50 times. Authorities subsequently indicted 20 men, including Devil Anse and his sons, for the murders, but the Hatfields managed to evade arrest, leaving the McCoys consumed by a burning desire for revenge.
The Peak of the Feud: Political Intervention and New Year’s Massacre
Perry Cline and the Bounty Hunters
The cause of the McCoys was passionately championed by Perry Cline, an attorney who had married Martha McCoy, the widow of Asa Harmon McCoy. Cline harbored a personal vendetta against Devil Anse, having lost a significant land lawsuit to him years prior. Leveraging his political connections, Cline orchestrated the announcement of rewards for the arrest of the Hatfields, including Devil Anse, thus drawing in bounty hunters and further escalating the conflict.
In 1886, Jeff McCoy killed a mail carrier named Fred Wolford. Cap Hatfield, Devil Anse’s son and acting constable, pursued Jeff McCoy with a friend, Tom Wallace, and they shot McCoy on the banks of the Tug River. Months later, Tom Wallace was found dead in the spring of 1887, a mysterious death widely attributed to McCoy sympathizers seeking retribution.
The Horrific New Year’s Massacre of 1888
The most brutal act of the Hatfield-McCoy feud occurred on January 1, 1888. Led by Cap Hatfield and Jim Vance, the Hatfields launched a coordinated attack on Randolph McCoy’s home, hoping to decisively end the feud. They surrounded the house, opening fire and then setting it ablaze to force the family out. Randolph McCoy and some family members managed to escape into the woods, but his son, Calvin, and daughter, Alifair, were tragically killed in the crossfire. Randolph’s wife, Sarah, was severely beaten, suffering a crushed skull, as their home burned to the ground. Following this horrific event, the remaining McCoys fled to Pikeville, Kentucky, seeking refuge from the relentless West Virginia raiding parties.
The Beginning of the End: Frank Phillips and Legal Ramifications
The Kentucky Response and Battle of Grapevine Creek
News of the New Year’s Massacre prompted Kentucky Governor Simon Buckner to intervene. He dispatched special officer Frank Phillips and a posse of 38 men to arrest the Hatfields, offering additional rewards to bounty hunters. Phillips relentlessly pursued the Hatfields, eventually tracking down Jim Vance and Cap Hatfield. Vance was killed on January 10, 1888, after refusing to surrender. Phillips continued his raids, capturing more Hatfield supporters.
Devil Anse Hatfield, in response, prepared for what he intended to be a final offensive against the McCoys. However, Phillips, alerted to these preparations, gathered a large posse and intercepted the Hatfields on January 19, 1888, on the West Virginia side of Tug Fork. This confrontation, known as the Battle of Grapevine Creek, resulted in multiple Hatfield casualties. Two Hatfield supporters were killed, and a deputy, Bill Dempsey, was executed by Frank Phillips after surrendering. The remaining Hatfields who did not escape were arrested, signaling a significant shift in the feud’s dynamics.
Justice, Trials, and the Hanging of Cottontop Mounts
The arrests led to years of complex legal wrangling, primarily centered on whether the West Virginia men had been illegally extradited across state lines to Kentucky. The case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the Hatfields held in Kentucky could indeed be tried. In 1889, trials commenced for various crimes committed during the feud, most notably the murders of Randolph McCoy’s sons and daughter.
Eight Hatfields were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, with one significant exception: Cottontop Ellison Mounts. Mounts, widely considered to be mentally challenged, was sentenced to death for the murder of Alifair McCoy. Despite widespread belief that he was a scapegoat and that his confession was coerced, Mounts was hanged on February 18, 1890, before thousands of spectators, even though public executions were technically against Kentucky law. His reported last words, “They made me do it! The Hatfields made me do it!” echoed the deep-seated loyalties and pressures that defined the feud.
The Legacy of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud
Between 1880 and 1888, the Hatfield-McCoy feud claimed the lives of more than a dozen individuals from both families, and at least ten more were wounded. The conflict grew so intense that the governors of West Virginia and Kentucky openly threatened to deploy their state militias against each other. However, with the hanging of Mounts, the active fighting between the families gradually subsided. Legal proceedings continued for several more years, culminating in the 1901 trial of Johnse Hatfield, which marked the official end of the feud’s judicial chapter.
In the aftermath, both patriarchs lived out their remaining years away from the violence. Randolph McCoy became a ferry operator and passed away in 1914 at the age of 88 from accidental burns, buried in the Dils Cemetery in Pikeville, Kentucky. Devil Anse Hatfield, famously skeptical of religion throughout his life, underwent a profound spiritual conversion, becoming “born again” and baptized at age 73. He went on to establish a Church of Christ congregation in West Virginia before dying of pneumonia on January 6, 1921, at 81 years old. He lies buried in the Hatfield Family Cemetery in Logan County, West Virginia.
The saga of the Hatfields and McCoys quickly entered American folklore, its dramatic tales immortalized in countless books, magazines, films, and television programs. Today, the enduring fascination with this bitter conflict continues to draw tourists to the Appalachian Mountains, eager to explore the historic sites and landscapes where the feud unfolded. The “Hatfield and McCoy Historic Site Restoration” project, completed in 1999, offers a self-guided driving tour, providing visitors with a tangible connection to one of America’s most compelling and violent family feuds. The story of the Hatfields and McCoys stands as a testament to the powerful forces of loyalty, honor, and vengeance that shaped a unique era in American history.
