Hatfield McCoy Country

Hatfield–McCoy feud
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Hatfields & McCoys" redirects here. For the TV miniseries, see Hatfields & McCoys (miniseries).
Hatfield–McCoy feud
Bigsandyrivermap.png
Hatfield–McCoy feud site along the Tug Fork tributary (right) in the Big Sandy River watershed
Date 1863–1891
Location Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River, West Virginia–Kentucky
Caused by American Civil War, land disputes, revenge killings
Resulted in

More than a dozen killed from both sides
Nine Hatfields imprisoned (including seven Hatfields who were imprisoned for life and one Hatfield who was executed)

Parties to the civil conflict
Hatfield family and allies

McCoy family and allies
Lead figures
Devil Anse Hatfield
"Crazy Jim" Vance
Bill Dempsey
Emanuel Willis Wilson Randall McCoy
Perry Cline
Franklin "Bad Frank" Phillips
Simon Bolivar Buckner

The Hatfield–McCoy feud, also described by journalists as the Hatfield–McCoy war, involved two rural American families of the West Virginia–Kentucky area along the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River in the years 1863–1891. The Hatfields of West Virginia were led by William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, while the McCoys of Kentucky were under the leadership of Randolph "Ole Ran'l" McCoy. Those involved in the feud were descended from Joseph Hatfield and William McCoy (born c. 1750). The feud has entered the American folklore lexicon as a metonym for any bitterly feuding rival parties.

The McCoy family lived mostly on the Kentucky side of the Tug Fork; the Hatfields lived mostly on the West Virginia side.[1][2] The majority of the Hatfields, although living in Mingo County (then part of Logan County) fought for the Confederacy in the American Civil War; most McCoys also fought for the Confederates,[3] with the exception of Asa Harmon McCoy, who fought for the Union. The first real violence in the feud was the death of Asa as he returned from the war, murdered by a group of Confederate Home Guards called the Logan Wildcats. Devil Anse Hatfield was a suspect at first, but was later confirmed to have been sick at home at the time of the murder. It was widely believed that his uncle, Jim Vance, a member of the Wildcats, committed the murder.[4]

The Hatfields were more affluent than the McCoys and were well-connected politically. Anse's timbering operation was a source of wealth for his family, while the McCoys were more of a lower-middle-class family. Ole Ran'l owned a 300-acre (120 ha) farm. Both families had also been involved in the manufacturing and selling of illegal moonshine, a popular commodity at the time.