A chronology of the feud

Court orders: A couple of court decisions helped to fuel the feud. In the late 1870s, Devil Anse Hatfield got into a land dispute with McCoy’s cousin Perry Cline. Anse won the land dispute and was granted Cline’s entire 5,000-acre plot of land, according to historian Bill Richardson. The McCoys felt that Anse had used his political connections to influence the court’s decision. A few months after the verdict, Randolph McCoy stopped to visit Floyd Hatfield, a cousin and good friend of Devil Anse. Floyd lived on the Kentucky side of Tug River near Stringtown. While visiting, McCoy saw a hog that he said bore the McCoy marking on its ear. Hatfield denied the accusation and the two were hauled into court with Preacher Anderson Hatfield (a Baptist preacher and justice of the peace) to settle the suit. Both Hatfields and McCoys served as jurors. Randolph’s nephew Bill Staton, also a brother-in-law of Eillison Hatfield, swore that Floyd Hatfield owned the hog. Floyd won the case. In a matter of months, on June 18, 1880, Staton would get killed in a shootout with Paris and Sam McCoy, who would be sent to prison for their crime. Ellison Hatfield testified at that trial.

Romeo and Juliet: Two months after the killing of Staton, Devil Anse’s son, Johnse met Roseanna McCoy, the daughter of Randolph McCoy, at an 1880 Election Day event. They became lovers, but Randolph did not approve. In fact, when she went to be with Johnse in West Virginia, a posse of McCoys rode to the cabin, took Johnse prisoner and set out for the Pikeville jail,  according to Pike County tourism research. Roseanna told Devil Anse, who gathered his own crew to cut off the McCoys and rescue his son. After that, the couple remained apart. Roseanna would give birth to their daughter, Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, in the spring of 1881. The baby died of measles later that year. Johnse Hatfield, who would be married four times in his life, met Nancy McCoy (the daughter of Asa Harmon McCoy, who had been killed by the Hatfields) and they were married on May 14, 1881.

Trouble at the polls: On Aug. 5, 1882, it was Election Day and at the polls on Blackberry Creek, Ellison Hatfield, whose testimony helped put Randolph’s nephews in prison, got in a war of words and then a fight with Tolbert McCoy (Randolph’s son). Tolbert’s two younger brothers, Pharmer (Dick) and Randolph Jr., jumped in the fight as well with knives, and Dick McCoy shot Ellison in the back. What is considered the most accurate report puts the number of stab wounds at 27.

Hatfields burn with revenge: Preacher Anse Hatfield (a justice of the peace) ordered constables to take the McCoy brothers to the Pikeville jail (about 20 miles away) to face charges. They stopped at Floyd McCoy’s house for food and decided to spend the night further up Blackberry Creek. Devil Anse Hatfield found out and the next morning arrived on the scene, and a posse of nearly 20 family and friends took charge of the McCoy boys, according to The Herald-Dispatch story on the 100th anniversary of the feud. The McCoys waited bound on the floor of the schoolhouse. Devil Anse said that if Ellison lived, the McCoy boys would be returned to Pikeville to face criminal charges. If Ellison died, the three boys would be executed as an act of revenge. Devil Anse, who had promised Sarah McCoy (their mom) that he would bring the boys back to Kentucky alive, kept his promise in one sense. When he learned of Ellison’s death, he crossed into Kentucky, tied the boys to paw paw trees and the group of men executed the boys who had killed Ellison (Devil Anse’s brother).

Governors get involved: Hoping to leave no witnesses, the Hatfields raided the McCoy cabin in the dark of morning on New Year’s Day 1888. A firefight ensued, killing Randolph McCoy’s daughter Alifair and son Calvin. The raiders burned Randolph’s cabin to the ground. Randolph, his wife Sarah and the children escaped.

The murders of the McCoys caused Kentucky’s governor Simon Buckner to unleash special officer Frank Phillips and 38 men (including three of Asa Harmon McCoy’s sons) to arrest the nearly 20 men and put out a special reward which brought a slew of bounty hunters to come after the Hatfields. Phillips captured several of those men, and Phillips shot and killed Uncle Jim Vance on Jan. 10, 1888.

On Jan. 19, a large firefight between Phillips and his men and Devil Anse Hatfield and his men happened, since known as the Battle of Grapevine Creek. Although no one was killed in the fight, it prompted Devil Anse to order 25 new Winchester repeating rifles to prepare for future attacks.

The raids of the Kentucky-based men coming into Logan County brought the ire of West Virginia Gov. E. Willis WIlson, and many thought there might be another Civil War break out along the Tug Fork between factions in the two states. Both states ordered their National Guard units to prepare to defend their borders.

In fact, West Virginia’s governor sued Kentucky for the unlawful arrest of nine prisoners and unsuccessfully appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court in April 1888. The court ruled the Hatfields would have to stand trial in Kentucky whether or not the original arrest by Phillips were legal. Elison Mounts was hanged on Feb. 18, 1890, for the shooting of Alifair and Calvin McCoy, and the rest of the men were given life sentences for their roles in killing the three McCoy brothers.