James Baquet

Sometimes a legend is repeated so often that we forget it’s grounded in cold, hard facts, like the “legendary” feud between two rural families during and after the American Civil War (1861-1865).

The Hatfields under William Anderson Hatfield, colorfully known as “Devil Anse,” lived mostly on the east (West Virginia) side of the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River; the McCoys, led by Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy, lived mainly in Kentucky. Both areas had originally entered the Civil War on the Confederate side, though the state of West Virginia was formed in 1863 when it seceded from the Confederate state of Virginia and joined the Union.

Most of the Hatfields and the McCoys were on the same (the southern) side. But Asa Harmon McCoy fought for the Union, and would become the initial casus belli for the feud. After he was mustered out and heading for home, Asa was ambushed by a group of pro-southern vigilantes.

Devil Anse Hatfield was suspected, until it was proven he was sick in bed at the time. His uncle, Jim Vance, probably led the attack.

The next feud-related death occurred over a decade later. In 1878, Floyd Hatfield, Anse’s cousin, had a pig, and but Randolph McCoy insisted it was his. The local judge, Justice Anderson “Preacher Anse” Hatfield, (not surprisingly) ruled for Floyd. His decision was based on the testimony of one Bill Staton, who was related to both families. Two years later, a couple of McCoys killed Staton for his trouble; they were acquitted of the crime on grounds of self-defense.

The violence continued, until the feud peaked with the New Year’s Night Massacre of 1888. A party of Hatfields surrounded a McCoy cabin and fired on its sleeping inhabitants, then set fire to it. At last, eight Hatfields and supporters were indicted for the murder of a child killed during the attack. Seven received life sentences, and one —Ellison “Cottontop” Mounts — was hanged and buried in an unmarked grave. Mounts died claiming, “The Hatfields made me do it.”

Over a dozen people died in the feud from 1880 to 1891; today, members of both families cooperate in projects promoting peace and understanding.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. protecting oneself

2. officially withdrew

3. formally accused

4. reason for fighting

5. declared “not guilty”

6. statement of a witness

7. people who live somewhere

8. ones who take the law into their own hands

9. discharged from service

10. came to a climax