12 Most Insane Hatfield-McCoy Feud Moments

Some experts see Asa Harmon McCoy's 1865 murder as the start of the Hatfield-McCoy feud. Asa, Randolph McCoy's brother, fought for the Union during the Civil War and got wounded. He returned home to heal. While recovering, he was killed. Nobody knows who did the killing.Rumor saidDevil Anse Hatfield and his Confederate militia (the Logan Wildcats) caused the murder.

This event may have started the feud. However, the murder might not connect to the feud at all. Asa McCoy joined the Union Army, making him a traitor.a traitorEven family members considered him such. No immediate attack on the Hatfields followed Asa's death. Historians view this as a separate event that led to the feud.

In 1878, Old Ranel accused Floyd Hatfield, Devil Anse's cousin, ofstealingFloyd Hatfield stole one of his pigs. Whether he stole it is unclear, but it is a big accusation given an international conflict.international conflictThe US and Canada started an international conflict over something similar 20 years prior.

Pigs were a valuable resource in poor Appalachia then. Floyd Hatfield faced prosecution for the crime but was found not guilty because Bill Staton, a blood relative of the McCoys married to a Hatfield, testified. Staton was later killed by two of Randolph McCoy's nephews, who won acquittal through self-defense testimony. Staton being related did not matter; snitches get stitches.

In 1880, Devil Anse’s 18-year-old son, Johnse Hatfield, began an affair with Roseanna, Randolph McCoy’s daughter. This happened in one of history's most daring and dangerous encounters.

When Roseannagot pregnantShe moved in with the Hatfields but saw Johnse had no marriage plans. She sought shelter in her family home, but her father kicked her out. Roseanna moved in with her aunt and watched her baby die of measles at eight months.

Johnse later married Roseanna’s cousin, Nancy McCoy, as if Roseanna’s sad story did not fuel the family feud.

The Hatfield-McCoy feud flared up on election day 1882. Three of Randolph McCoy's sons argued violently with two of Devil Anse Hatfield's brothers. The fight's cause is unclear, but the result was brutal: one McCoy stabbed Ellison Hatfield27 timesbefore shooting him in the back. Ellison died from his injuries. The war continued.

After the fatal fight with Ellison Hatfield, the McCoys went to jail. During the escort, Devil Anse Hatfield and his group kidnapped them and took them to a place calledHatfield territory.

Hatfield gang learned Ellison died from wounds. They tied the three McCoys to pawpaw trees and shot them point blank, firing 50 bullets into the three men.

Twenty men faced indictment for the murders, but the Hatfields, though outlaws, escaped arrest.

The Hatfield-McCoy feud grew. Kentucky and West Virginia governors wanted to blame each other for the violence and control lawless bandits from other areas.They threatened to invade.States threatened one another with local militias. Chest-thumping threats were the only result, but the feud greatly affected local politics and identity. The Kentucky governor sent his state militia chief to Pike County, where the McCoys lived, to look into the situation.

In 1887, media reports on the Hatfield-McCoy feud showed the Hatfields as "backwoods hillbillies.They roamed the mountains, stirring up violence. This coverage made the story a national legend.

Historians do not know if the McCoys encouraged this image or if the media created it. The McCoys hired Perry Cline, a lawyer connected to politics and married to Martha McCoy. Cline aimed to get the Hatfields arrested and charged. The McCoys might have planned character defamation long-term. Either way, national attention reached the backwoods feud, and it focused on one side.

The Hatfields attacked the McCoy homestead. On New Year's Day 1888, theyThe Hatfields set fire.burned the McCoy home. This became the New Year's Night Massacre. Some accounts say, the fire started while the family slept inside, forcing Randolph McCoy out where a Hatfield ambush waited. As the flames grew, the Hatfields shot the house.They set the fire while the family slept inside the house. This forced Randolph McCoy out where a Hatfield ambush was waiting. As the flames grew, the Hatfields fired on the house.

During the 1888 New Year's Night Massacre, the Hatfields set fire to the McCoy homestead to flush the family out. During the chaos, Randolph McCoy's wife, Sarah, suffered severe beating

During the 1888 New Year's Night Massacre, the Hatfields burned the McCoy homestead. They did this to force the family into the open. During the chaos, Randolph McCoy's wife, Sarah, suffered a severe beating..Sarah McCoy never joined the feud violence. Beating her nearly to death served only to send a message. It sent a message—to the local authorities. Sarah McCoy's brutal beating and the killing of her children caused the murder trial that ended the feud between the warring families.

Sarah McCoy never joined the feud violence. Beating her nearly to death sent a message, though. That message worked. Sarah McCoy's horrific beating and the killing of her children caused the murder trial that ended the feud between the warring families.

Days after the Hatfields committed the New Year's massacre, deputy sheriff Frank Philips and his possehunted down Jim VanceDevil Anse Hatfield killed his uncle. Philips hired attorney Perry Cline, related to the McCoys by marriage, and his crew included McCoy clan members. Philips was a mean bastard. He executed people he had dead to rights. He could easily have arrested them. His method was a point blank bullet to the head.

Philips conducted raids over the border into West Virginia for weeks. He arrested many Hatfield associates. The Hatfields patrolled their side of the river. They avoided Kentucky, fearing the state governor's retaliation.

The Hatfields sought revenge for Vance's death. They got a constable to issue an arrest warrant for Vance's killers. While serving the warrant, they found the enemy posse. A fierce shootout followed. Philips and his crew won the bullet battle at Grapevine Creek. They capturednine membersThe Philips gang took the nine members of the Hatfield gang back to Kentucky and jailed them.

After the Philips gang captured the Hatfields in West Virginia and brought them to Kentucky for trial, West Virginiafiled a suit in federal courtThe Hatfields claimed Kentucky had no right to cross the border to arrest them. They argued this action was kidnapping and lawlessness. If West Virginia won the suit, the Hatfields would be released.

Both the Hatfields and McCoys had strong connections, securing county and state authority. This connection led the case to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled in May 1888 that Kentucky had the right to arrest and detain the Hatfields. The Hatfields faced trial.

Nine Hatfields and supporters faced trial. Eight received life sentences. One got the death penalty. Ellison Mounts was sentenced to death.Ellison MountsMounts was probably Ellison Hatfield's son. Ellison Hatfield was stabbed 27 times and shot in the back.

Mounts confessed to his crimes. Many thought he was a scapegoat because he was mentally challenged. Some reports say his last words were, “They made me do it! The Hatfields made me do it!” This suggests the other Hatfields made Mounts confess to the main crimes to save themselves.