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Ephraim and Nancy Hatfield were the parents of 12 children, most famously William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield and his brother Ellison who is also buried in the Mingo County Hatfield Cemetery. These two are some of the most well remembered from the Hatfield-McCoy feud which raged in the Tug River Valley for 12 years. The first feud related violence occurred when three McCoy boys stabbed and shot Devil Anse’s brother Ellison Hatfield at an election in Kentucky. Hatfield men rounded up the boys and kept them prisoner. The boys were told that their fate depended on that of Ellison – if he died they would be killed, if he lived they would be released. Two days after their capture Ellison died and was later buried in the Hatfield cemetery in Mingo County. The Hatfields took the McCoy boys into the woods and tied them to papaw bushes where they were shot at a total of 50 times. All three boys were dead within five minutes. While the Hatfields viewed this as justice, their vigilante style revenge was still very illegal. Many of the men involved immediately had indictments against them, including Devil Anse and his sons. The Hatfields alluded arrest for an extended period of time and the governor of Kentucky requested that efforts be made for the removal of the Hatfields from West Virginia to Kentucky for trial. Governor E. Willis Wilson from West Virginia refused this request and created tension between the states, but allowed the Hatfields to avoid arrest. This instance is one of the most famous and iconic of the feud and often sited as the true beginning to the famous family feud. The murder of Ellison Hatfield and the subsequent murders of the McCoy boys opened the floodgates of violence that the feud is known for.

Drawing from "American Vendetta" depicting the murder of Ellison Hatfield

The grave sites of Nancy and Ephraim Hatfield

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National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form

This cemetery is the final resting place of Ephraim Hatfield and his wife Nancy, the parents of the infamous Devil Anse Hatfield. This site is the original Hatfield Cemetery and the people buried here had a significant effect on the deadly Hatfield-McCoy feud of late 1800s. 

Hatfield Cemetery in Mingo County, WV

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The Hatfield & McCoy Feud is one of the most prolific feuds in U.S. History. As a result, many of the sites associated with the feud have since been declared state historical landmarks. The feud joins together WV and KY, centering on towns such as Logan, WV and Pikeville, KY. The tour takes drivers through Mingo County, WV, and Pike Country, WV, with highlights including the homes of the families, the cemeteries where they are buried, and sites where family members died or committed crimes.

William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield was born in 1839 in Logan County, West Virginia. The Hatfields were one of the largest and oldest families in the Tug River Valley along the border with Kentucky. Devil Anse fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and in its later stages formed a guerilla group known as the Logan Wildcats. After the war he became heavily involved in the logging industry, acquiring and timbering large amounts of land in the area. His timber business made Devil Anse and his family fairly wealthy and influential in the region.During the last few decades of the nineteenth century the Hatfields became entangled in a bitter and violent feud with the McCoy family of Pike County, Kentucky, led by Randolph “Randall” McCoy. The feud originally began during Devil Anse's time with the Wildcats, when the group killed Asa McCoy, who fought for the Union, in retaliation for the death of Devil Anse's friend during the war. The feud as it is known in modernity, however, can be traced to 1878 when Randall McCoy accused Floyd Hatfield of stealing one of his hogs; Hatfield was found not guilty in court but the incident created animosity between the families. The feud escalated dramatically in 1882 when Devil Anse’s brother Ellison Hatfield was murdered by three McCoy brothers. Devil Anse had the brothers captured and killed in retaliation. The following years saw a number of tit-for-tat skirmishes, murders, kidnappings, and arrests between the two sides.The feud largely ended after 1890 when ten members of the Hatfield family were tried and found guilty of murdering several of Randall McCoy’s children. Nine Hatfields received life sentences while one was executed. The Hatfield-McCoy Feud was just one of multiple family conflicts in Appalachia at this time, but sensational reporting and national media coverage turned the Hatfields and McCoys into folk legends. A number of books, plays, shows, and studies of the feud have made it an enduring part of Appalachian culture.Devil Anse Hatfield was never tried for any crimes, and lived a peaceful life after the feud before dying in 1921. He was buried at the Hatfield Family Cemetery near Sarah Ann in a $2,000 dollar steel coffin that he had purchased himself. His children later commissioned a statue to be placed overtop his grave. The life-sized statue, the most prominent feature of the cemetery, was sculpted in Italy with Carrara marble. It was completed and erected at the cemetery in 1926; reportedly it cost $3,500. The statue stands on top of a pedestal listing the names of Devil Anse’s wife and thirteen children.There are actually two Hatfield family cemeteries located in the area. The first one, seven miles away near New Town, dates back to 1881 and contains the graves of 21 family members. It includes Devil Anse’s parents as well as his brother Ellison, whose death in 1882 exacerbated the feud. The second cemetery, near Sarah Ann, dates back to 1898. Some accounts say the Hatfields began using this cemetery instead after Devil Anse moved to this area in 1906. This cemetery contains over 130 graves. The two cemeteries were jointly added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A small marker at the Sarah Ann cemetery notes the listing.Among the graves in the same cemetery at which Devil Anse rests is the Hatfield wash stand. The wash stand, carved from sandstone by Devil Anse's cousin, Robert Hatfield, who was the son of Preacher Anderson Hatfield. The wash stand was originally located near the well which sat at the homestead of the Hatfields, where family members and farmhands would wash up for dinner. The well and wash stand were also also open for travelers to drink from and wash their hands. For years the Hatfield Cemetery sat neglected and overgrown. The site has since become a local tourist attraction following the airing of the Hatfields &amp; McCoys miniseries in 2012. The new surge in interest in the feud during the 2010s has led local officials in both West Virginia and Kentucky to develop a tourism industry around sites related to the two families. Bus tours to the cemetery are now even available. Plans for a walking path to make the cemetery more accessible are currently in development.

The Hatfield Family Cemetery near Sarah Ann contains the graves of Hatfield patriarch Devil Anse Hatfield and most of the other members of the Hatfield family who were involved in the famous Hatfield-McCoy Feud. The series of skirmishes, murders, and lawsuits between the Hatfield and the McCoy families from the 1870s to the 1890s became a national media sensation and turned the families into icons of Appalachian culture. In 1926, the children of Devil Anse Hatfield erected a large Italian marble sculpture over his grave which remains the most prominent feature of the cemetery. Once neglected, the site has now become a local tourist attraction following a resurgence in interest in the feud during the 2010s. The cemetery, and a second one seven miles away was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Devil Anse Hatfield and the Hatfield Family Cemetery & Wash Stand

Ephraim and Nancy Hatfield were the parents of 12 children, most famously William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield and his brother Ellison who is also buried in the Mingo County Hatfield Cemetery. These two are some of the most well remembered from the Hatfield-McCoy feud which raged in the Tug River Valley for 12 years.  The first feud related violence occurred when three McCoy boys stabbed and shot Devil Anse’s brother Ellison Hatfield at an election in Kentucky. Hatfield men rounded up the boys and kept them prisoner. The boys were told that their fate depended on that of Ellison – if he died they would be killed, if he lived they would be released. Two days after their capture Ellison died and was later buried in the Hatfield cemetery in Mingo County. The Hatfields took the McCoy boys into the woods and tied them to papaw bushes where they were shot at a total of 50 times. All three boys were dead within five minutes. While the Hatfields viewed this as justice, their vigilante style revenge was still very illegal. Many of the men involved immediately had indictments against them, including Devil Anse and his sons. The Hatfields alluded arrest for an extended period of time and the governor of Kentucky requested that efforts be made for the removal of the Hatfields from West Virginia to Kentucky for trial. Governor E. Willis Wilson from West Virginia refused this request and created tension between the states, but allowed the Hatfields to avoid arrest. This instance is one of the most famous and iconic of the feud and often sited as the true beginning to the famous family feud. The murder of Ellison Hatfield and the subsequent murders of the McCoy boys opened the floodgates of violence that the feud is known for.

The historic feud of the Hatfields and McCoys, known by journalists as the Hatfield-McCoy war, occurred in the Tug River Valley where the river was the barrier between most of the two families’ clans. The entirety of the feud occurred from 1863-1891. The first incident occurred at the end of the Civil War in 1865, when the McCoy clan leader's, Randall McCoy, brother, Asa, was murdered in cold blood. There was speculation that William Anderson Hatfield, known as “Devil Ance,” was involved somehow, but there are no known incidents of revenge from the McCoy side. Asa was apart of the 45th Kentucky Infantry and served during the American Civil War where service records say he was captured by rebel forces and released to a Union hospital in Maryland to heal from a gunshot wound to his chest. He served in a company owned and operated by the Pike County Home Guards where it is believed he sustained his wound while serving in this unit.In the 1870s, the two families argued over 5,000 acres of land, which legally ended in the Hatfields’ favor and ownership. This argument catalyzed theft and arm brawls between the families for years to come. There was even a court hearing over a stolen McCoy hog in which the jury was comprised of six McCoys and six Hatfields. One of the McCoys actually ended up voting in favor of pardoning the accused Hatfield of the crime and it was speculated that he did so, because he worked on Devil Ance’s timber crew. In 1880, a Romeo and Juliet-like romance occurred between Hatfield's daughter, Roseanna, and McCoy’s son, Johnse. The couple wanted to get married after spending a day together and Devil Ance allowed the couple to reside together in his home, but it is rumored that he refused to consent to their marriage, because Roseanna was a McCoy. After becoming pregnant and realizing Johnse would not marry her, she left to return home to her family. However, Randall McCoy did not welcome her home and she went to have her baby at her aunt’s. Unfortunately, the baby died at six months old from the measles.The war between the families reached a climax during an Election Day celebration in 1882 when the brother of Devil Ance, Ellison, got into a brawl with three of Randall McCoy’s sons. Ellison was stabbed 27 times and then shot in the back left for dead. Ance and his supporters caught the three brothers and took them across the river to Kentucky where they tied up the murderers to trees and shot them. The Hatfields were issued indictments on murder charges, but no action was taken for five years, until 1887, when the McCoy family were able to persuade Kentucky’s new governor to pursue charges against Devil Ance for the murder of Randall McCoy’s three sons. During this period of pursuit, Devil Ance and his family set fire to Randall McCoy’s home, including killing two of his other children and injuring his wife. This event catalyzed the Battle of Grapevine Creek, where many Hatfields and their supporters were captured to be tried in court. In 1888, those involved in the burning of Randall McCoy’s property were all given life in prison except for one Ellison Mounts, who faced the death penalty and was hung in 1889. No reaction from Devil Ance occurred after the conviction of the Hatfields and their supporters, but this justice led to the feud finally ending for good. The feud would be reimagined as a comedic, family friendly dinner theater performance that took a much lighter approach with an original story of the feud and it opened up in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.The trails opened up in October 2000 and were named after the legendary feud that the Hatfields and McCoys had. It became a multi-county project that enlisted the help of Logan, Kanawha, McDowell, Wyoming, Mercer, Wayne, Lincoln, Mingo, and Boone. Multiple trails were created that allowed visitors to ride motor vehicles like ATVs and ride horses through the trails. The entirety of the trails run through each county that helped and have at least 600 miles that run through the trails. An expansion plan was announced for the addition of 2,000 miles to the trails to house suitable facilities and an Off-Highway Vehicle Park in Kanawha County. Law enforcement officers patrol the trails daily to make sure riders and visitors follow safety protocols. In 2015, the Little Coal River and Ivy Branch trails closed down access after a change in land ownership that involved land those trails were stationed on.

Opening officially in 2000, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail systems is comprised of eight different systems: the Rockhouse, Buffalo Mountain, Bearwallow, Indian Ridge, Little Coal River, Pocahontas, Pinnacle Creek, and Ivy Branch. Named after the legendary Hatfield-McCoy Feud that occurred during the 1800s, the Hatfield-McCoy Trails cover approximately 600-700 miles and span over nine counties including Logan, McDowell, Mercer, and Wayne. Developing the trails and connecting the individual ones together is an ongoing project which the West Virginia state legislature hopes will eventually result in 2,000 miles of riding trails in southern West Virginia. According to the HMT's website, the trails are open all year long to ATVs, dirt bikes, and UTVs. Additionally, 4x4 ORVs could be used to ride the Ivy Branch trail as well. However, as of 2015, the Little Coal River and Ivy Branch trails were closed off after a change in land ownership which involved land those two trails were stationed on.

Hatfield-McCoy Trails

In 1880, Roseanna McCoy, the daughter of Randolph McCoy, met Johnse Hatfield, the son of Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, on Blackberry Creek in Pikeville, Kentucky, during a party thrown to celebrate the ongoing election. Soon after meeting, the two stole away to be together. When they returned, the polling places and the party were both deserted. Roseanna realized that someone must have noticed the coinciding absences of herself and Johnse, and her&nbsp;father's inevitable fury and disappointment with her kept her from returning home. Instead, at the behest of Johnse, who promised he loved her despite only spending a few hours with her that same day, Roseanna returned home with him and began living at the Hatfield residence in West Virginia.&nbsp; During her time with Johnse, neither his father nor her own would consent to the two marrying. This, coupled with Roseanna's discovery that Johnse had been habitually unfaithful to her, engaging in multiple relationships with other women which, led Roseanna to abandon him and return home to her family in Kentucky. When she returned, she was homeless and pregnant with Johnse's child. This did nothing to gain her the sympathy of her father and brothers, however, who deemed her actions to be the ultimate betrayal and thus refused to allow her to return. Roseanna's mother, Levisa, however, felt sympathy for her daughter and her plight and quietly arranged for Roseanna to live with Betty McCoy, Roseanna's aunt, in Stringtown, Kentucky.&nbsp; A few months into her stay at her aunt's house, in February of 1881, Roseanna gave birth to her child, a girl she named Sarah Elizabeth. It is believed that her daughter's middle name was a tribute to Betty in thanks for taking Roseanna in when no one else would. Roseanna nicknamed her daughter "Sally," a moniker which stuck and has since been used in accounts of the infant's life. Roseanna and Sally continued living with Betty even after the latter's birth, with the job of raising Sally being shared between the two older women. A short time after her birth, Sally fell deathly ill from what is believed to be a combination of pneumonia and the measles. Despite efforts to nurse her back to health, Sally was unable to recover and died later the same year she was born at only eight months of age. After her death, Sally was buried a short distance away from the home she was born and lived in, on a nearby hilltop. The grave site is marked by a sign which designates its status as a state historical landmark, and can be reached by climbing up a two-level, 130 step staircase located near the Betty McCoy home along Stringtown Road in the Burnwell area of Pike County, Kentucky. The grave is within view of the remainder of the McCoy cemetery and is located amid the graves of other infants. It easily accessible to tourists.&nbsp;

Sarah Elizabeth McCoy, nicknamed "Sally" by her mother, was the daughter of Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield, a young couple who were each on opposing sides of the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud. Sally was born in February of 1881 and resided with her mother and her great-aunt, Betty McCoy, with whom her mother stayed after being disowned by her family for having an affair with a member of the Hatfield family. A few months after being born, Sally fell gravely ill. She died later that same year, at only eight months old, and was buried near the home where she lived and alongside the final resting place of her mother in a plot adjacent to the McCoy Cemetery. 

Sally McCoy Historical Marker 

The current house encloses the original log cabin of Roseanna McCoy's aunt Betty. After the end of her relationship with Johnse Hatfield, Roseanna was rejected by her father. Rather than returning home, she moved here and lived with her aunt. The home is located in Burnwell, Kentucky, a community that was then known as Stringtown and close to the home Roseanna grew up in. It is here that she gave birth to the child she conceived with Johnse, a daughter named Sarah Elizabeth, who died a few months later, and is buried at the top of a hill behind the home.&nbsp; During the height of the feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families, Roseanna McCoy, daughter of family leader Randolph McCoy, met Johnse Hatfield. Hatfield was the son of opposing family leader "Devil" Anse Hatfield. The two met during a local election in Kentucky's Pike County in 1880. That day,&nbsp;the two snuck away from their families to be together, thus marking the start of their affair. According to reports from family and friends,&nbsp;Roseanna feared her family's anger after her affair came to light, and so she quickly moved in with Johnse and the Hatfields.&nbsp; Several months later, Roseanna discovered she was pregnant. Around the same time, it became clear that she could not rely on Johnse to settle down with her or marry her, as a result of the opposition they faced from both of their fathers, who refused to allow or bless the union, even after learning of Roseanna's pregnancy. This was made all the more clear when he eventually proved himself unfaithful left her to marry her younger cousin, Nancy McCoy, who was only fifteen at the time. After this occurred, Roseanna left the Hatfields' residence and attempted to return home, but found herself shunned by both her father and her brothers, who were unable to put aside the anger and betrayal they felt as a result of Roseanna's affair with Johnse. With nowhere left to turn, Roseanna's mother, Lavisa, who supported her daughter, arranged for her to stay with her aunt, Betty McCoy, in Stringtown, KY, in what is now the Burnwell area of Pike County.&nbsp; It is here that Roseanna gave birth to and raised her and Johnse's child, a daughter she named Sarah Elizabeth, with her middle name reportedly being a tribute to her aunt Betty, the woman who took her in when no one else would. During her time at her aunt Betty's home, Roseanna and her daughter were reportedly still visited by Johnse, a fact that continually contributed to the ire of her brothers and father. Sarah Elizabeth soon succumbed to illness, dying mere months after birth. She was soon followed by her mother, Roseanna, who many believed died of a broken.&nbsp; Originally a log cabin, Betty McCoy's home is now enclosed in a large, modern white exterior, complete with towering columns and handmade rocking chairs at the front entryway. The home is recognized as a historical landmark not merely because it was once occupied by Roseanna, but because it is located less than a mile away from the gravesite of Sarah Elizabeth. Today, the home has become absorbed into the surrounding Burnwell community, with homes occupied by families located on either side of it.&nbsp;

In 1881, this home was the location where Roseanna McCoy found refuge following her romantic affair with Johnse Hatfield. The son of Devil Anse" Hatfield, Johnse met and fell in love with Roseanna McCoy during the famous feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families. Fearing the consequences of his actions, Johnse abandoned Roseanna who found refuge with Betty Mccoy and gave birth to Hatfield's daughter at this home. The baby girl contracted measles and died after ten months. The tragedy of these two young "star-crossed" lovers continues to be one of the most familiar aspects of the Hatfield-McCoy Feud.

The Betty McCoy House

By the time of the attack, the Hatfield and the McCoy families had been involved in a decades-long blood feud dating back to 1862 during the Civil War. William Francis McCoy led a regiment of guards who killed Mose Cline, a close friend of Hatfield patriarch "Devil Anse," who immediately began to seek revenge against the McCoys as a whole. Though the majority of both families fought on the side of the Confederacy, there was one notable exception: Asa Harmon McCoy enlisted and fought for the Union. When Asa returned from the war, he was eventually captured by a group of rebels and killed, and, though no records of his death exist, the McCoy family believed the murder was carried out by&nbsp;"Devil Anse" and his uncle, Jim Vance. From here, the feud escalated, frequently resulting in violence between the two families as they engaged in a volatile game of back and forth. Notable instances in the feud include the affair between Roseanna McCoy and Johnse Hatfield, which resulted in the fracturing of the McCoy family as well as the deaths of both Roseanna and the daughter she conceived with Johnse, Sarah "Sally" Elizabeth, in addition to the infamous dispute between the two families over the custody of a pig. These instances as well as others like them, as with the Civil War era events which are said to have started the feud, became not only increasingly violent, but deadly, as made apparent by the murder of Ellison Hatfield, brother of "Devil Anse" as well as the retaliatory murders of the McCoy brothers who carried out the death of Ellison in what is now referred to as the Pawpaw Tree Incident.&nbsp; The feud - as well as these acts of violence - came to a head during New Year's Day in 1888, during which a raiding party comprised of a group of men from the Hatfield clan, organized and led by "Devil Anse" and his uncle, Jim,&nbsp;ambushed the patriarch of the McCoy clan, Randolph McCoy, and his family at their home in what is now Hardy, KY. The attack occurred deep into the night, after the McCoy family had already gone to bed, leaving the family practically defenseless. While the family still slept, the Hatfield men opened fire on their cabin. Shots were eventually returned by the McCoys; however, the raiding party&nbsp;set the home on fire, effectively ending any attempt at defense by the family and driving them out into the night. Though their target was Randolph, the man in question was able to escape during the chaos, hiding in a pig pen near the home, and, instead, two of his children Calvin McCoy and his sister, Alifair McCoy, were shot and killed next to the well which sat close to the home.&nbsp; When Randolph's wife, Sarah saw the attack on her daughter, she crawled from her own hiding place to her and reached out in an attempt to hold her. In doing so, she opened herself up to attacks and was soon grabbed by a member of the Hatfield family and thrown against the well, where she was severely beaten and left for dead. Randolph and his remaining family members fled and were able to escape into the woods behind their burning home and soon relocated to what is now Pikeville, KY, to escape any further attacks and where Randolph operated a ferry until his death while his wife slowly recovered from her injuries.&nbsp; Later that same year, nine of the men who carried out the raid and subsequent murders were arrested forced to stand trial for their crimes, with one of them, Ellison Mounts, a friend of "Devil Anse" being sentenced to a public hanging.&nbsp; Today, all that remains of the original Hatfield residence is the well Randolph once dug for his family, with the home itself being completely destroyed by the fire. The land where the home once sat has recently been rebuilt upon, however, and is now resided in by a new family. Despite the presence of a private residence, the land is still recognized and marked as a state historic landmark, and the family who now lives there readily welcomes visitors and tourists, frequently showing anyone who stops by around the property.&nbsp;

Located along Highway 319 in Hardy, this statue of Randolph McCoy was dedicated in 2017 and is located next to the McCoy Home. At this location on New Year's Day 1888, the home and its residents were attacked by members of the Hatfield family. The attack resulted in the death of two of Randolph's children and the destruction of the home. Today, only the site of the McCoy well remain. The land is now the site of a private residence; however, the current owners acknowledge the location's status as a historic landmark and kindly welcome visitors and tourists to view the well and the statue of Randolph McCoy. 

Randolph McCoy Statue, McCoy Well, and Site of New Year's Day Massacre of 1888

The state of&nbsp;Kentucky has set up a marker to honor the place in which the McCoy boys, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud were thought to have been shot.&nbsp; <div> The first direct act of violence and what many consider the true start of the feud occurred at a local election in 1882. Ellison Hatfield and one of his brothers were in Kentucky and got into a drunken brawl with three of Randolph McCoy’s sons, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud. The brawl which allegedly started because of a debt owed over a fiddle, led to Ellison’s death. The McCoy brothers stabbed him 26 times and then shot him in the back. The McCoy’s were arrested by Hatfields and were being taken to Pikeville to be tried for the murder of Ellison Hatfield, but Devil Anse had them captured and taken to West Virginia. Devil Anse told the McCoy boys that if Ellison died, they would be killed. Two days after this threat was made, Devil Anse’s brother Ellison died of his wounds.&nbsp;</div><div> The Hatfields took the McCoy boys into the woods and tied them to paw paw trees where they were shot at a total of 50 times. All three boys were dead within five minutes. While the Hatfields viewed this as justice, their vigilante style revenge was still illegal. Many of the men involved immediately had indictments against them, including Devil Anse and his sons. Yet, the Hatfields remained at large for years after.&nbsp; The death of his sons left Randolph McCoy bitter. He tried to work legally to get his justice on the Hatfields, but this was still many years to come. The feud didn't end until 1890 with the execution of a Hatfield supporter, Ellison Mounts. This place is one of several sites in the area that saw death as a result of the feud.&nbsp;</div>

In a horrific show of vigilante justice during the Hatfield-McCoy family feud, three McCoy boys were tied to paw paw trees and shot. The Hatfields killed the boys as retribution for the murder of Ellison Hatfield, Devil Anse's brother. It was the beginning of years of violence between the two families. This is just one instance out of many in which the hatred of the feud led to the untimely death of the participants. 

Paw Paw Tree Incident

Following the 1888 New Year's Day attack that led to the deaths of&nbsp;McCoy family members, including children, the group of Hatfield men responsible for the attack found themselves facing severe legal repercussions as well as public outrage. A series of warrants were issued for the arrest of the men involved, charging them with the assault of McCoy matriarch, Sarah, as well as the murder of two of her children, Calvin and Alifair. Upon the issuing of these warrants in the days following the attack,&nbsp;bounty hunter Frank Phillips, a close friend of the McCoys who was later joined to the family through his marriage to Nancy McCoy, began to hunt those responsible for the attack and subsequent deaths of two of his family members. In his quest to do so he initially tracked down Jim Vance and Devil Anse Hatfield, the de facto leaders of the opposing clan, sparking a fight which resulted in the death of Vance.&nbsp; The death of Vance sparked the ire of the Hatfield family who, though predominantly in hiding from the law, prepared for a final battle meant to gain revenge against Phillips and his family for the death of one of their own. Reportedly, the Hatfields also hope this final attack would put an end to the feud and secure their role as the victors over the McCoys once and for all. The McCoy family was soon made aware of the incoming attack shortly after Devil Anse and his men set out for the battle, however, and so Phillips was able to quickly round up enough of his own men to stand against the Hatfields. Phillips hoped to intercept Devil Anse and prevent him from reaching his own home while also catching him off guard, so he and his men set off soon after in the hopes of overtaking the Hatfields.&nbsp; The two groups eventually met around the Grapevine Creek area on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork River, near what is now the northern area of&nbsp;modern-day Matewan. Immediately upon their encounter, both sides began firing at one another. The shots continued until the McCoys were eventually able to branch into two separate groups, flanking the Hatfields on either side and effectively cornering them and leaving little chance of escape. With their new positions, the McCoys continued their attack, killing multiple Hatfield men. Those who were not killed were forced to retreat, with the nine remaining men being taken prisoner and eventually being forced to stand trial for their actions.&nbsp; The fight, since referred to as the Battle of Grapevine Creek, is notable because it acted as the final battle of the feud and because it resulted in those involved in the feud facing legal repercussions. In addition,&nbsp;it was also the only military-style battle which occurred during the feud.&nbsp;

The Battle of Grapevine Creek occurred in January 1888 on the West Virginia side of the Tug Fork River near what is today the northern portion of the town of Matewan. The battle stemmed from the events of the New Year's Day attack the Hatfields led against the McCoy family. In this battle, the Hatfields fought against a group of men led by Frank Phillips, a bounty hunter closely tied to the McCoy family. Phillips hoped to capture the men behind the New Year's Day attack and force them to stand trial. The battle was a decisive victory for Phillips, ending with the deaths and retreat of the majority of the Hatfield men and the capture of nine who would later stand trial for their involvement in the New Year's Day attack. The Battle of Grapevine Creek is notable for being the final battle of the feud as well as the only one to be fought using the military tactics. 

Battle of Grapevine Creek (1888)

Sources: 
 
Geocache. &ldquo;Preacher Anse Hatfield Cabin.&rdquo; http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3QEQX_hmgt-03-preacher-anse-hatfield-cabin?guid=7caf085c-fe41-4f3e-934e-0aab34f9ad1a (accessed November 15, 2013). 
 
Matewan Depot Information Desk.

No one can exactly pin point when the bad blood between Devil Anse Hatfield and Randolph McCoy first boiled over. Some say it can be traced back to the Scottish Highlands, where Scotch-Irish ancestors often displayed a similar temperament. Others say Civil War loyalties played a factor (the Hatfield's remained staunch Confederates, even though West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1863). But, there can be no denying that the unexpected verdict of the 1878 Hog Trial touched off a fire that would sear their very souls for the next 12 years. 

     In the fall of 1878, Randolph McCoy brought charges against Floyd Hatfield for stealing one of his hogs. The resulting trial occurred at a Hatfield cabin and was presided over by the local justice of the peace, Preacher Anderson Hatfield. Preacher Anderson was Devil Anse Hatfield's cousin and did not want to appear biased so he gathered a jury of six Hatfields and six McCoys to hear the case. When the jury reached its verdict, Selkirk McCoy, nephew of Sarah McCoy and a veteran of the Virginia Confederacy, sided with the six Hatfields in favor of Floyd. The McCoys felt betrayed and open hostilities soon erupted between the Haftield and McCoy families. Later Bill Staton, who testified in favor of his brother-in-law, Floyd Hatfield, was killed by two of Randolph McCoy's nephews while he was hunting. They were tried and acquitted in a trial presided over by Valentine Hatfield, uncle of Devil Anse. After this, violence between the families continued and the resulting conflict eventually escalated into the most infamous family feud in American history. 

     In August 1882, a fight broke out between Tolbert McCoy and Elias Hatfield at the cabin during an Election Day celebration. Devil Anse's brother Ellison Hatfield joined the fight, along with Tolbert's two brothers. One of the McCoys pulled a knife and Ellison was stabbed 27 times and then shot in the back. Anse and a posse intercepted the McCoy brothers as they were being taken to a Kentucky jail and escorted them back to West Virginia. Ellison was still alive and, according to Anse, the three McCoys would live only if Ellison survived. The following day Ellison died. Anse and his followers then transported the McCoy brothers across the river to Kentucky, tied them to several pawpaw trees and shot them. Indictments were issued for Anse and several of his supporters, but for five years no action was taken to extradite them.

     The consensus is that at least 15 persons, no more than 27, died as a direct result of the hostilities between various factions of the two proud families. Although tragic, the Hatfield-McCoy quarrel remains embedded in the American psyche. The clash ran a gauntlet of emotions, impulses, and influences that ranged from execution to economics and from romance to revenge. Ambush, betrayal, irony, frontier justice, murder, and politics helped nourish two families who preferred to settle their disputes with shotguns and pistols in an all-out border war.

Hatfield-McCoy Hog Trial Cabin

The first
direct act of violence and what many consider the true start of the feud
occurred at a local election in 1882. Ellison Hatfield and one of his brothers were
in Kentucky and got
into a drunken brawl with three of Randolph McCoy’s sons, Tolbert, Pharmer, and
Bud. The brawl, which allegedly started because of a debt owed over a fiddle,
led to Ellison’s death. The McCoy brothers stabbed him 26 times and then shot
him in the back. The McCoy’s were arrested by Hatfields and were being taken to
Pikeville to be tried for the murder of Ellison Hatfield, but Devil Anse had
them captured and taken to West Virginia. Devil Anse told the McCoy boys that
if Ellison died, they would be killed. Two
days after this threat was made, Devil Anse’s brother Ellison died of his
wounds.The
Hatfields took the McCoy boys into the woods and tied them to papaw bushes
where they were shot a total of 50 times. All three boys were dead within
five minutes. While the Hatfields viewed this as justice, their vigilante style
revenge was still very illegal. Many of the men involved were immediately indicted, including Devil Anse and his sons. The Hatfields
eluded arrest for an extended period of time. The&nbsp;governor of Kentucky
requested that efforts be made for the removal of the Hatfields from West
Virginia to Kentucky for trial. Governor E. Willis Wilson from West Virginia refused
this request, which&nbsp;created tension between the states, but allowed the Hatfields
to avoid arrest.&nbsp;The McCoys
were frustrated with the lack of justice for the murder of Randolph’s
sons. Perry Cline, the man married to Martha McCoy who lost his land to Devil
Anse Hatfield, used political connections to get the charges against the
Hatfields reinstated and had the state offer a reward for their capture. Cline
was fighting for his own revenge against the Hatfields who had taken thousands
of acres of land he viewed as rightfully his. This was&nbsp;viewed as a threat by the Hatfields, who&nbsp;began to formulate a plan of retaliation&nbsp;against the McCoys. In the early hours of&nbsp;January 1, 1888, Jim
Vance, Devil Anse’s uncle, led a raid on Randolph McCoy’s cabin in Pike County, Kentucky. Hatifield men surrounded the cabin and began to fire while the
McCoys were sleeping. The Hatfields then&nbsp;burned the cabin to force the occupants
out. Two of McCoy’s children, Calvin and Alifair, were shot in the back while
fleeing their home. Sarah McCoy, Randolph’s wife, was beaten nearly to death by
the men and left by the burning house. There was nothing of value left of the
house, so the McCoy family relocated to Pikeville to avoid the reach of
Hatfield raiders. 



After this
raid, the Hatfields seemed to lose a lot of their power. Just days after the
raid on the McCoy cabin, a posse lead by a man named Frank Phillips found and
killed Jim Vance for his role in the murder of McCoy’s children. After this,
the posse rounded up eight members of the Hatfield family and took them to
Kentucky to face a trial for the murder of Alifair McCoy, the daughter of
Randolph. The accused Hatfields were given life sentences for their crimes and Ellison Mounts, the illegitimate son of Ellison Hatfield was hanged for the murder of Alifair. &nbsp;

Buried here are the victims of the famous Paw Paw tree incident from the Hatfield & McCoy feud. Three McCoy boys were shot 50 times by Hatfield men in retribution for Ellison Hatfield's murder. Also buried here are Alifair and Calvin McCoy who were killed during the New Year's Night raid of 1888. This feud is one of the most infamous in national history and caused the death of many. 

McCoy Cemetery

On New Year's Day in 1888, reportedly just after midnight, the original McCoy home located on Blackberry Creek in what is now Hardy, Kentucky, was attacked by a group of men from the Hatfield family. The home was&nbsp;set on fire and&nbsp;completely destroyed, with only the well which sat next to the home on the property surviving. Randolph and Sarah McCoy lost two of their children in the attack.&nbsp;Calvin and Alifair McCoy perished and matriarch Sarah McCoy was brutally beaten and nearly killed as well.&nbsp;With nothing left of their home, Randolph and Sarah fled into the woods to escape. As a result of the increasingly violent nature of the feud, the governors of both Kentucky and West Virginia urged members of the Hatfield and McCoy families to relocate and distance themselves from one another. With this in mind, Perry Cline, a lawyer and distant relative of the McCoys who also had&nbsp;a history of run-ins with the Hatfields, helped Randolph and Sarah relocate closer to his own home in Pikeville. The McCoys&nbsp;soon purchased a home on Main Street, close to Scott Avenue.&nbsp;Perry Cline helped Randolph find a job operating a ferry on the Big Sandy River nearby. The two stayed there until their respective deaths before then being buried in the Dils cemetery nearby.&nbsp; Today, the McCoy home is still standing on Pikeville's Main Street and is recognized and marked as a state historical landmark. The home has since been remodeled and a significant portion of the home is part of&nbsp;Chirico's restaurant. The owners of the home and restaurant preserved portions of the original home, which can be seen in the accompanying photos. In addition, the dining area of the restaurant contains a plethora of framed pictures and memorabilia relating to the feud and is on display for diners. Though typically restricted by the restaurant's owners, diners and visitors are frequently given permission to view and tour what other parts of the former McCoy home.&nbsp;

After their original home on Blackberry Creek in Hardy was set on fire and destroyed by a group of men from the Hatfield family in 1888, members of the McCoy family relocated to Pikeville and eventually lived in this home on Main Street. The McCoy patriarch, Randolph McCoy, worked as a ferry operator during these years with his wife Sarah. Today the former McCoy home is the location of Chirco's Restaurant. The home includes a historical marker and is listed as a state historical landmark. Parts of the original home have been preserved and the owners frequently allow diners and visitors to explore the landmark. 

McCoy House in Pikeville 

Randolph McCoy was a poor man and he and his family worked
and lived on a small farm. Randolph and his family lived on the Kentucky side
of the Tug Fork. He married his first cousin, Sally “Sarah” McCoy, and they had
16 children, of these five would die as a result of the feud. Some of his
kinsmen worked for the Hatfields, a fact that would further complicate some
events during the feud. McCoy had a brother named Asa Harmon McCoy who was seen
by many as a traitor for fighting with the Union army.

&nbsp;

The first direct act of violence and what many consider the
true start of the feud occurred at a local election in 1882. Ellison Hatfield
and one of his brothers were in Kentucky and got into a drunken brawl with
three of Randolph McCoy’s sons, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud. The brawl which
allegedly started because of a debt owed over a fiddle, led to Ellison’s death.
The McCoy brothers stabbed him 26 times and then shot him in the back. The
McCoy’s were arrested by Hatfields and were being taken to Pikeville to be
tried for the murder of Ellison Hatfield, but Devil Anse had them captured and
taken to West Virginia. Devil Anse told the McCoy boys that if Ellison died,
they would be killed. Two days after this threat was made, Devil Anse’s brother
Ellison died of his wounds. 

&nbsp;

The Hatfields took the McCoy boys into the woods and tied
them to papaw bushes where they were shot at a total of 50 times. All three
boys were dead within five minutes. While the Hatfields viewed this as justice,
their vigilante style revenge was still very illegal. Many of the men involved
immediately had indictments against them, including Devil Anse and his sons.
The Hatfields alluded arrest for an extended period of time and the governor of
Kentucky requested that efforts be made for the removal of the Hatfields from
West Virginia to Kentucky for trial. Governor E. Willis Wilson from West
Virginia refused this request and created tension between the states, but
allowed the Hatfields to avoid arrest.

&nbsp;

On New Year’s Night January 1, 1888, Jim Vance, Devil Anse
Hatfield’s uncle, led a raid on Randolph McCoy’s cabin in Pike County Kentucky.
Hatifield men surrounded the cabin and began to fire while the McCoy’s were
sleeping. The attackers burned the cabin to force the occupants out. Two of
McCoy’s children, Calvin and Alifair, were shot in the back while fleeing their
home Sarah McCoy, Randolph’s wife, was beaten nearly to death by the men and
left by the burning house. There was nothing of value left of the house, so the
McCoy family relocated to Pikeville to avoid the reach of Hatfield raiders.

&nbsp;

Randolph McCoy was never the same after losing so many of
his children and family members to the feud. He became a ferryman on the Tug
and he faded into obscurity while the legend of the Hatfield-McCoy feud lived
on. McCoy died on March 28, 1914 at the age of 88 while tending a fire. McCoy
was buried next to his wife Sarah in the Cemetery known as Dils Cemetery in
Kentucky.

Randolph McCoy was the face of the infamous McCoy clan from the famous feud with the Hatfields. McCoy lost 5 of his 16 children to the feud which raged in the Tug River Valley for 12 years. The feud that started with an argument over a hog would claim the lives of many involved and ended with the hanging of a Hatfield, Ellison Mounts. Randolph McCoy and his family suffered much at the hands of the Hatfields – their home was burned down, 3 children executed, 2 others shot. In return they put 8 Hatfields in jail for life. This feud is one of the most famous in national history, and buried here in Dils Cemetery is the patriarch of the McCoy clan and his wife, Sarah. 

Randolph McCoy Grave Site

Believing that this part of Kentucky was poised for economic growth, Colonel John Dils, Jr. moved from northern Virginia to Pike County, Kentucky in 1840. Dills settled in the community of Piketon which is now the city of&nbsp;Pikeville and found employment as a teacher. Dils saved his wages&nbsp;and later became a successful merchant.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dils was an extremely outspoken opponent of slavery and later became a supporter of the Union. Although Kentucky remained in the Union and eastern Kentucky sent many men to put down the rebellion, Kentucky was contested territory and Dils was targetted and captured by men who aligned themselves with the Confederacy. Dils spent a&nbsp;year at Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia, but was able to&nbsp;return to Piketon. At that time, he&nbsp;recruited a group of men to form the area's first Union regiment. This regiment&nbsp;fought against Confederate forces and Dils was discharged in 1863.&nbsp;After his discharge, Dils once again continued his work as a merchant. In 1871, he purchased&nbsp;property fro the Syck family which ran several miles up Chloe Creek and included a&nbsp;cemetery. Dils later sold all of the property but during the time he owned the land members of the&nbsp;Dils family and people who worked for Dils, including African Americans, were buried here along with other residents of the community.&nbsp;Dils employed many formerly enslaved persons at his&nbsp;tannery and general store. He also allowed other members of the community to be buried here regardless of race. As a result,&nbsp;one hundred and thirty African Americans were buried here. To date,&nbsp;forty-nine of those graves have been positively&nbsp;correctly identified. The cemetery also contains graves of soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Civil War,
Spanish-American War and World War IThis cemetery is also the final resting place of McCoy family leader&nbsp;Randolph McCoy, his wife, Sarah, their daughter,
Roseanna, their son, Sam and his wife, Martha McCoy. The cemetery is sometimes referred to as the Hatfield &amp; McCoy Feud Cemetery. During the feud, Dils himself served as a&nbsp;guardian and benefactor of Perry Cline whose actions led to government intervention in the feud.&nbsp;

The Dils Cemetery is believed to be the first racially integrated cemetery in Eastern Kentucky. Colonel John Dils, who was opposed to slavery, provided employment for many formerly enslaved persons at his tannery and general store. He later provided gravesites for these individuals and their descendants. Graves of soldiers from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War I can be found at the cemetery along with the graves of members of the Hatfield and McCoy families. Dils Cemetery also includes lovely botanical gardens, a walking trail and an overlook. 

Extended Hatfield and McCoy Feud Tour

Hatfield Cemetery in Mingo County, WV

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information