The Hatfields and McCoys : Monday night, 8c History Channel

[BAMAWV]

Baptism of Devil Anse Hatfield (standing at right)

[2Stater]

Baptism of Devil Anse Hatfield (standing at right)

I know a lot is added to movies for dramatic effect, but I can't understand why they portrayed Anse Hatfield as a deserter from the Confederate army. Everything I read said he and McCoy came home after the war. I found nothing stating he had deserted.

[XBAMA]

even if he had deserted , no one , including McCoy had Balz enough to bring it up 

[BAMAWV]

even if he had deserted , no one , including McCoy had Balz enough to bring it up 

He said in the special that he was choosing for himself when he fights and against whom. Not really a cowards remark.

[SUPERCOACH]

They all looked like a bunch of bumbling idiot hillbillies in that last battle scene.  Guys throwing dynamite into trees and having it bounce back on them, another guy sticking his hand out in front of a gun and getting shot, Randall being drunk and running right into a tree and just about knocking himself out, Cottontop falling asleep during the gunfight... I'm sure there were other things I am forgetting.  After two nights of build up, that seemed like an odd direction for the story to take with the final battle.

[2Stater]

They all looked like a bunch of bumbling idiot hillbillies in that last battle scene.  Guys throwing dynamite into trees and having it bounce back on them, another guy sticking his hand out in front of a gun and getting shot, Randall being drunk and running right into a tree and just about knocking himself out, Cottontop falling asleep during the gunfight... I'm sure there were other things I am forgetting.  After two nights of build up, that seemed like an odd direction for the story to take with the final battle.

Hollywood making it's point "War is stupid", lol!

[SUPERCOACH]

They all looked like a bunch of bumbling idiot hillbillies in that last battle scene.  Guys throwing dynamite into trees and having it bounce back on them, another guy sticking his hand out in front of a gun and getting shot, Randall being drunk and running right into a tree and just about knocking himself out, Cottontop falling asleep during the gunfight... I'm sure there were other things I am forgetting.  After two nights of build up, that seemed like an odd direction for the story to take with the final battle.

Hollywood making it's point "War is stupid", lol!

They were definitely trying to make a point, but I wasn't sure if it was "war is stupid" or "country people are stupid".

[BAMAWV]

You know this wasn't the only time federal troops were threatened on my boys down in coal country. The unionizing of the coal fields brought about huge gun conflicts. At one point, the WV Air Guard dropped bombs on Union supporters from Charleston going toward Logan Co. for an armed conflict. Sid Hatfield was at that time Sheriff of the town of Matewan. The woman's Granddad was sheriff of Fayette Co. at that time and rode horseback and carried a sword. We have his sword in our home.

Click here for link

[Leroy]

You know this wasn't the only time federal troops were threatened on my boys down in coal country. The unionizing of the coal fields brought about huge gun conflicts. At one point, the WV Air Guard dropped bombs on Union supporters from Charleston going toward Logan Co. for an armed conflict. Sid Hatfield was at that time Sheriff of Logan.

Click here for link

  Good reading

[BAMAWV]

You know this wasn't the only time federal troops were threatened on my boys down in coal country. The unionizing of the coal fields brought about huge gun conflicts. At one point, the WV Air Guard dropped bombs on Union supporters from Charleston going toward Logan Co. for an armed conflict. Sid Hatfield was at that time Sheriff of the town of Matewan. The woman's Granddad was sheriff of Fayette Co. at that time and rode horseback and carried a sword. We have his sword in our home.

Click here for link

Battle of Blair Mountain

[XBAMA]

talking about the show on one of the fishing sites I visit and a guy
posted this ... 

I am a direct descendant of the Hatfield's. There were several reasons why the feud started.

1. William Anderson Hatfield (aka Devil Anse Hatfield) deserted the Confederate Army to go home and take care of his starving family. Randolph McCoy (aka Ran'el McCoy) wanted him tried for desertion but they wouldn't try him after the war.

2. Ran'el McCoy's pig got into Floyd Hatfield's corn and when Floyd Hatfield wouldn't give the pig back without re-imbursement for the corn, McCoy sued and lost in court and had to pay for the corn and lost the pig too. Pizzed him off BIG time.

3. Johnse Hatfield impregnated Roseanna McCoy and wouldn't marry her or support the child. That added insult to the "injury". Contrary to the TV version, he impregnated her as an insult to the McCoy's and Johnse had no intention on marrying her.

4. Devil Hatfield harvested lumber on land that was supposedly not his and got wealthy from it and Ran'el McCoy thought his family was swindled out of the land.

5. A little known fact left out is that at a local party, several McCoy boys slighted the "honor" of a Hatfield girl and a couple of them were severely beaten by the Hatfield girl's date at the party.

It all added up to a strong hatred between the families and the feud actually drew in a lot of local's who chose sides and fought too.

Sorry for the long read, but I have several very old newspapers with articles about the feud and these stories were passed down in our family also. So far, I think the show is pretty accurate, all things considered.

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