The Hatfield & McCoy Feud
The feud of the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Eastern Kentucky dates back to the autumn of 1878 when a cousin of the clan leader Devil Anse Hatfield, Floyd Hatfield, a man who took little part in the feud, went into the hills to round up his hogs and drive them back into the pens at his home. Shortly thereafter his neighbor, Randall McCoy, stopped in for a neighborly visit. The visit was shattered by Mr. McCoy when he accused Mr. Hatfield of stealing one of his hogs. It is said that Mr. McCoy rode off with harsh words bring the wrath of God upon Floyd Hatfield. A trial ensued in favor of Floyd Hatfield, due to testimony of a McCoy, thus igniting the famous feud of the Hatfields and McCoys.
Many events followed that of the poor innocent porker, such as each on a different side of the Civil War, the romance between a Hatfield and a McCoy, the 1882 election, and the fight when three McCoys stabbed a Hatfield to death, setting the wheels in motion of the irreversible feud. This famous feud, lasting over 100 years, has never seen an equal in U.S. History to deadliness, duration, and desperateness of conflict. It started generations to fight for "The" name. One man who fought his way from a log cabin on a dirt farm to cooperate executive is Guy Hatfield, President and Owner of Hatfield Inn in Leitchfield, Ky.
Guy Hatfield is proud of his roots and has dedicated the Hatfield Inn Inc. in Leitchfield, Ky. to the memory of his ancestors, The Hatfields.