Blood Feud: The Epic Story of Murder and Vengeance

By: Lisa Alther and Martha Kaplan

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Synopsis: America's most notorious family feud began in 1865 with the murder of a Union McCoy soldier by a Confederate Hatfield relative. More than a decade later Randall McCoy accused a Hatfield of stealing his hogs. This accusation triggered years of violence and retribution, including a Romeo-and-Juliet interlude that led to the death of a young McCoy woman and her baby. In a drunken brawl, three of her brothers killed a Hatfield, so the Hatfields tied them up and shot them dead. McCoy posses hijacked some of this firing squad across state lines to stand trial, while those still free burned down Randal McCoy's cabin and shot two of his children in a botched attempt to defeat the posses. Legal wrangling ensued, until the Supreme Court ruled that Kentucky could try the captured West Virginian Hatfields. Seven went to prison, and one, mentally disabled, yelled, "The Hatfields made me do it!" as he was hanged. But the feud didn't end there. Its legend continues to have an enormous impact on the popular imagination and the region. Here is a fascinating new look at the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud.