Hatfields & McCoys

The History Channel just finished the three part miniseries of Hatfields & McCoys on Wednesday.

I almost missed the miniseries. I was at my Mom's on Memorial Day and we were watching TV. A preview was shown for the Hatfields & McCoys during a commercial break. The preview looked really good, so I decided to record it.

Going into the miniseries, I really didn't know anything about the Hatfields & McCoys. The only thing I knew is that they didn't get along. The feud lasted from 1863-1891.

According to Wikipedia, the feud started when Jim Vance, the uncle of Devil Anse Hatfield, murdered Asa Harmon McCoy in 1865 because he joined the Union Army during the Civil War.

Another murder occurred in 1878 after a dispute over a hog. Floyd Hatfield had a hog in his possession that Randall McCoy said was his. McCoy believed the hog was his because of the notches on the hog's ears. This was taken to a Justice of the Peace, who was a Hatfield, and McCoy lost because of testimony of Bill Station. Station was a relative to the Hatfields and the McCoys. In June 1880, Station was murdered by two McCoy brothers. They were later acquitted, said it was self defense.

The fighting and killing between the two families went on for years. It finally slowed down after Ellison "Cottontop" Mounts was executed by hanging. Mounts killed Alifair McCoy as she was running away from her burning house during the New Years Massacre in 1888.

During the miniseries, I sided with the Hatfields. It seemed like Kevin Costner's character, Devil Anse, wanted the feud to stop. I don't know if that happened in real life, but it did make for a good story on The History Channel. Besdies Costner, Bill Paxton did an excellent job as Randall McCoy. It took me until Part 3 to recognize Tom Berenger as Jim Vance. The makeup department did a great job. The whole cast was fantastic. It was a great miniseries to watch. I will probably rent the DVD when it becomes available to watch this again.