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Mrs. Rich

English Honors 1/2

15 Sept. 2009
McCoy Brothers Captured After Brawl

August 29, 1882

PIKEVILLE, Kent. – “People hereabouts…will always mark Election Day of 1882 as the

time of the Big Trouble” (143), according to nine-year-old Fanny McCoy, and it’s hard to

disagree with her. Tensions run high on election days, with Hatfields and McCoys all gathered

together. All it took was a few offhand remarks to turn uneasy peace to brutal hostility. Tolbert

McCoy had been dancing, when Elias Hatfield reportedly taunted him. There was some short

banter, and suddenly the two were rolling around the dance platform. Ellison Hatfield came to

Elias’s aid, and Tolbert drew a knife. One of Tolbert’s brothers then entered the fray, drawing a

knife of his own. There is some dispute over which brother it was, Bud or Bill. Whoever it was,

together with Tolbert he slashed Ellison more than a few times, to say the least. One witness

described him as being “cut up like a hog on butchering day” (146). Somehow, he kept going,

swinging at Tolbert and knocking him flat. Ellison had picked up a log, and was about to land a

well-aimed blow to Tolbert’s head. Before he could, however, the oldest of all the McCoy

brothers, Pharmer McCoy, stepped out of the crowd and fired his Smith and Wesson. Ellison

Hatfield was gravely wounded, and lost a lot of blood. What had started out as a fistfight

between two young men quickly escalated into a violent bloodbath. More than six people from

both families were involved. In the aftermath, Tolbert, Pharmer, and Bud McCoy were arrested.

This was despite Bud’s denial of involvement, and with his identical twin brother Bill claiming

responsibility.
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The three McCoy brothers were to be taken to the Pikeville Jail. Jim McCoy, who is also

a brother of the three, describes best what happened next. “Never got to Pikeville. About forty

Hatfields rode up…and took ‘em off. Out-gunned us” (151). Jim also said that Ellison’s brother,

Anse Hatfield, plans to keep them until the severity of Ellison’s injuries are known. Anse is

believed to be holding them in a log schoolhouse in West Vriginia, beside Tug Creek. The boys’

mother, Sarah McCoy, has supposedly made Anse promise that he will not kill his captives. It

was a promise worth making for the McCoy brothers, and it may have saved their lives. Sources

close to Ellison suggest that he will not live out the night. If Ellison dies, Anse claims that he

will “escort ‘em back to Kentucky, to the jail…[he just wants] to make sure they don’t escape

between now and then” (154). Many may find this doubtful, considering his violent outburst

directly following the shooting, and his mistrust of the government’s judicial system. Whether he

is telling the truth, or whether he already considers their deaths an inevitable consequence of

hurting his brother, only time will tell. No matter which family anyone sides with, the Hatfields

or the McCoys, it cannot be denied that violence will only lead to more violence. There has been

enough death already. Aren’t we civilized folk? Let us all hope for a peaceful resolution.