Feuds in the United States deals with the phenomena of historic blood feuding in the United States. These feuds have been numerous and some became quite vicious. Often, a conflict which may have started out as a rivalry between two individuals or families became further escalated into a clan-wide feud or a range war, involving dozens—or even hundreds—of participants. Below are listed some of the most notable blood feuds in United States history, most of which occurred in the Old West.
Early–Hasley
A family feud that took place immediately following the American Civil War, in Bell County, Texas, from 1865 to 1869, the Early and Hasley families and their allies found themselves extending the ideological battle of that recent conflict.
John Early, a supporter of the federal officials then occupying Texas, was an early member of the Texas Home Guard. He was having repeated run-ins with Drew Hasley, an older local citizen who had been a staunch supporter of the Confederacy. When Hasley's son, Samuel, returned from service in the war, he became active in the conflict with Early, escalating the feud. When the younger Hasley brought a local outlaw, Jim McRae, into the fight, Early sought federal troop intervention, which was granted. On July 30, 1869, McRae was ambushed and killed. Calvin Clark, an Early ally, was gunned down shortly afterward in Arkansas. The Hasley supporters soon disbanded and the feud faded.
Hatfield–McCoy
Perhaps the most infamous feud in the history of the U.S., the Hatfield–McCoy conflict is an iconic and legendary event in American folklore. The Hatfields, of West Virginia, were led by William Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield. The McCoys, of Kentucky, were under the leadership of Randolph "Ole Ran’l" McCoy.
The feud began after the killing of Asa Harmon McCoy, an ex-Union soldier, who was gunned down on January 7, 1865, while hiding in a cave. McCoy died at the hands of a group of Hatfield allies, and Confederate irregulars (named the "Logan Wildcats"), who had tracked him to his hiding place. The conflict was renewed 13 years later when two McCoy family members killed a witness who was related to both families, and who had testified against them in a court case involving ownership of a stray pig.
The simmering feud escalated soon afterward, when Roseanna McCoy began a courtship with Johnson "Johnse" Hatfield, Devil Anse's son. Roseanna left her family to live with the Hatfields in West Virginia. In 1881, when Johnse abandoned the pregnant Roseanna, marrying her cousin instead, the bitterness between the two families grew. In 1882, Ellison Hatfield, brother of Devil Anse Hatfield, was killed in an election-day dispute by three of Roseanna's brothers, who themselves were killed by a Hatfield-led mob while in the custody of the law.
Between 1880 and 1891, the feud claimed more than a dozen members of the two families, becoming headline news around the country.
The feud reached its peak during the so-called 1888 New Years Night Massacre. Several of the Hatfield gang surrounded the McCoy cabin and opened fire on the sleeping family. The cabin was set on fire in an effort to drive Randolph McCoy into the open. He escaped by making a break, but two of his children were murdered, and his wife was beaten and left for dead.
In 1888, Wall Hatfield and eight others were arrested and ordered to stand trial for the New Years Night murders. Seven received life imprisonment, while the eighth, Ellison "Cottontop" Mounts, was executed by hanging. Fighting between the families eased following the hanging of Mounts. Trials, however, continued for several years, with the trial of Johnse Hatfield the last, in 1901.
Lee–Peacock The Lee–Peacock feud took place in the four-corners area of the Texas counties of Fannin, Grayson, Collin, and Hunt. It became a local, four-year extension of the American Civil War - lasting from 1867 to 1871 - in which an estimated 50 men died.
When the war broke out, a resident of the area, Bob Lee, immediately joined the Confederate Army, leaving his wife, three children, and his home in the care of his father Daniel. Near the end of the war, word reached Lee that a Union sympathizer, Lewis Peacock, had set up an organization in his home which was actively working for the protection of blacks and Union sympathizers. This was the "Union League", in Pilot Grove, Texas, less than seven miles from Lee's home. By the time that Lee and other ex-Confederate soldiers of the area returned to their homes in northeast Texas, the region was already roiling in conflict, as most area residents resented the intrusion of the Reconstruction soldiers stationed throughout the state.
Lee's doctor was murdered by Hugh Hudson, another Peacock sympathizer, and the feud immediately escalated. Hudson, the doctor's killer, was himself quickly killed, as were other combatants. Many were wounded, including Peacock. By the summer of 1868, the conflict had become so heated that Peacock requested help from the federal government, which promptly posted a $1,000 reward for Bob Lee's capture. The U.S. Cavalry, acting on a tip from an informant, shot Lee down on May 24, 1869; however, the fighting still continued. It was not until Lewis Peacock was himself killed, on June 13, 1871, that the feud ended.
Sutton–Taylor
This notorious range war began as a county law enforcement issue between the Taylor family, headed by Pitkin Taylor, brother of Creed Taylor, a renowned Texas Ranger, and local lawman William E. Sutton, a former Confederate soldier, who had moved with his family to DeWitt County, Texas, originally intending to simply raise cattle. The feud, which lasted a decade and cost at least 35 lives, has been called the longest and bloodiest in Texas history. It eventually involved the Texas State Police, the Texas Rangers, and the outlaw John Wesley Hardin.
Sutton had become a deputy sheriff in Clinton, Texas, and on March 25, 1868, he shot and killed a Taylor kinsman, Charley Taylor, whom he was trying to arrest for horse theft. The following Christmas Eve, Sutton killed Buck Taylor and Dick Chisholm in a saloon in Clinton, after an argument regarding the sale of some horses. On August 23, 1869, the Sutton faction was suspected of the ambush and killing of Jack Hays Taylor.
In July 1870, Sutton was appointed to the state police force, serving under Captain Jack Helm (sometimes Helms). The police force was tasked with enforcing the "Reconstruction" policies of the federal government, but operated with somewhat of a free-hand, and more often than not returned with wanted suspects dead.
On August 26, 1870, the Suttons were allegedly sent to arrest Henry and his brother William Kelly, who were both related by marriage to Pitkin Taylor, on a trivial charge. However, rather than arresting the men, the Suttons shot the Kellys. Due to his handling of the affair, Helm was dismissed from the state police force, though cleared of any wrongdoing.
Pitkin Taylor was murdered in 1872 by Sutton supporters and was succeeded as head of the family by his son Jim Taylor, who vowed revenge on Sutton.
John Wesley Hardin joins the feud In early 1872, on-the-run outlaw John Wesley Hardin joined his cousin, Mannen Clements, in neighboring Gonzales County, Texas. There, Clements and his brothers were active in the cattle rustling or herding business working for Taylor family friends.
On May 15, 1873, Sutton family allies Jim Cox and Jake Christman were killed by the Taylor faction during a gunfight at Tomlinson Creek. Hardin later admitted that there were reports that he had led the fight in which these two men were killed, but would neither confirm nor deny his involvement.
Two days later, in May 17, 1873, gunfight, Hardin killed Dewitt County deputy sheriff, J.B. Morgan—serving under Helm, who was now sheriff of DeWitt County. Hardin played a part in the assassination later that same day of Sheriff Helm in Albuquerque, Texas. Hardin, Helm and Sam McCracken Jr. were gathered together talking in front of a blacksmith shop. Helm was unarmed, having left his revolvers at Mrs. McCracken's boarding house, where he was then residing. Jim Taylor advanced on Helm from behind and attempted to discharge his revolver, but it misfired. As Helm turned, Taylor fired again, this time striking Helm in the chest. Helm rushed Taylor with the intent to grapple with him, but Hardin discharged a double barrel shotgun, shattering Helm's arm. As Helm attempted to flee into the blacksmith shop, Hardin held townspeople at gunpoint while Taylor unloaded the remaining five bullets from his revolver into him. As Hardin and Taylor mounted their horses and prepared to ride away, they boasted that they had accomplished what they had come to do. The next night, Hardin and other Taylor supporters surrounded the ranch house of Sutton family ally, Joe Tumlinson. A shouted truce was arranged and both sides signed a peace treaty in Clinton, Texas. However, within a year, violence once again broke out between the two sides.
The feud reached its apex when Jim and his cousin Billy Taylor gunned down William Sutton and a friend, Gabriel Slaughter, as they waited on a steamboat platform, in Indianola, Texas, on March 11, 1874. Tired of the feud, Sutton had been planning to leave the area for good. In retaliation, the Sutton faction caught and lynched three of the Taylor group, on June 22, 1874. After this, the fighting continued, though with much less frequency. Jim Taylor was killed January 1, 1875. On November 17, 1875, Reuben H. Brown, the new leader of the Suttons and ex-marshal of Cuero, Texas, was shot down in the Exchange Saloon by Hardin, his last known action in the feud.
In October 1876, after another outbreak of violence, Texas Ranger, Captain Jesse Lee Hall, led a force into Cuero, Texas, to break up the feud for good. By January 1877, he and his supporting troop had put an end to the conflict.
Ramsey–Tuggle The feud between the Ramsey family and the Tuggle family in northwest Louisiana's Claiborne Parish in the early 1890s left at least a dozen dead by gunfire. Most of the killings were from ambush.
Horrell–Higgins
The Horrell and Higgins families had both settled in the Lampasas County, Texas area several years before the American Civil War. By all accounts, the two families got along well for over a decade. However, by the early 1870s, the five 'Horrell boys': Mart, Tom, Merritt, Ben and Sam had been involved in numerous lawless activities. In January 1873, Lampasas County Sheriff, Shadrick T. Denson, attempted to arrest two brothers, Wash and Mark Short, who were friends of the Horrell family. Intervention by the Horrell brothers resulted in a gunfight in which Sheriff Denson was shot and killed. A county judge appealed to Texas Governor, Edmund J. Davis, for help. The Texas State Police dispatched a number of lawmen to the area to maintain order.
On March 14, 1873, state officers Wesley Cherry, Jim Daniels, and Andrew Melville arrested Bill Bowen, a brother-in-law to the Horrell brothers, for carrying a firearm (which Governor Davis had recently outlawed in the area). The officers then entered Jerry Scott's Saloon with Bowen in tow. After a verbal exchange with the Horrell brothers, who had been inside the saloon, a gunfight ensued. Four of the officers were killed, including Capt. Williams. Williams had managed to shoot and badly wound Mart Horrell, and his brother, Tom Horrell, was also among the wounded. Following the gunfight, more state police were sent to the county. Mart Horrell and three friends were arrested and taken to the Georgetown, Texas jail. However, a large crowd of Horrell family friends broke into the jail and freed them.