Devil Anse Hatfield
Encyclopedia
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of the Hatfield clan in the infamous Hatfield–McCoy feud which has since formed a part of American folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. Devil Anse himself survived the feud, and agreed to end the feud in 1891.
Hatfield was born in Logan, West Virginia
Logan, West Virginia
Logan is a city in Logan County, West Virginia, United States, along the Guyandotte River. The population was 1,779 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Logan County.-History:...
, the son of Ephraim Hatfield and Nancy Vance. He ran a logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
operation, which accrued much wealth for his extended family.
A southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
sympathizer, Hatfield formed a Confederate guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
fighting unit during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
that he named "The Logan Wildcats." In 1865, he was suspected of having been involved in the murder of his rival Asa Harmon McCoy, who had fought for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
and was waylaid by "The Logan Wildcats" on his return home. Hatfield had been home ill at the time of the killing, which was most likely committed at the instigation of his uncle, Jim Vance. This sparked the beginning of the notorious feud between the two families which would claim many lives on both sides.
He died at the age of 81 and is buried in the Hatfield Family Cemetery
Hatfield Cemetery (Sarah Ann, West Virginia)
Hatfield Cemetery is a historic cemetery located near Sarah Ann, Logan County, West Virginia. The earliest burial dates to 1898, and is the grave of Captain S. Hatfeld . The cemetery features the grave and monument with a life-size statues of Captain Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield, erected in 1926...
along West Virginia Route 44 in southern Logan County
Logan County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile . There were 16,807 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
. His grave is topped by a marble statue of himself.