Our nation is built upon a history of battles, fought over honor, family and power.
These bloody and iconic chapters, define what it truly means to be an American.
These are Blood Feuds.
In the backwoods of Appalachia, two families, the Hatfields and McCoys, are locked in an epic battle.
Told you I'd be paying you a visit.
This is one of the most violent episodes in American history.
Get away from her.
You had bitter, bitter rivalries between figures that we will never forget.
Narrator: It's the most notorious feud in U.S. history, the quintessential story of Americans taking justice into their own hands.
"Devil Anse" Hatfield will k*ll to protect his family from slander and att*ck.
I want to hear you beg for your life.
Randall McCoy is dead set on revenge for his kin who were m*rder*d in cold blood.
[g*nshots]
All of you Hatfields are a bunch of thieving K*llers.
Potter: They just become more and more violent and vicious.
The worst of human nature came out of these men.
Get off my brother.
Narrator: Born from deep divisions from the Civil w*r, this feud lives on in infamy as one of the bloodiest chapters in American history.
[Man grunting]
It's a w*r so savage that these two family names will be forever stained in blood.
Potter: This feud was so powerful, it just wouldn't go away.
McCoys, you're about to reap what you sow.
My name is Randall McCoy.
I'm a peaceable man.
But them Hatfields, they've been like a curse to us McCoys, going after me and my kin, k*lling my family.
By God, I'm here to stop them.
I'm Anderson Hatfield.
Folks call me "Devil Anse."
Seems like Randall McCoy blames us Hatfields for everything bad that happens.
Hell, we're just like everybody else.
And we'll do anything to protect our family from Randall McCoy.
Randall McCoy, you are surrounded.
You harm another member of my family, I'll k*ll you all.
[g*ns cock]
[g*nsh*t]
Narrator: The feud between the Hatfields and McCoys will span decades.
But the leaders of these two families, Anderson Hatfield and Randall McCoy, are said to have begun as friends.
Their story starts in the 1860s, during the Civil w*r, in Logan County of what becomes the state of West Virginia.
Officially a Union state in name, in practice, the region is deeply divided between north and South.
Nowhere else in the country did the social fabric get so torn as it did here.
Narrator: It's a seething cauldron of tensions, pitting neighbors against one another.
Warren: It wasn't unusual, especially in this area, to have brother against brother or cousin against cousin.
Narrator: Confederate Loyalists formed fierce guerrilla militias in the state's backwoods, determined to fight against the Union soldiers occupying their land.
And the most feared rebel militia is called the Logan Wildcats, led by a man named Anderson Hatfield, better known as "Devil Anse."
Richardson: There's several stories about the nickname Devil Anse Hatfield.
His mother said that he was so mean that even the Devil himself was afraid of him.
Like his Hatfield kin, Devil Anse was born and raised here, in the hills of West Virginia.
Elmer: From the time he was a young boy, he spent a lot of time in the mountains.
He hunted bear.
He was a first-class sh*t.
He could sh**t a squirrel's eyeballs out the top of a tall poplar.
Narrator: In 1864, after serving in the Confederate army, Devil Anse returns home to lead his backwoods rebel militia during the w*r's final years.
He was a leader of men.
Everybody just respected him and followed him.
If he said, "let's go," they got their g*ns and went.
Narrator: As the story goes, one day, the Wildcats are joined by a neighbor sympathetic to their cause, 38-year-old Randall McCoy.
McCoy lives just across the Tug Fork River in Kentucky.
He grew up in poverty, scratching out a meager living as a farmer.
Richardson: It's a very, very hard life.
He worked a very small piece of land in a very rugged area.
You have to respect what he was able to accomplish as just an everyday, normal guy.
Narrator: Randall is known for his faith, a God-fearing man with convictions of steel.
He was very, very different in personality than the Hatfields.
The Hatfields were a little bit more outgoing and loud and showy.
And Randall was a lot more reserved than that.
Narrator: Today, these two neighbors, Hatfield and McCoy, share a mission.
Richardson: There's a Union commander who's been making raids into West Virginia and k*lling Southern sympathizers.
And Devil Anse Hatfield was given the mission to hunt him down and k*ll him.
And he enlists Randall McCoy's help in locating this guy.
Narrator: Together, the experienced woodsmen track down their prey.
There he is.
Yankee slime.
Another one down.
Narrator: The mission is a success.
But the friendship between these two colleagues will soon be torn asunder.
The animosity begins with a McCoy who happens to be Randall's younger brother, Asa Harmon McCoy.
Unlike Randall, Asa joined the Union army, sparking resentment among many neighbors, especially the Hatfields.
One Hatfield, in particular, takes exception to Asa...
Devil Anse's uncle, Jim Vance.
He's a ferocious Logan wildcat with a propensity for v*olence so extreme, it earns him the nickname "Crazy Jim."
His eyes would actually twitch at certain points.
And that's how he got the name "Bad Jim" or "Crazy Jim" Vance.
Elmer: People say he was extremely mean-looking fellow.
Some people would even say he was a psychopath.
He enjoyed k*lling.
Narrator: When Vance hears that Asa has come home early from the w*r, discharged with a broken leg, it's said that he leads a mission to track Asa down, a man he considers a treacherous turncoat.
Potter: So Asa goes over the mountain and hides.
He was hoping it would all just die down.
Maybe he was waiting for his leg to heal.
I smell a Yankee.
Told you I'd be paying you a visit.
[g*nsh*t]
They just went up there and k*lled him.
That's not a fair fight.
I mean, you're wounded, can't go anywhere.
I've never sh*t a cr*pple before.
First time for everything.
[Spits]
Of course, there's no law here at the time.
So no one's brought up on charges.
Narrator: When Randall McCoy learns of the k*lling of his younger brother, he's filled with grief and rage.
A Hatfield has cruelly m*rder*d his brother, a defenseless man who was no longer a soldier.
But after four long years of w*r, the Bible-fearing Randall has no stomach for v*olence.
Gary: He had seen so much that he just didn't want to go there anymore.
And he promised to God that he would never k*ll anyone again or, you know, live that lifestyle.
Narrator: He chooses not to retaliate, but his anger festers.
There's a quote that goes around...
"God may forgive, but Randall McCoy, not so much."
Narrator: Bitter seeds have been planted that will grow into a vicious feud that will last for decades.
For the next 15 years, the McCoys and Hatfields keep their distance...
The McCoys in Kentucky, the Hatfields just across the Tug Fork River in West Virginia.
After the w*r, Randall McCoy spends the years busy with his farm and family, raising 16 children.
That day and time, you had a big family just so you can help out on the farm.
Narrator: Randall is especially fond of his daughter, Roseanna.
At 21, she's the apple of her father's eye.
Potter: Roseanna has been schooled so she's an intelligent, beautiful young lady.
Narrator: To Roseanna and the rest of his children, Randall passes down his dedication to the Bible and his simmering hatred of the Hatfield clan.
Richardson: If you're Randall McCoy and somebody kills your brother, you're never gonna forget that.
Narrator: Over the years, Randall's resentment grows, when, on their side of the river, the Hatfields thrive in ways that his family has not.
Since the end of the Civil w*r, the ambitious Devil Anse has found success in new ventures... selling timber and distilling moonshine.
Warren: Devil Anse just kind of sh*t off like a rocket.
Everything went right for him.
He met the right people.
He owned the right land.
He was one of the first entrepreneurs in this area.
Eventually, he made a fortune.
Warren: So I do think there was some jealousy there.
Narrator: Devil Anse and his wife are also raising their own brood of 13 children and teaching them to beware and resent the McCoys.
It's only a matter of time before the two families clash again.
You guys want a refill?
Spring 1880.
It's election day in Pike County, Kentucky, where the McCoy family lives.
In these parts, elections are festive occasions where folks gather from all over to gossip and drink.
And the Hatfields have come across the river from West Virginia to join the party and peddle their moonshine.
Richardson: Winters were long and hard.
And it was the first chance for everybody to socialize and have fun.
And the moonshine flowed freely.
Narrator: The gossip today is all about a recent legal squabble.
Several months earlier, Randall McCoy had accused the Hatfields of stealing some of his hogs and dragged them into court.
[Gavel bangs]
He lost the case and his hogs.
Although it's been 15 years since Jim Vance Hatfield allegedly k*lled Randall McCoy's brother, today, the feud between the families re-ignites.
Well, if it isn't Randall McCoy.
I hope you're keeping better track of your hogs these days.
[Laughter]
Warren: When you stole a pig, it wasn't that you were stealing some 50 cents that you found laying on the dresser.
You were taking food out of their family's mouths.
Narrator: The theft of Randall's hogs causes his years of pent-up animosity to explode straight to the surface.
All of you Hatfields are a bunch of thieving K*llers.
Haven't forgot what you did to my brother.
And if you aren't careful, you'll end up just like him.
Narrator: With tension at an all-time high, a w*r between the Hatfields and McCoys is about to break out, more violent than anyone can imagine.
Narrator: It's 1880, Pike County, Kentucky.
Well, if it isn't Randall McCoy.
Hostility between the Hatfields and McCoys has been building since the end of the Civil w*r.
Told you I'd be paying you a visit.
With tension brewing for 15 years, today, the feud escalates to a whole new level.
All of you Hatfields are a bunch of thieving K*llers.
Haven't forgotten what you did to my brother.
And if you aren't careful, you'll end up just like him.
You best get along now before you say something and get yourself in real trouble.
All right, boys. Take it easy.
Narrator: A rare peacemaker, Devil's brother, Ellison Hatfield, tries to keep it civil.
This is a day for gathering, not fighting.
Hey. Have yourself a drink, all right?
Narrator: The insults don't go unnoticed by Randall McCoy's sons.
We can't let them get away with stealing our pig.
Narrator: But there's more serious trouble brewing today from another member of Devil Anse's clan...
His oldest son, Johnse Hatfield.
Richardson: Johnse was only 18 at that time.
And he was a very impetuous person.
He was known to be a womanizer, what we would call today as a player.
He had girlfriends everywhere.
But he never dared cross the line to court any daughter of his family's mortal enemy...
Who's that pretty little thing?
... until now.
Bet them pies aren't as sweet as you are, Roseanna.
Johnse Hatfield, you mind your manners now.
Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss McCoy.
Now, that's more like it.
[Both laugh]
Randall sees his daughter, Roseanna McCoy, talking to Johnse Hatfield.
And, of course, that's a no-no.
Hey. Get away from her.
Narrator: Steeped in his father's hatred of the Hatfields, Randall's son, Tolbert, steps in.
What do you think you're doing, young lady?
Daddy, we weren't doing anything wrong.
He's a Hatfield.
I don't want you ever near that boy again.
Now, get.
Narrator: But, later in the day, the love struck Roseanna defies her father and makes a secret plan with Johnse.
Later on, they meet up again and sneak off in the woods.
Away from the prying eyes of their families, sparks fly.
After the couple spends a long afternoon alone in the woods, Johnse fears it's too risky to walk Roseanna home.
He might have been afraid to show up at Randall's door with his daughter after dark.
Potter: Johnse convinces her that a better idea is just to go home with him.
She could spend the night.
And then, he'll bring her back the next morning.
The two young lovers spend the night at the Hatfield home without the Hatfield patriarch's knowledge.
And by morning, Johnse's in love.
Richardson: So he spends one day with the daughter of his father's greatest enemy and decides he wants to marry her.
Narrator: Rumors travel fast in Logan County, and Randall quickly learns from neighbors where his missing daughter is and who she plans to marry.
When days turn into weeks, Randall sends an irate message to Roseanna demanding that she come home, or else he, reportedly, threatens to k*ll every Hatfield in West Virginia.
Potter: She has disobeyed him, and she's ruined the family name.
Warren: Devil Anse also was forbidding that Johnse marry her.
So that side wasn't happy with it either.
Narrator: Pushed to the brink of v*olence, the normally-God-fearing Randall McCoy is still unprepared for the final shock.
After learning that Johnse has been stepping out with other women and has no intention of marrying her, Roseanna returns home months later with disturbing news...
She's pregnant.
Back then, it was a terrible thing for a girl to get pregnant out of wedlock.
Narrator: Heartbroken, Randall banishes Roseanna from home and vows to never speak to his beloved daughter again.
For years, Randall McCoy's sons have witnessed their father's humiliation at the hands of the Hatfields and watched him turn the other cheek because of his vow to God.
But for the young McCoy boys, this latest act of betrayal by a Hatfield is the final straw.
So two McCoy brothers, Tolbert and Jim, hatch a plot for revenge.
The McCoys know that there is a warrant out for Johnse Hatfield in Kentucky for selling illegal moonshine.
Gary: So they go out in search of Johnse.
Narrator: The plan is to take the man who dishonored their sister to jail in Pikeville nearby.
But that's not all they have in store.
For the McCoy boys, their father's fury is now their own.
Johnse, don't move.
Put it down.
And they don't share Randall's aversion to blood.
[Grunts]
Give him one, Tolbert.
After meting out their own justice, all that's left is to bring Johnse to the sheriff to be arrested...
Or so the McCoy brothers think.
Get up.
When Roseanna learns of her brothers' plan to capture and turn Johnse over to the law, she's terrified.
Roseanna's afraid that they're gonna get him out in the woods and k*ll him.
Narrator: Roseanna runs straight to the one person she believes has any hope of saving Johnse...
Devil Anse Hatfield.
Richardson: So at 8 months pregnant, she gets on the back of a horse and rides to try to get Anse to come and rescue Johnse.
Narrator: Once informed of the McCoy brothers' plot, Devil wastes no time gathering his men.
As the McCoy brothers are making their way over the hills to the sheriff in Pikeville, they're surprised by an armed Hatfield posse on the horizon.
Evening, boys.
Best hold it there.
Where do you think you're going with Johnse?
Man: Warrant's out for his arrest, Anse.
We're bringing him into justice.
Narrator: It only takes a moment for the young McCoys to see how far outgunned they are.
You ain't taking him nowhere.
Get on your knees.
I want to hear you beg for your life.
Man: [Laughs] Looky here.
This one pissed his pants.
[Laughing]
I bow down to God.
I'm not gonna bow down to no damn Hatfield.
Can we k*ll them?
Looks like today's your lucky day, boys, on account of I'm feeling mighty generous tonight.
But don't you ride around here alone in these parts anymore, boys.
Get up. Get up.
Narrator: When their father, Randall McCoy, hears what happened to his boys, his heartache over Roseanna quickly turns to rage.
The hatfields' insults to his family keep mounting...
His brother's m*rder, the theft of his property, his pregnant daughter, and, now, the humiliation of his sons.
I want to hear you beg for you life.
For the McCoys, the time for vengeance has come.
But it will come with a horrible price.
You really see the v*olence pick up after this.
[Grunting]
Get off my brother!
An evil was unleashed.
Narrator: It's the early 1880s.
Along the border of Kentucky and West Virginia, the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys continues to escalate.
Randall McCoy is seething after his sons tried to arrest and serve an outstanding warrant on Johnse Hatfield in retaliation for defiling his daughter, only to have the boys humiliated by his Nemesis, Devil Anse Hatfield.
I want to hear you beg for your life.
Johnse Hatfield goes free.
And the wrath Randall and his sons feel is a powder keg about to explode.
August 1882.
It's time, again, for local elections in Pike County, Kentucky.
And Tolbert McCoy is still fuming from his recent run-in with the Hatfields...
Looky here. This one pissed his pants.
Narrator: ... And is hell-bent on revenge.
Potter: Some people warned the Hatfields, "don't go over there. There's all this trouble going on. The McCoys will be there. You shouldn't do this."
Narrator: The Hatfields don't listen.
Tolbert hits the moonshine.
And the more he drinks, the angrier he gets.
Richardson: When Tolbert comes to this election, he's spoiling for a fight.
Narrator: Before long, he finds a Hatfield target, a cousin of Devil Anse, and accuses him of reneging on a debt.
You owe me money, you filthy Hatfield.
I paid you your money, and you know it, you damned lair.
As words fly, Devil Anse's brother, Ellison Hatfield, steps in and tries to break up the fight.
Don't you call me a liar.
That's enough. Break it up. Settle down.
Tolbert's really full of himself.
He's all excited, pumped full of adrenaline.
Boy, I've never seen anyone more eager to get his ass whupped than you.
Narrator: Ellison is beloved in the Hatfield family, a gentle giant who's known for always trying to keep the peace.
But Tolbert McCoy won't back down.
Well, hell, I can whup any man here.
You're a damn [Bleep] hog.
What? You want to fight somebody?
Fight me.
But with Ellison's superior size, it's less a fight than a thrashing.
That fight turned really nasty.
Narrator: Tolbert's younger brothers, Bud and Pharmer, quickly jump in to help their brother.
Stop. Stop! Get...
[Grunting, shouting]
Potter: Ellison's still much stronger and just knocks them out of the way.
Narrator: Today, after so many years of coming up short, one McCoy isn't gonna let a Hatfield win.
Suddenly, Bud, the youngest boy, jumps in and starts stabbing Ellison.
Get off!
Narrator: Bud can't be stopped.
It's as if each pierce into Ellison's flesh acts to right every Hatfield wrong.
Ellison was holding up his arm to protect himself.
And the Kn*fe stabs were just coming again and again and again.
[All shouting]
Narrator: Ellison realizes he's now fighting for his life.
Get off me.
Ellison grabs a rock.
And he's getting ready to basically k*ll Tolbert.
He's gonna hit him in the head with it and k*ll him.
Narrator: At that moment, 19-year-old Pharmer McCoy grabs a g*n out of the holster of someone standing in the crowd.
He does what any other brother would do for their brother.
Get off my brother!
Aah!
[Groans]
Richardson: Pharmer sh**t Ellison in the back.
[Groaning]
It still doesn't k*ll him.
But it puts him down for the count.
Narrator: Years previously, Randall McCoy has always turned his back on v*olence.
Now, his sons are soaked in Hatfield blood.
Bystanders grab the three McCoy brothers, Tolbert, Bud, and Pharmer, and place them under arrest.
Ellison is in bad shape.
He's rushed home, where his family tends to his wounds.
When Devil Anse visits, he's shattered.
Enraged, he vows to take the feud to unprecedented levels of vengeance.
The three McCoy brothers involved are now en route to the sheriff in Kentucky.
But the Hatfields want blood.
Richardson: They decide to take justice into their own hands.
Anse decides that he's gonna take those boys and mete out justice himself.
Narrator: Devil Anse gathers a group of armed men to chase down the posse taking the McCoy brothers in.
And several hours later, they close in on their prey.
Accosting the group at gunpoint...
Anse: Best hold it there.
Devil demands that the three brothers be handed over.
The McCoy boys are his prisoners now.
Warren: After the boys are captured, he takes them to an abandoned schoolhouse on the West Virginia side of the river to hold them.
What are you gonna do with us, Anse?
Anse: I'll tell you.
My brother lives, I'll turn you over to the law.
But if he dies, I swear to God, you'll all die too.
Narrator: Within a day, both families find out about the ultimatum and where the McCoy boys are being held.
Ma.
Sarah McCoy, Randall's wife, rides to Devil Anse to plead for the lives of her sons.
Anse, I'm begging you.
Let my boys go.
Take them back to Kentucky.
They can stand trial.
You needn't beg, and you needn't cry.
I promise you, I will bring them back to Kentucky.
I will do that.
Man: Now, shut up and get, woman, or I'll sh**t them boys as full of holes as a sifter bottom.
I love you, boys.
Why'd you say you'd bring them back to Kentucky?
Well, I never said I'd bring them back alive.
[Both laughing]
Narrator: The feud has pushed both Hatfields and McCoys past the point of reason.
Get off my brother!
Only vengeance guides them now.
Three lives hang in the balance, and the clock is about to run out.
Narrator: It's 1882 in Logan County, West Virginia.
Devil Anse Hatfield is holding three McCoy brothers hostage after they stabbed and sh*t his own brother, Ellison.
Get off my brother!
Devil has made a frightening proclamation to his prisoners.
If my brother dies, I swear to God, you'll all die too.
Narrator: After a day of waiting, finally, a messenger arrives for Devil with news on Ellison Hatfield.
Ellison lived for 2 days after the stabbings and being sh*t in the back.
Richardson: But, eventually, he dies.
And the three McCoy boys know that this is gonna be the end for them.
Get up, you son of a bitch.
Narrator: Devil Anse and Crazy Jim have thought through the execution in chilling detail.
Rather than k*ll the boys in West Virginia, where the Hatfields live, they take the McCoys to Kentucky, where extradition will be difficult.
Warren: The boys are distraught.
Tears are flying.
They realize they are going to die today.
[All whimpering]
We're gonna do this like we done during the w*r to deserters, traitors, and Yankees.
Line up.
Raise your r*fles.
McCoys, it's time for you to make your peace with God.
You're about to reap what you sow.
[Whimpering]
Warren: They start begging and pleading for their lives.
But the Hatfields were having no part of it.
Please, don't do it.
[Whimpers]
Gary: It's a f*ring squad. They just execute them.
[g*ns cock]
[g*nshots]
[All groaning]
Richardson: There were 40 b*ll*ts found in their bodies.
So it was a very, very vicious, violent execution.
Narrator: With the brutal m*rder of these three young McCoy brothers, any hope for an end to this feud is long gone.
Richardson: One of Randall McCoy's friends came and took the bodies back to Randall so he could see his boys.
And there's a famous photograph that's, supposedly, the three boys lying on a porch.
Randall had so many bad things happen to him at this point.
This must've been just a gut blow for him.
Narrator: More than a gut blow, this is his breaking point.
He knows he needs to end this feud once and for all.
At this point, Randall McCoy's like, "I'm not gonna back down from this. Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do."
Narrator: But he doesn't want blood atonement.
He wants justice.
He wants anyone remotely related to the execution of his sons to be put in jail and justice to be served.
Randall is a man that is obsessed.
He's not gonna stop until he gets the indictments for these Hatfields.
Narrator: Week after week, Randall travels the 30 miles into Pikeville to plead his case to authorities.
Soon, arrest warrants are issued in Pike County.
But Devil Anse isn't worried.
Richardson: Devil Anse knew that if he m*rder*d these boys in Kentucky and he went back to West Virginia that the law enforcement officials could not cross into West Virginia without an order of extradition from the governor.
Narrator: And the powerful Devil Anse has the West Virginia governor in his pocket.
He won't help Randall McCoy.
So Randall's efforts to try to bring Anse to justice were thwarted by that.
Narrator: But Randall doesn't give up.
He gets $100 bounties offered for the capture of each wanted Hatfield.
Soon, bounty hunters pour into West Virginia.
Richardson: The Hatfields went into hiding deep into the woods.
But none of the Hatfields were ever captured or k*lled by any of these bounty hunters.
Narrator: For five long years, Randall sees no justice until, in 1887, frustrated and near the end of his rope, luck shines upon him when a sympathetic candidate, Simon Buckner, runs for governor of Kentucky.
The McCoys approach him with a deal.
Potter: They say, "we can deliver votes for you, but we want to see these Hatfields indicted.
We want to see them extradited."
So the gubernatorial candidate agrees.
Narrator: Once he's in office, Governor Buckner increases the bounties to $500 a head and appoints a special deputy whose mission is to round up the culprits.
The Hatfields feel the pressure.
They're being arrested.
Several of them are captured.
And so they're not happy about this.
Narrator: After months of being on the run, Devil Anse calls the Hatfield clan together for a w*r council.
About tired of crawling around out here in these woods like a dog.
Narrator: Devil Anse knows that it's Randall McCoy who's behind it all.
And it's Randall McCoy's testimony that could send him to the gallows.
We need to get that son of a bitch Randall.
The group decides to end the feud once and for all...
I say we go in there, boys, and we just cut the head off the snake.
... by getting rid of Randall McCoy.
Problem solved, and no trials.
Narrator: January 1, 1888, a Hatfield raiding party, led by Crazy Jim Vance, crosses the river into Kentucky to Randall McCoy's cabin.
Boys, wait for my order.
Inside, Randall, his wife Sarah, and their children are all peacefully sleeping until the stillness is broken.
Randall McCoy, you are surrounded.
Come on out and face your fate.
Randall McCoy, I'm talking to you.
Narrator: Randall recognizes that voice.
It's Jim Vance, the man who m*rder*d his sons and allegedly k*lled his brother, Asa, years earlier.
If you come out now, no terror shall befall your family.
Why are they here, pa?
Calvin: What should we do?
Alifair, go to your mother.
Calvin, load up.
Narrator: Randall McCoy is not about to give himself up to the Hatfields and leave his family at their mercy.
I don't think they're coming out, Uncle Jim.
Damn it to hell.
You Hatfields get away from my home and leave us alone.
Potter: The Hatfields realize that with McCoys inside this thick-walled cabin that they're not gonna win just sitting there, sh**ting into the cabin.
We're gonna have to smoke 'em out.
All right, Randall.
You had your chance.
Boys, fire it up.
Narrator: Once ablaze, the fire quickly spreads to the interior.
[Coughing]
Warren: And everyone in the cabin is frantically trying to put the fire out.
And there's smoke filling everywhere and people running around.
It looks like a w*r zone.
I'll get more water, Ma.
There is no more water.
Narrator: The McCoy family must now choose whether to burn to death or face the armed posse outside.
But Randall McCoy isn't ready to give up just yet.
Randall: You harm another member of my family, I'll k*ll you all.
Narrator: And this night of horror, fueled by over 20 years of hatred, bloodlust, and animosity, will mark a chilling end to the feud.
Narrator: On new year's morning, 1888, a Hatfield raiding party, led by Crazy Jim Vance, has crossed into Kentucky to capture their rival, Randall McCoy, at his family home.
All right, boys. Light up them torches.
Fire it up.
Inside their burning home, the McCoy family desperately attempts to put out the fire.
Randall and his son, 16-year-old Calvin, move to the windows to try and determine how many men they're up against.
And for the first time since his vow to God, Randall prepares to k*ll.
You harm another member of my family, I'll k*ll you all.
At the back of the house, his daughter, Alifair, makes a run for the well outside to fetch water to extinguish the blaze.
One of the Hatfields has her in his sights.
He just blows her away instantly.
And she drops dead there, right at his feet.
[Crying] Alifair! Oh, no!
Her mother runs out to see if Alifair's okay.
And as she comes out, Jim Vance takes his p*stol and just beats her senseless in the back of the head.
Narrator: Inside, Randall doesn't realize what has happened to his daughter and wife.
He and his son hatch a desperate plan to make a run for it.
Take two pistols. I'll cover you.
Run out the front.
[Both coughing]
What about you?
After you're away, I'll run out the back.
[Both coughing]
Narrator: As Calvin bolts from the cabin, he is spotted by the raiding party.
And he gets almost to the edge of the cornfield.
And a very good sh*t catches him right in the back of the head, and he drops dead.
[Coughing]
Randall thinks Calvin got away, so he goes the other direction, and he does get away.
Narrator: Eventually, the Hatfields realize that Randall has escaped.
With two young McCoy children k*lled and their mother brutally beaten, the night has been violent beyond all comprehension.
As word of the tragedy spreads, the public is shocked and horrified.
The new year's raid was cold-blooded m*rder, k*lling women and children.
The feud catches national news.
Narrator: The public demands the West Virginia and Kentucky governments step in and capture the guilty Hatfields responsible for so much m*rder and mayhem and bring an end to the terrible feud.
Warren: The common citizens were putting pressure on the governor to stop these two families from going at each other.
Narrator: Tension mounts, and both states even ready their militias.
Potter: So at this point in time, they're thinking, "we're gonna have a w*r between two states."
Narrator: Finally, after years of trying to bring the Hatfields to justice, in April 1888, the Supreme Court rules that the prisoners, even if seized illegally, could be tried once they were detained in the state where the crimes were committed.
Eventually, posses round up the guilty Hatfields and bring them back to Kentucky to stand trial.
Those who resist are k*lled.
Crazy Jim Vance is cornered and sh*t dead by a posse that includes the sons of Asa McCoy.
So Asa Harmon's children eventually got their revenge.
Narrator: A total of nine other Hatfields are arrested in connection with the bloody feud.
Among them is Devil's son Johnse, who serves time in a Kentucky prison.
Only one is given the death sentence.
Cotton top, Devil Anse's nephew, is hanged for the m*rder of Randall's daughter, Alifair.
After everything that's happened, justice served against the Hatfields provides little solace for the devastated McCoy family.
Randall's wife, Sarah, is permanently disabled from the brutal as*ault she endured.
Potter: Sarah lives for about 12 more years after this injury, but she never fully recovers.
Narrator: Roseanna, whose affair with Johnse sparked so much tragedy, suffers the loss of her illegitimate child and remains wracked by guilt.
Richardson: Roseanna crawls into her own sickbed, pines away, and dies at 29 years of age.
We don't know what k*lled her.
But the family says that she d*ed of a broken heart.
Narrator: As for Randall McCoy, he is tormented by grief and anguish until his dying day in 1914 at the age of 89.
Richardson: He's lost half his family.
And he's a broken man.
He spends the rest of his life bemoaning what life has dealt him.
Narrator: The one man never held to account for his part in the feud is Devil Anse Hatfield.
He escapes from the law by fleeing the valley and settles in one of the most remote spots in the state.
Devil Anse finally dies in 1921, 7 years after his one-time friend and longtime enemy, Randall McCoy.
Even after both men pass, the blood feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys remains an infamous chapter, forever ingrained in American history.
Potter: When people take justice in their own hands, evil is unleashed.
And it was a terrible evil that was unleashed here.
You have a Hatfield and a McCoy in the same room, you don't talk about the feud.
They got their version, and the McCoys got their version.
And you got to just leave it at that.
The Hatfields and McCoys are synonymous with the word feud.
This is one of the most fascinating chapters in American history.
And these are characters that we will never forget.