The infamous murderous feud between the Hatfields and McCoys families has taken a slight new twist as real-life descendants wage a war of bitter words 150 years later.
What started as a war in the late 19th century, tinged with violence, marriage and betrayal in the foothills of the Appalachians, has culminated in shouting in bars and claims of harassment and stalking in a new series of their Fox Nation- show.
McCoy descendant Courtney McCoy DeProspero and her husband, Derek, are series regulars and appeared in Fox & Friends Tuesday to promote the second season of “The Real Hatfields & McCoys: Forever Feuding.”
While the feud has taken a modern-day turn – ditching guns and arson in favor of sarcastic jokes and corporate one-upmanship – Courtney and Derek insisted the rivalry is “real.”
“Looks like we can’t escape them,” Courtney exclaimed.
Derek DeProspero, left, and Courtney McCoy DeProspero, right, appeared on Fox & Friends to promote the second season of ‘The Real Hatfields & McCoys: Forever Feuding’
Pictured: the Hatfields starring in the reality show. From left to right (Chad Bishop, married couple Chris Hatfield and Casandra née McCoy, and Amber Hatfield Bishop, who is married to Chad)
The bloody history of the decades-long dispute, which has also been memorialized in a miniseries starring Kevin Costner, dates back to the Civil War.
The dividing line between the families was the Tug River Valley most Hatfields live on the West Virginia side and the majority of the McCoys settled further west in Kentucky.
Most of the male members of each family fought for the Confederacy, with the exception of Asa Harmon McCoy, who joined the Union forces.
The Logan Wildcats, a Confederate militia led by family patriarch William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, reportedly shot Asa while returning from the war January 7, 1865.
Although no one was ever prosecuted for the murder, the feud didn’t really begin until years later when a Hatfield was accused of stealing a pig from Randall McCoy, who would become Devil Anse’s arch-enemy.
This would kick off decades of revenge killings that claimed many lives, with historians offering a range of victims from as few as a dozen to as many as 60.
Kevin Costner (center) as ‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield in the 2012 series ‘Hatfields & McCoys’
A group photo of the Hatfields circa 1899 in front of their West Virginia home
This map shows roughly where the skirmishes between the Hatfields and the McCoys took place. The Hatfields lived mainly east of the Tug Fork River, while the McCoys lived mainly west of it
In one of the most horrific clashes, the Hatfields burned down a McCoy cabin in an attempt to drive them out. Two of Randall McCoy’s children were shot dead as they tried to escape the flames, while his wife, Sarah, was knocked down and left with a crushed skull.
Today, the troubles between the families are decidedly less violent and more focused on outdoing each other in business, whether it’s crashing the grand openings of their respective restaurants or racing to build shelters along the popular off-road trails of Hatfield-McCoy.
“You’re going to see our issues with the Hatfields, what they did to us, how they tried to stunt our growth, keep us from moving,” Courtney said, adding, “They don’t even want us in the region .’
The overarching premise of the show is that the Hatfields have their territory in West Virginia and the McCoys have theirs. Throughout the show, each family tries to make inroads and gain advantages however they can to expand their regional empires.
This inevitably leads to confrontations between the dueling clans.
Derek, who married Courtney between seasons and had a daughter with her, claimed members of the Hatfield family stalked him at a Sam’s Club.
‘It was wild. I mean, it seems a little like intimidation, but at the same time I keep it moving,” he said.
In a clip from an upcoming episode, Courtney kicks the Hatfields out of the bar she runs called McCoy Station.
This is how Amber Hatfield Bishop, Devil Anse’s third great-granddaughter, reacted when she was asked to leave because she was too loud
A highlight of the new season comes when the Hatfields disrupt a Veterans Day event at McCoy Station, a bar in Logan, West Virginia.
Courtney, who runs the bar, walks up to a group of Hatfields and tells them, “I’m sorry, this is a business.” I asked you to relax. I think you should go.’
The camera then pans to Amber Hatfield Bishop, Devil Anse’s third great-granddaughter, whose mouth hangs open in shock.
The show also tries to draw on bits of the family rivalry that have become American folk legend.
For example, Casandra McCoy and Chris Hatfield – both seventh-generation descendants – get married in the first season, which was the focus of much of the drama.
In true Romeo and Juliet fashion, Devil Anse’s son Johnse Hatfield and Randall’s daughter Roseanna McCoy began a passionate love affair in 1880 that led to them having a daughter together.
The relationship between Johnse Hatfield and Roseanna McCoy ended in tragedy, just like the story of Romeo and Juliet
Screenwriters saw the similarities between this real-life romance and Romeo and Juliet. In 1949, Hollywood released a film simply titled Roseanna McCoy, which focused heavily on the forbidden relationship between Johnse and Roseanna.
Roseanna fled the McCoys and lived with the Hatfields for months, but Devil Anse reportedly refused to give his blessing to allow a marriage between his son and the mother of his child.
Roseanna eventually returned to her family when it became clear that marriage would never happen.
Like Romeo and Juliet, more tragedies would befall Roseanna.
Their daughter Sally died of measles and pneumonia just a few months after birth. Roseanna later died at the age of 28.
Pictured above is a group of Hatfield gunmen, late 19th century, stopping men, possibly McCoys, along the road
The feud between the Hatfields (pictured) and the McCoys ended informally in the 1890s, but the families did not make official peace until 2003, according to the US Census Bureau.
Johnse emerged from the love affair relatively unscathed, remarried and lived to the age of 60 before dying in 1922.
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys ended informally in the 1890s, but the families did not make official peace until 2003, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
During the show, Casandra and Chris successfully merge the Hatfields and the McCoys without bloodshed, but certainly not without incident.
The second season is expected to last ten episodes, each lasting approximately 22 minutes.
The first four episodes are available to stream on Fox Nation, with the fifth episode airing on Monday, September 23.