The age old question to the feud is how it started. Just about everyone has heard of the infamous family verses family feud in the late eighteen hundreds. Was it a pig? Or was it something more? An in-depth, down deep, analysis will bring out many rarely known facts.
Before we get into the nitty gritty keep in mind that the family names also include friends of that family. Asa Harmon McCoy was enlisted in the union army and was involved in combat near Lexington Kentucky. While fighting by Lexington he suffered a broken leg. After spending some time in the hospital he started home. Jim Vance’s group of confederates wanted to kill Harmon. Harmon ended up hiding in a cave having his slave make the short trek from his house bring him food. When Vance seen Harmons slave, Pete, going home after giving Harmon food he asked where he was, …show more content…
The Hatfield’s knew the sow was Floyds all the while the McCoy’s knew the sow was Randal’s. Many jurors also foreshadowed a conflict being sparked by the losing party, knowing they would help start it if they lost. When the jury came back they had an answer as to who lawfully owned the pig. The jury of twelve voted seven to five that Floyd Hatfield owned the pig. G. Elliot Hatfield stated in his book that during that time period possession was nine tenths of the law.
As several days past and as much as Randal McCoy was upset he never went around telling the world of his loss and disappointment; he only shared it with is closest friends and family. But Randal was never known to mention a single word about revenge. Randal often told people that asked about Floyd and the trail that he guessed they needed the hog more than him. Even though Floyd Hatfield had won in the court room he was just content at winning and did as Randal, kept quiet about it. There was no reason to go one bragging or complaining about it because it had already been