Devil Anse Hatfield

William Anderson Hatfield
Hatfield, seated second from left, with his family.
Born	William Anderson Hatfield September 9, 1839 Logan, Virginia
Died	January 6, 1921 (aged 81) Stirrat, Logan County, West Virginia
Occupation	Timber merchant
Spouse(s)	Levisa Chafin
Relatives	Valentine Hatfield, brother Martha Hatfield, sister Ellison Hatfield, brother Elias Hatfield, brother

William Anderson Hatfield (September 9, 1839 – January 6, 1921)—known as Devil Anse Hatfield—was the patriarch of the Hatfield clan during the infamous Hatfield–McCoy feud which has since formed part of American folklore. Devil Anse survived the feud and agreed to end it in 1891.

Hatfield was born in East Virginia (now Logan, West Virginia), the son of Ephraim Hatfield, of English and Swedish descent, and Nancy Vance of Scotch-Irish descent. His nickname "Devil Anse" has a variety of supposed origins: it was given to him by his mother; by Randolph McCoy; earned from his bravery during battle in the American Civil War; or as contrast to his good-tempered cousin, Anderson "Preacher Anse" Hatfield.

A Southern sympathizer, Hatfield enlisted in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He was commissioned a First Lieutenant of Cavalry in the Virginia State Line in 1862, a group made to protect the territory along the Kentucky-Virginia border where resident loyalties to the North and South were mixed. The Virginia State Line eventually disbanded in 1863 and Hatfield enlisted as a private in the newly formed 45th Battalion Virginia Infantry, before being appointed first lieutenant and later captain of Company B. His unit spent most of its time patrolling the border area against bushwhackers sympathetic to the Union as well as engaging in guerrilla warfare against Union soldiers. Devil Anse himself has been connected to battles and killings of several Union fighters, including trackers Ax and Fleming Hurley in 1863.

Devil Anse and his uncle Jim Vance would later form a Confederate guerrilla fighting unit called the "Logan Wildcats." One of the group's victims was Union General Bill France; killed in revenge for losing one of their members to France's unit. 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 and was waylaid by The Wildcats on his return home. Hatfield had been home ill at the time of the killing, which was probably committed at the instigation of his uncle, Jim Vance. This may have sparked the beginning of the notorious feud between the two families that claimed many lives on both sides.