The Tale of the Devil: The Biography of Devil Anse Hatfield

The Tale of the Devil represents the first biography of Anderson "Devil Anse Hatfield," written by great grandson Dr. Coleman Hatfield, and noted Mountain State historian Robert Y. Spence. The title is now in its third publishing and has remained an Appalachian best-seller. The Tale of the Devil is the story of Hatfield patriarch Devil Anse Hatfield, beginning with his childhood in frontier Appalachia; it also covers his Civil War days as a Confederate soldier and leader of the Wildcats militia. The 320-pages will also enlighten the reader of the true story of the Hatfield-McCoy feud, the violent killings, and the post-feud years after the fighting ceased.

Coleman C. Hatfield was raised on stories of Devil Anse Hatfield and the Hatfield and McCoy feud. From the time he was four or five years old, he heard about Anse wrestling bears and ancestors battling panthers empty-handed. And while books have been written about the Hatfield-McCoy feud in the past, no author has attempted a definitive biography of Devil Anse Hatfield, considered to be the leader of the Logan County clan. Writers have instead focused on the feud itself, zeroing in on the few outbursts of violence and gunfire that flared up several times in the 1880s, but just as quickly burned themselves out. Most of the books that have been written are a bit sensational, said Coleman C. Hatfield. Coleman C. Hatfield, great-grandson of Devil Anse, wanted to set the record straight with this work. He wanted to publish information about the Hatfields while there were still descendants around who had credible information about the feud. He didn't have far to look. Much of the information included in The Tale of the Devil is culled from the manuscripts of Coleman C. Hatfield s father, who spent his life researching family history. C.A. Hatfield, Coleman's father, was born in 1889, the last year of the feud. C.A. Hatfield was the son of Cap Hatfield, a feud participant and one of the most feared and respected of the Devil's sons. Around 1909, C.A. Hatfield began recording family history. The respected attorney, who died in 1970, spent the rest of his life interviewing family members and recording conversations with relatives about the feud and the family. Much of his information came from Anse and Cap Hatfield themselves. It is all included, in addition to Dr. Hatfield's own research.