The Hatfield McCoy mini-series is, for the most part, far from the truth! Case in point - Perry Cline! Much of Perry Cline's character was taken from the book, "Feud" by Altina Waller, published in 1987. Waller is a sociology professor from CT, who took the feud & tried to make it fit neatly into the social restraints of 19th century America. On most points, she missed the mark! Perry Cline was not the nefarious character that the series, nor Waller, portrayed him to be. He had 4 siblings who married McCoys & the 2 families had close ties. Also, the Hatfields were responsible for the deaths of his brother in law & his nephew. In 2013, at the KY Bar Assoc. annual convention, two of Perry Cline's descendants took on the director of the mini-series & Waller in a round-table discussion about laws during the Hatfield McCoy feud. The Cline family received apologies from the director, a WV native, for the "artistic license" taken in the the portrayal of their ancestor. The Cline cousins, one an attorney from OH & the other an attorney from KY, graciously accepted the apology. (for more on this & the 5,000 acres of land taken by Devil Anse go to: theclinefamilyassociation.com
Second point - the only McCoy in the line of Randall & Asa Harmon to fight for the CSA was Randall. Interestingly, no records of his enlistment have been found in the National Archives. It's possible that he rode with one of the many militia groups (bushwhackers) that terrorized the communities of Pike County during the war. He is found listed as a PoW at Camp Douglas in 1863, but members of the home guards were often captured & imprisoned, even if they were not soldiers or bushwhackers.
Contrary to common belief, the majority of Eastern KY men fought for the Union. Regiments included the 39th KY Mounted Infantry USA, the 14th KY Infantry, & the 45th Mounted Infantry. Asa Harmon McCoy was most likely a Union spy. Although he was wounded 2 times prior to 1863 (once hospitalized in Lexington, Ky), he did not officially enlist in the 45th until the middle of 1863. He was probably much hated by the bushwhackers of VA, and this led to his murder.
On the other hand, D. Anse Hatfield served in the CSA for about 8 months, before deserting & returning home to form his own militia group. For more information please see, The National Archives, Civil War Service Records at ancestry.com.
As for me, I'm a 2X great grand daughter of Asa Harmon McCoy & Martha Cline. As a 30 yr researcher of the Hatfield McCoy Feud, I never pass up the chance to set the record straight!
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