THE SON OF THE DEVIL: CAP HATFIELD By Thomas Dotson
THE SON OF THE DEVIL: CAP HATFIELD By Thomas Dotson I have always had a little soft spot in my heart for Cap Hatfield, because beginning with his letter to the Wayne County newspaper in 1891 he showed evidence of a conscience, which is a rare attribute among the really “Bad” men of his era. He had many bouts with his conscience during the last half of his life, but, unfortunately Cap seems to have won most of them. Cap Hatfield was very much his father’s son, even though he tried to separate himself from the old man later in his life, and refused to be buried in Devil Anse’s shrine on Island Creek. Raised illiterate, he occupied his growing up years in hunting, fishing, riding and according to one unfriendly source, dissecting live frogs and torturing chickens. At the age of 18, he received his baptism by fire on the bank of Tug River, as he joined the execution squad that riddled the bodies of the three McCoys with lead. At 22, he shot Jeff McCoy in the back, killing him. In this ...