What Happened To The Real Cotton Top Hatfield? How Accurate Hatfields & McCoys Is -

Hatfield’s & McCoy’s 2012 miniseries changed some aspects of Cotton Top Hatfield’s personality but got much of his violent and tragic story right.

The Hatfields & McCoys 2012 miniseries accurately portrays the fate of Ellison "Cotton Top" Hatfield Mounts but changes some aspects of his personality. The Hatfield-McCoy feud is one of the most infamous in American history. It reached its peak in 1888, when a group of Hatfields and their allies, led by Jim Vance, attacked the McCoy family's cabin in Pike County, Kentucky. The Hatfields set fire to the cabin, hoping to kill or drive out the McCoys. Randolph McCoy's wife, Susan McCoy, was beaten and left for dead, and two of their children were killed in the gunfight.

One of the most controversial and tragic aspects of the feud was the execution of Cotton Top. He was accused of killing Alifair McCoy, one of Randolph McCoy's daughters, during the raid on the cabin. However, there is some uncertainty about who actually pulled the trigger in the chaotic events of that night. Nevertheless, Cotton Top's execution was carried out in 1890, and it marked the end of the feud. The Hatfields & McCoys miniseries was generally well-received for its accurate portrayal of the feud's events and the tensions between the two families. However, Cotton Top's personality doesn't quite match up with the recollections of the families.

Cotton Top Hatfield Really Was Executed

Cotton Top Mounts was an illegitimate nephew of Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield. He was born to his brother, Ellison, and his cousin, Harriet Hatfield. Later on, when his mother married a man named Daniel Mounts, Cotton Top took his stepfather's name. Cotton Top was believed to have some form of intellectual disability and longed to be accepted as a true Hatfield. In an interview with William Keith Hatfield, a living descendant of Devil Anse, he described Cotton Top as "a poor addled boy, a victim of pain and illegitimacy," which likely explains why he acted in Hatfields & McCoys in ways he knew were wrong to gain acceptance within the family.

The 1888 New Year's Day raid on Randolph McCoy's home was considered one of the most heinous acts of the infamous feud. Unfairly, Cotton Top was the only one executed for the crime, while the other eight McCoy conspirators were sentenced to life in prison. The reason Cotton Top was the only one hanged for the massacre remains an open question, with some speculating that he was used as a scapegoat to end the feud. The Hatfields & McCoys TNT series leans into this idea. However, the bloodshed would likely have ended sooner rather than later without the execution of Cotton Top.

How Cotton Top Was Changed For The Hatfields & McCoys Show

Cotton Top was believed by some to be a scapegoat for the Hatfields to end the feud, as he wasn't considered a true member of the family due to his illegitimate birth. While the Hatfields & McCoys miniseries depicts some of this mistreatment, it likely portrayed his relationship with the Hatfields as kinder than it was in reality. Although Cotton Top did have intellectual disabilities, the miniseries likely exaggerated them to garner sympathy for his character. He was also depicted as kind and sweet, not fully comprehending the consequences of his actions. However, some Hatfield relatives remember the real Cotton Top as vicious and fully understanding the wrongs he was committing.

Cotton Top's last words were reportedly, "The Hatfields made me do it," implying that he may have felt coerced into participating in the raid. The exact reasons for only executing him while others were just as guilty remain unknown. Whatever the truth, it's clear that Cotton Top wasn't the only killer that day, just the one unfortunate enough to be legally executed for the crimes. While this trial certainly ended the Hatfields & McCoys feud, it also made it clear that neither Hatfields nor McCoys really won the feud.

Source: Tour Pike County