River of Blood #05 Traditional Cache
GeoCache Matewan: Recycle for new river trail.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Tug River Valley is rich in the history of coal mining and ties to its past through the legacies of the infamous Hatfield’s & McCoy’s and the Matewan Massacre.
Many locals feel that the Hatfield & McCoy Feud was actually a result of the Civil War. Anderson Hatfield, known as “Devil Anse” fought for the Confederacy, and Randall McCoy fought for the Union. The Civil War saw both sides fighting against neighbors and friends, and rumors were rampant about who shot whom during the battles. Feeling ran high after the war, so it is not far fetched to believe that something as simple as a misplaced pig was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Tug River area along the West Virginia and Kentucky borders saw the beginnings of this deadly feud. Devil Anse Hatfield’s home was located on the West Virginia side of the river near Matewan, and he owned many acres of farmland along the banks of the Tug River, much of which in later years, he sold to the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Randall McCoy’s home was located on the Kentucky side of the Tug River.
The Matewan Massacre, as it is now called, on May 19,1920 was the beginning of the modern day coal mining industry. It has gone down in history as possibly one of the deadliest single shootout’s in the United States, and the turning point for the modern day United Mine Workers of America. The coal company’s hired the Baldwin-Felt’s Security Agency to evict local miner’s, who had joined the newly formed Local of the UMWA, from their company homes. The miner’s got word of this, and met the team at the Matewan Train Depot. There ensued a shoot-out that left nine men dead and changed the future of coal mining forever.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
fznyy qelobk nggnpurq gb ebbgf ba fgrrc onax