Cotton Takes Blame

• New Year's Day Raid (1888): Mounts took part in the infamous nighttime attack on the Randolph McCoy cabin in Kentucky. During this raid, Alifair McCoy was shot and killed, and Randolph McCoy's wife was left for dead as the cabin burned. [1, 2, 3, 4]

• Arrest and Trial (1888–1889): Following the Supreme Court ruling on jurisdiction in Mahon v. Justice, Mounts and several other Hatfield men were extradited and tried in Kentucky. Mounts turned state's evidence, confessed to the killing of Alifair McCoy, and claimed, "The Hatfields made me do it!" [1, 2, 3]

• Execution (1890): Out of the defendants tried, Mounts was the only one sentenced to death. On February 18, 1890, he was publicly hanged in Pikeville, Kentucky. His execution is widely considered by historians to mark the practical end of the organized bloodshed of the feud.

Ellison “Cotton Top” Mounts was hanged in Pikeville, Kentucky on February 18, 1890. Cotton Top was one of the last people to be hanged in Pike County, and many believe his hanging was the final incident of the infamous Hatfields & McCoys feud.

In my 8 years as Marketing Director of Pike County Tourism CVB, I have had the privilege of speaking with descendants, historians and feud experts on the lesser known tales of the feud. Some painted Cotton Top as a victim, an innocent boy with a mental condition that prevented him from truly realizing the horror that he caused. Others characterized Cotton as a vicious man, who was a loose cannon, eager to earn his place among his Hatfield kin. Each story was told with such a fever that one would think the storyteller knew Cotton personally.

So, in remembering Cotton Top, I feel it would be best to let a descendant of the Hatfields share his perspective on who Cotton was, and how the family, from his perspective, views this complex character from feud lore. So I reached out to William Keith Hatfield, descendant of Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, who has spent many years tracing his family’s lineage and studying the intricacies of the feud story.

1. Who was the real Cotton Top, as compared to how he is portrayed in stories and media? Was he a ruthless man? Was he consumed with proving that he belongs as a “true Hatfield”?

He was a man full of pain and the desire to belong. He was never fully accepted by the Hatfields. He was the butt of jokes and rough horseplay. He was rather slow and developmentally challenged. He was not so much ruthless, as he was just unaware. In his desire to belong and to be accepted, he would do bad things for the Hatfields, either at their direction, or, if he thought it would bring him their favor. He never really considered the people he hurt or the pain he might cause others.

2. Are there any elements to the story of Cotton Top that is not widely known?

(Concerning the 1888 New Year’s Night Massacre) Cotton Top was made fun of for the way he tried to disguise his voice as he called out to the McCoy cabin inhabitants. The Hatfield’s laughter was incongruent with the grim business of what they were about to do. Cotton Top was teased about this and mocked by the others using disguised voices long after the raid. Also, Cotton Top was the most easily recognized that night. Alifair knew who he was by his hair right away.

3. How does the Hatfields remember Cotton Top?

A poor addled boy, a victim of pain and illegitimacy.

4. Was Cotton Top’s execution necessary to end the feud?

No. It did cause the McCoys to urge Randall to give it up. The Hatfield move to Sarah Ann, the pressing problem of caring for Aunt Sally, the lack of funds to continue the bounty hunter incursions, and the lack of enthusiasm from the law in pursuing Ran’ls vendetta, all would have ended it without the hanging.

With so many questions, what if’s and strong opinions, we may never know the full story of Cotton Top. But it is important that we never forget the price of unforgiveness, the ramifications of a vendetta gone too far, and the victims such things leave in its wake. On February 18, 1890, yet another life was claimed by the feud, and it serves as a reminder that anything, left unchecked, can spiral out of control.On February 18, 1890, Ellison “Cotton Top” Mounts was hanged in Pikeville, Kentucky, for his role in the Hatfield-McCoy Feud. It was the only legal execution of the feud.

Mounts was believed to be the illegitimate son of Ellison Hatfield—the brother of Hatfield family patriarch, “Devil”Anse. In 1882, Mounts’ father was killed by three of Randolph McCoy’s sons. The Hatfields retaliated for Ellison’s murder by tying the three McCoy boys to pawpaw bushes and executing them.

It’s believed that Mounts was involved in the worst atrocity of the feud, which occurred on New Year’s Day 1888. That evening, Devil Anse’s uncle Jim Vance led a group of Hatfield men to Randolph McCoy’s cabin, set fire to it, killed two of McCoy’s grown children, and left McCoy’s wife for dead.

Mounts, four of Devil Anse’s sons, and others were indicted for their role in the cabin raid. Ellison Mounts, though, was the only one hanged for his crimes. His execution brought an end to most of the violence, though for many years numerous murders would be attributed to the blood feud between the Hatfields and McCoys.Smith , Miranda and Clio Admin. "Feudists on Trial and the Hanging of Ellison "Cottontop" Mounts Historical Marker ." Clio: Your Guide to History. June 28, 2019. Accessed August 17, 2026. https://theclio.com/entry/82247 Historical Marker #1913 commemorates one of the last incidents in the Hatfield-McCoy feud. Ellison Mounts, a poor twenty-five-year-old who took part in the raid of the McCoy’s home in 1888, was found guilty of the murder of Alifair McCoy (event covered in marker #2062). Mounts plead guilty, believing at worst he would be sentenced to life in prison, according to some feud historians. Nonetheless, Perry Cline who had served as defense attorney to the other Hatfield defendants, did not defend Mounts in the trial and persuaded Mounts to give his jailhouse confession in front of the press. The jury quickly found Mounts guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging. Mounts immediately attempted to change his plea to not guilty and requested a new trial; the request was denied. Mounts was hanged on February 18, 1890 in Pikeville. He declared, “The Hatfields made me do it.” Some historians believe Mounts was a scapegoat for the whole Hatfield clan. The Pike County sheriff carried out the sentence, publicly ending the feud via the county and state’s legal mechanisms. Ellison Mounts’s public hanging vested authority in Pike County and Kentucky state law, replacing interpersonal violence with state-authorized judicial procedures. The hanging, the first in Pike County in four decades, drew thousands of spectators, many of whom anticipated a rescue attempt by Hatfields. Mounts also hoped to see the Hatfields ride into town to challenge the law, but his hopes were dashed. Historical Marker #1913 was dedicated in 1992.

The marker reads:

Feudists on Trial

Hanging site of Ellison Mounts, Feb. 18, 1890. Seven other Hatfield supporters indicted for murder of Alifair McCoy were sentenced to life in prison. By the time of his trial, Mounts had confessed. He was also found guilty, but the jury recommended the death penalty. Pike County sheriff carried out sentence. This was one of the last episodes in Hatfield-McCoy feud.

Ellison Hatfield "Cotton Top" Mounts

BirthAug 1864 - Logan County, West Virginia, United States of America

Death18 Feb 1890 - Pikeville, Pike County, Kentucky, United States of America

MotherRebecca Harriot Hatfield

FatherEllison Hatfield

Born in Logan County, West Virginia, United States of America on Aug 1864 to Ellison Hatfield and Rebecca Harriot Hatfield. Ellison Hatfield "Cotton Top" Mounts married Rebecca J. Ferrell Justice Mounts and had 1 child. He passed away on 18 Feb 1890 in Pikeville, Pike County, Kentucky, United States of America.

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. 

Ellison Hatfield "Cottontop" Mounts was born in August 1864 in Logan, West Virginia. He was the illegitimate child of Ellison and Harriet Hatfield, first cousins and close relatives of clan leader "Devil Anse," though he later took the surname Mounts when his mother, Harriet, married Daniel Mounts in 1867. Numerous accounts suggest that Ellison may have been albino, while others note he may have been mentally challenged, the latter of which led to his nickname, "Cottontop." 

Elliot is most well-known for his role in the 1888 New Year's Day attack against the McCoy family during which he and a group comprised of other Hatfield men ambushed their rivals' home on Blackberry Creek in Hardy, KY. During the attack, the Hatfields shot and killed Calvin and Alifair McCoy, two of the children of clan leader Randolph McCoy, in addition to severely beating their mother, Sarah, before then setting the home on fire. Accounts, based on Mounts's later confession, state that the attack turned violent after Johnse Hatfield prematurely fired a shot, thereby causing his men to follow suit and the McCoys to retaliate. Confused by the sudden chaos, Mounts claimed to have mistakenly shot and killed Alifair while one of his relatives fatally wounded Calvin. 

Public opinion is said to have acknowledged this attack as the most atrocious occurrence of the feud, and it was not long before a bounty had been placed upon the heads of the men who carried out the attack. Consequently, it was only a few days later when bounty hunter Frank Phillips chased down Jim Vance and Cap Hatfield, the leaders of the attack, killing Vance in the ensuing fight. He then rounded up nine other Hatfield men who were connected to the attack, including Mounts. The men's case famously went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, who ruled their crime was serious enough to warrant a trial, which began in 1889 and ultimately found eight of the Hatfield men, who were represented by attorney Perry Cline, guilty and sentenced to spend the remainder of their lives in prison. 

The ninth man, Mounts, unlike his accomplices, was not represented by Cline and instead plead guilty and admitted to the murder, presumably under the impression that it would lessen his sentence. Though accounts indicate he was viewed as merely a scapegoat, an assumption furthered by Mount's last words, which were, reportedly, "The Hatfields made me do it," Mounts's confession ultimately resulted in him being sentenced to death by hanging. Numerous feud historians also cite evidence of his possible innocence, as indicated by testimony given by one of the McCoys during the trial who claimed it was Cap Hatfield, not Ellison Mounts, who was the killer, and that Mounts had confessed under the impression that his family would save him before he could be hanged. 

Mounts was executed on February 18th, 1890, and, though public executions were against the law in Kentucky, the notoriety of the feud led to officials arranging the execution to take place at the base of a hill along Kentucky Avenue in Pikeville, KY, in an effort to provide a clear view for the thousands of spectators who gathered at the hilltop to witness Mounts's death. After his execution, Mounts was buried in an unmarked grave near the hillside where he was hanged.