French–Eversole feud

The French–Eversole feud was a long-running dispute between two American families which occurred primarily from 1887 to 1894 in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky, mainly in the town of Hazard in Perry County. The two instigators of the feud were Joseph C. Eversole and Benjamin Fulton French, who were both merchants and lawyers and at one time were friendly. The conflict was a media sensation and was covered by many US papers at the time. The first report was in the Louisville Courier-Journal on June 30, 1886, on Page 1. A listing of the various media reports is included at the end of this article. Ultimately, those media reports became the basis for various books written about the French–Eversole War. Based on a report by General Sam Hill to Kentucky Governor Simon Bolivar Buckner, the feud killed more than 20 men. Other historians exaggerated the numbers killed to as many as 74 deaths.