Greene–Jones War facts for kids
The Greene–Jones War was a big family fight, also known as a feud, that happened in the Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Many people believe it was the second largest feud in American history, right after the famous Hatfield–McCoy feud. At least sixteen people lost their lives during this conflict, and many others were seriously hurt. The war mainly took place in areas along the border of Hawkins County, Washington County, Claiborne County, and Hancock County, Tennessee in Tennessee, and Lee County, Virginia in Virginia. These places are not far from Cumberland Gap, a narrow mountain pass sometimes called The Wilderness Road, which leads into Kentucky.
The Greene family's story
Most of what we know about this feud comes from old family records. A genealogist named Alton Lee Greene, who was a descendant of these families, wrote a special book about it. He traced the Greene family back to an English colonist named Judge William Greene. Judge Greene was born in England in 1671 and later lived in New Jersey.
Judge William Greene and his wife, Joanna Reeder Greene, were the great-grandparents of Jeremiah Greene. Jeremiah and other Greene relatives moved to an area in North Carolina. They joined other families from New Jersey who had left because they disagreed with a powerful landowner named Colonel Daniel Coxe. The Greene family settled near the Yadkin River in North Carolina and helped start the Jersey Settlement Meeting House, which is now a historic site. Later, Jeremiah's family moved to Hancock County, Tennessee. His descendants played a big part in the Greene–Jones War.
How the war began
The Greene–Jones War has become a part of American folklore and myth. Because of this, it's hard to know the exact timeline and all the true details. This is partly because people's names and even place names changed over time. By the late 1880s, the Greene and Jones families had lived in the mountains of Hancock County for many years. They were mostly farmers with large pieces of land. These families were very clannish, meaning they stuck together closely. Sometimes, even second cousins married each other, or all the children from one family would marry all the children from a nearby family.
Most of the fighting in the Greene–Jones feud happened in and around what is now Claiborne County, Tennessee, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, and nearby areas in Kentucky and Virginia. This was not far from where the famous Hatfields and McCoys had their conflicts. Some stories say that the trouble between the Greene and Jones families started even before the American Civil War. The Greene–Jones War had many things in common with the Hatfield–McCoy feud.
Alfred Greene, who was born in 1827, was a scout during the American Civil War. He did not join either the Union Army or the Confederate Army. In 1863, he was killed by a group of three bushwhackers (people who fought outside of regular armies). This happened when he secretly went home to visit his wife, who was expecting a baby. The gang surrounded his house and killed him as soon as he stepped outside. After the war, Alfred's brothers, Robert and David, who were Union soldiers, came home. They found and killed two of the men who had murdered Alfred.
The end of the war
Joseph Greene was born in 1844 and died in 1910 in Hancock County. He joined the Union Army and served in the Cavalry for almost four years. He was wounded once and captured once at the Battle of Lookout Mountain. He escaped and joined General Sherman's army on its march to the sea. When the Greene–Jones War started, Joseph was asked to join the fight. However, he told his brothers that he had "killed all the men he ever wanted to kill during the Civil War." So, he did not take part in the Greene–Jones War.
To finally stop the Greene–Jones War, the Governor of Tennessee declared martial law. This meant that the military took control, and the Tennessee State Militia was sent in to restore order.
In 1888, The Tennessean, a newspaper from Nashville, reported that the "Jones and Greene feud in Hancock County progresses." The same year, another newspaper, the Daily Democrat from Indiana, also reported that the battle was still raging and that both sides were heavily armed.
In April 1890, The Comet newspaper reported a murder. Thos. J. Berry, a Justice of the Peace, was killed when he went to his spring after dark. A man named F. M. Burton was with Berry and recognized the shooter but would not say who it was. A jury later decided that "Thomas J. Berry came to his death from a pistol fired by the hands of Asa Jones." Asa Jones was known as the leader of the Jones family in the Greene–Jones War.
In May 1890, the Rogersville Herald reported that Ace Jones had surrendered. Later, The Comet newspaper reported what was thought to be "the finale of the late Greene-Jones War in Hancock County." This article was titled "Nolle Prosequi Entered," which means the legal case was dropped. These old newspaper stories are available through the Library of Congress.
Patsy Hatfield Lawson, a famous storyteller and a descendant of both the Hatfield and Greene families, once said something interesting. She noted that the main difference between these feuds was that The New York Times did not report on the Greene–Jones War as much as it did on the Hatfield–McCoy feud. Because of this, the Greene–Jones feud went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. However, The New York Times did report in 1893 about a man named Hiram Church from Hancock County. He was a bail bondsman for W. M. Hobbs, who had escaped from prison after being sentenced for the murder of Sheriff Greene.
