THE LEE-PEACOCK FEUD

Grand Prairie: Frontier Times Publishing House, n.d. (circa 1941-1942)., n.d. (circa 1941-1942). First edition. First edition. Stiff printed wrappers, 18pp. An excellent account of the Lee-Peacock Feud. This feud raged from late 1867 to mid 1869 in Sherman and Collin Counties in Texas. The feud became a local, four-year extension of the American Civil War. When the war broke out Bob Lee joined the Confederate Army, leaving his wife, children and home in the care of his father Daniel. Near the end of the war, word reached Lee that Lewis Peacock had set up "The Union League,"an organization that was actively working for the protection of blacks and Union sympathizers. When Lee and other ex-Confederate soldiers returned to their homes in northeast Texas, Reconstruction soldiers were stationed throughout the state. One night in late 1866, Peacock and several of his followers kidnapped Lee, robbed him, and forced him to sign a $2,000 promissory note to secure his release. The Lee clan subsequently refused to honor the note. Shortly thereafter, an assassination attempt on Lee took place, which was perpetrated by Peacock's ally Jim Maddox. A few days later, as he lay convalescing in the next room, Lee’s doctor was murdered by Hugh Hudson, another Peacock sympathizer, and the feud immediately escalated. Near fine copy.