Corral" redirects here. [26], A 2003 episode of Discovery Channel's Unsolved History[138][139] used modern technology to attempt to re-enact the gunfight. Either Frank or Billy shot Virgil Earp in the calf (Virgil thought it was Billy). Spicer did not condone all of the Earps' actions and criticized Virgil Earp's use of Wyatt and Holliday as deputies, but he concluded that no laws were broken. When the dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead, and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. The deceased were all Cowboys: Billy Clanton and brothers Tom and Frank McLaury. Wyatt later said that on June 2, 1881 he offered the Wells, Fargo & Co. reward money and more to Ike Clanton if he would provide information leading to the capture or death of the stage robbers. [58], The Earps pursued the other two men for 17 days, riding for 60 hours without food and 36 hours without water, during which Bob Paul's horse died, and Wyatt and Morgan's horses became so weak that the two men walked 18 miles (29 km) back to Tombstone to obtain new horses. Defense accounts contradicted the testimony of Behan, Claiborne and Allen, who all said that a man had fired a nickel-plated pistol first. Wyatt paused two or three seconds and replied very forcibly: "I won't be arrested today. A book by Al Turner purports to include the complete testimonies of the participants, but I also read that the original findings were lost in one of Tombstone's fires", "First action hero: Wyatt Earp was an elderly movie groupie who failed to make it as an extra ...", "Virgil Earp – Upholding the Law of the West", "Was Wyatt Earp a good guy who was both a gambler and a lawman by profession? As the wounded lawmen were carried to their homes, they passed in front of the Sheriff's Office, and Johnny Behan told Wyatt Earp, "I will have to arrest you." But Holliday returned carrying a double-action revolver. To reduce crime in Tombstone, on April 19, 1881, the city council passed ordinance 9, requiring anyone carrying a bowie knife, dirk, pistol or rifle[40][41] to deposit their weapons at a livery or saloon soon after entering town. Virgil had been hired as Deputy U.S. Tom McLaury, his brother Frank, and Billy Clanton were killed. [80] Deputy Marshal Andy Bronk also heard the talk around town. Hurst brought four soldiers, and Virgil invited Wyatt and Morgan Earp, as well as Wells Fargo agent Marshall Williams. [29][30] Wyatt had developed a reputation as a no-nonsense, hard-nosed lawman, but prior to the gunfight in October 1881, he had been involved in only one other shooting, in Dodge City, Kansas during the summer of 1878. In July 1882, Wyatt left Colorado and went to San Francisco,[70] where he sought out Sadie and his brother Virgil, who was seeking treatment for his arm. [98] After shooting Tom, Holliday tossed the empty shotgun aside, pulled out his nickel-plated revolver, and continued to fire at Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. I was watching an episode of Wyatt Earp on T.V. [134], Less than a month after the shootout it was described by a local newspaper as the "Gunfight at The O.K. OK Corral inquest transcript found in Arizona jailhouse store room . "[82]:164 Clanton ran through the front door of Fly's boarding house and escaped, unwounded. Marshal that day and had far more experience as a sheriff, constable, marshal, and soldier in combat.[1]. Chase the crowd away and from the door and give me air." Ike's continuous threats were not worth losing sleep over. Marshal Crawley Dake, on November 27, 1879, before the Earps arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879. These murders lead to an extradition for Holliday. Wallace for violating the ordinance. Judge Spicer ruled afterward that "if Thomas McLaury was one of a party who were thus armed and were making felonious resistance to an arrest, and in the melee that followed was shot, the fact of his being unarmed, if it be a fact, could not of itself criminate the defendants [Earps], if they were not otherwise criminated."[115]. Each side had strong family ties. Has to be one of the best gunfight scenes in a movie. "[8] This incident was the first run-in between the Clantons and McLaurys and the Earps.[53]. [112], Billy Clanton was shot in the wrist, chest and abdomen, and after a minute or two slumped to a sitting position near his original position at the corner of the Harwood house in the lot between the house and Fly's Lodging House. Though it’s still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury’s chest. It is generally regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West. [8], Virgil Earp was not expecting a fight. Doc Holliday had a reputation as a gunman and had reportedly been in nine shootouts during his life, although it has only been verified that he killed three men. A story by Richard Rule in the Cowboy-friendly newspaper, the Nugget, told the story in the manner of the day, without attribution. However, on June 6, 1881, Sippy asked for a two-week leave of absence. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne both said they were unarmed when they fled the gunfight. Corral" in the public consciousness. His brother, Frank McLaury, was shot in the stomach by Doc, then killed by a shot to the head by Doc or Morgan Earp. "[13], Among the lawmen involved in the O.K. Boyle later testified he noticed Ike was armed and covered his gun for him. The city suspended him as town marshal after Ike Clanton filed murder charges.[27]:238. Some members of the two opposing parties were initially only about 6 feet (1.8 m) apart. Morgan Earp was standing on Fremont Street to Wyatt's right, and Doc Holliday anchored the end of their line in Fremont Street, a few feet to Morgan's right. Billy Clanton's was one of them. [59] On March 19, King conveniently escaped while Dunbar and Woods were making out the bill-of-sale. Behan later said he attempted to persuade Frank McLaury to give up his weapons, but Frank insisted that he would give up his guns only after City Marshal Virgil Earp and his brothers were first disarmed.[93]. Billy was in considerable pain and asked for a doctor and some morphine. A month later, however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that they were “fully justified in committing these homicides.” The famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994). I went down to Wyatt Earp's house and told him that Ike Clanton had threatened that when Wyatt, his brothers, and Doc Holliday showed themselves on the street that the ball would open. Marshal in his place. The Cochise County sheriff's position was worth more than $40,000 a year (equivalent to $1.1 million in 2019) because the office holder was also county assessor and tax collector, and the board of supervisors allowed him to keep ten percent of the amounts paid. Or was he a bad guy who wore a badge merely to protect his crooked gambling interests? 3 men died that day in the streets of Tombstone, Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. Tombstone resident George Parson wrote in his diary, "A Cowboy is a rustler at times, and a rustler is a synonym for desperado—bandit, outlaw, and horse thief." In France, the ...read more, On October 26, 1942, the last U.S. carrier manufactured before America’s entry into World War II, the Hornet, is damaged so extensively by Japanese war planes in the Battle of Santa Cruz that it must be abandoned. The next month Mexican Commandant Felipe Neri dispatched troops to the border,[44]:110 where they killed five Cowboys, including Old Man Clanton, in Guadalupe Canyon. [136] A local company produces daily theatrical re-enactments of the gunfight. "[81][82] Ike said in his testimony afterward that he remembered neither meeting Boyle nor making any such statements that day. Although it was quickly determined that the fatal wound was self-inflicted, McCollum’s parents believed that singer Ozzy Osbourne was actually responsible because their son had been listening ...read more, On October 26, 1864, the notorious Confederate guerrilla leader William “Bloody Bill” Anderson is killed in Missouri in a Union ambush. [47] Near the corner of Fourth St. and Fremont St., the Earps ran into Sheriff Behan. The Cowboys were located in a narrow 15–20 feet (4.6–6.1 m) lot[91] between the Harwood house and Fly's 12-room boarding house and photography studio at 312 Fremont Street,[92] where Doc Holliday roomed. Joyce did not like Holliday or the Earps and he continued to argue with Holliday. [43], In the borderlands south of Tombstone there was only one passable route between Arizona and Mexico, a passage known as Guadalupe Canyon. A few days later Virgil was appointed as town marshal in his place. [102] The coroner's inquest and the Spicer hearing produced a sketch showing the Cowboys standing, from left to right facing Fremont Street, with Billy Clanton and then Frank McLaury near the Harwood house and Tom McLaury and Ike Clanton roughly in the middle of the lot. Both Frank and Billy were armed with a revolver and a rifle, as was the custom for riders in the country outside Tombstone. With them came churches and ministers. He bought a stagecoach, only to find the business was already very competitive. Lucas of the Cochise County Probate Court had offices in the Mining Exchange Building about 200 feet (60 m) from the shootout. They arrived from Antelope Springs, 13 miles (21 km) east of Tombstone, where they had been rounding up stock and had breakfasted with Ike and Tom the day before. He took Holliday's walking-stick in return. Witnesses differed about whether Tom McLaury was carrying a weapon during the shootout or not. [101][79]:88 When the Cowboys saw the officers, they stepped away from the Harwood house. Only Virgil or one of his city police deputies, including Morgan Earp and possibly Warren Earp, could search him and take any required action. The interpersonal conflicts and feuds leading to the gunfight were complex. [75] They told the Earps that they could expect retaliation. I am right here and am not going away. (Saddle up with Hawaii's cowboys.) Instead, they remained fully armed. [102][104], Who started shooting first is not certain; accounts by both participants and eyewitnesses are contradictory. "[6] The Cowboys teamed up for various crimes and came to each other's aid. Born in the late 1830s, Anderson grew up in Missouri and moved to Kansas in the late 1850s. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller ran from the fight. Morgan Earp tripped and fell over a newly buried waterline and fired from the ground. The ranchers largely maintained control of the country outside Tombstone, due in large part to the sympathetic support of Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, who favored the Cowboys and rural ranchers,[22] and who also grew to intensely dislike the Earps. Cowboy Billy Clanton still lay dying, his face contorted with pain, when the press began the difficult task of piecing together the details of an October 1881 street battle in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Both Virgil and Williams' testified that Behan visited Virgil Earp that evening and said, “I am your friend, and you did perfectly right.” This corroborated the initial Nugget report, which upon Wood's return was altered to a version that favored the Cowboys and which Behan later supported in his testimony at the hearing. All we have now are tales of Wyatt … [47] Ike testified afterward that Tom was not there and that he had tried to buy a new revolver but the owner saw Ike's bandaged head and refused to sell him one. In the November 2, 1880 election for Pima County sheriff, Democrat Shibell ran against Republican Bob Paul, who was expected to win. They were in town to sell a large number of beef stock, most of them owned by the McLaurys. [78], Holliday and his on-again, off-again mistress Big Nose Kate had many fights. [139] The episode concluded that the three eyewitnesses for the prosecution (Sheriff Behan, Ike Clanton, and Billy Claiborne) likely offered perjured testimony. Infantry, and Commanding Officer of Fort Bennett, asked Deputy U.S. At least six of them were directly or indirectly connected with Wyatt Earp: The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Tombstone Territory, Broken Arrow, Johnny Ringo, and Gunsmoke. There, he first met future Tombstone sheriff Johnny Behan, a sometime gambler and saloon owner. The district attorney threw out the charges, labeling them "ridiculous." It was an unusually cold and windy day in Tombstone, and Virgil was wearing a long overcoat. The Nagasaki Police Doctor, Sakurai, did not seem to remember Kogoro, even though they probably met in A Honey Cocktail Murder Case. [104], All witnesses generally agreed that the first two shots were almost indistinguishable from each other. The Cowboys were about a block and a half from the West End Corral at 2nd. Corral: A Gunfight Shrouded in Mystery", "Testimony of John Behan in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "New epitaphs for dead in O.K. [132], After Gilchriese closed his museum, the painting and other contents of the museum were sold at auction by John's Western Gallery of San Francisco. [87] Virgil yelled: "Hold! [82]:145[103] Neither of Wyatt's sketches included Ike Clanton or Billy Claiborne, who ran from the fight. Wheel of Fortune, which debuted in 1975, became the longest-running syndicated game show on American television, ...read more. To this protest Wyatt said he responded, "Go to fighting or get away! After Wyatt Earp first arrived in Tombstone, his business efforts yielded little profit, and he took a job as a stagecoach shotgun messenger for Wells Fargo, guarding shipments of silver bullion. Claiborne said only one man had a horse in the fight, and that this man was Frank, holding his own horse by the reins, then losing it and its cover, in the middle of the street. [82]:214–216 Lucas corroborated Addie Bourland's testimony that Billy Clanton was standing throughout the fight, which contradicted prosecution witnesses who maintained he went down immediately after being shot at close range in the belly. City Marshal Virgil Earp arrived a few minutes later and threatened to arrest both Holliday and Clanton if they did not stop arguing. James, Virgil, and Wyatt Earp, together with their wives, arrived in Tombstone on December 1, 1879, during the early period of rapid growth associated with mining, when there were only a few hundred residents. The first was two inches (5 cm) from Clanton's left nipple, penetrated his lung. [13] If, as was customary, Frank carried only five rounds, then he had fired only three shots.[61]. In October 1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the OK Corral. There are no contemporary Tombstone records that indicate a relationship between Sadie and Earp, but Earp certainly knew her, because both Behan and Earp had offices above the Crystal Palace Saloon. After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest. [16]:194 Virgil Earp was suspended as town marshal pending the outcome of the trial. Ike told Earp that the fighting talk had been going on for a long time and that he intended to put an end to it. [28]:83, Wyatt had been an assistant marshal when he and policeman James Masterson, along with a few other citizens, fired their pistols at several cowboys who were fleeing town after shooting up a theater. These works include: David Williams and Paul McIlroy introduced a mathematical model for the O.K. [87] Wyatt spoke of his brothers Virgil and Morgan as the "marshals" while he acted as "deputy. Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at the end of Fremont Street. Street and lay there, without moving, through the duration of the fight. He noted that the prosecution claimed that the Cowboys' purpose was to leave town,[115] yet Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne did not have their weapons with them. Ike paid the fine and Virgil told Ike he could pick up his confiscated rifle and revolver at the Grand Hotel, which was favored by Cowboys when in town. Will McLaury, Tom and Frank's brother and a judge in Fort Worth, Texas, claimed in a letter he wrote during the preliminary hearing after the shootout that Tom and Frank were still armed because they were planning to conduct business before leaving town to visit him in Texas. [93], Ike Clanton had been publicly threatening to kill the Earps for several months, including very loud threats on the day before. II", "Wyatt Earp: Timeline – Tombstone and Increasing Tensions", "LA Then and Now: Mrs. Wyatt Earp Packed Her Own Punch", "Doc Goodfellow: Arizona's Gutsiest Physician from the Territorial Days", "The Complete List of Historical Women – Last Name Begins with B", "Decision of Judge Wells Spicer after the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "Pete Spence – Escaping the Wrath of the Earps", "Testimony of Ike Clanton in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "Testimony of E. F. Boyle in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "Testimony of R. J. Campbell in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "Testimony of A. Bauer in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp-Holliday Case", "Testimony of Virgil Earp in the Preliminary Hearing in the Earp Case", "O.K. Ike and other Cowboys believed the new arrest was further evidence that the Earps were illegally persecuting the Cowboys. The testimony recorded by the court recorder and the two newspapers varied greatly. Ike Clanton testified later he saw Virgil take his six-shooter out of his lap and stick it in his pants when the game ended. [9]:180[20] The Earps were Republicans and Northerners who had never worked as cowmen or ranchers. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Corral. Wyatt and Holliday were arrested and brought before Justice of the Peace Wells Spicer. [8] Both McLaurys were buried in the same grave, and Billy Clanton was buried nearby. Corral" (1957) … Harry Woods, the publisher of the other major newspaper, The Daily Nugget, was an undersheriff to Behan. They have just gone from Dunbar's corral into the 0. This makes it much more likely that Holliday shot the fatal round that killed Frank.[112][114]. Corral was a 30-second shootout between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys including Ike Clanton that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, United States. The Earps were known to bend the law in their favor when it affected their gambling and saloon interests, which earned them further enmity with the Cowboy faction.[39]. In later years it would become known as the Gunfight at the O.K. Wyatt Earp was an imposing, handsome man: blond, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighing 165 to 170 pounds (75 to 77 kg), broad-shouldered, long-armed, and muscular. [112] The wound to Billy Clanton's right wrist may have been inflicted by Morgan Earp or Doc Holliday immediately at the outset of the fight as Billy was drawing his gun. [8]:49[27]:190, Wyatt said that he saw Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury in Spangenberger's gun and hardware store on 4th. There was one immediate outcome of the OK Corral gunfight that day: three men were dead, three men were injured. Coleman also testified at the coroner's inquest one day later. Witnesses reported that Wyatt drew his revolver from his coat pocket and pistol whipped Tom McLaury with it twice, leaving him prostrate and bleeding on the street. Behan stated he quickly finished his shave and went to locate the Cowboys. Near Drew's Station, just outside Contention City, a man stepped into the road and commanded them to "Hold!" Corral rooted Wyatt Earp deep in the American psyche, or at least in its Western mythology. There, he became a fierce gambler, befriended Wyatt Earp, and was involved in one the west’s most notorious shootouts—the OK Corral. [85] As an unpaid deputy marshal for Virgil, Wyatt habitually carried a pistol in his waistband, as was the custom of that time. He tried and failed to grab his rifle from the scabbard but lost control of the horse. Earp testified that he told Ike he had not told Holliday anything. By noon that day, Ike was still drinking and once again armed, in violation of the city ordinance against carrying firearms in the city. In early 1881, Sadie ended the relationship after she came home and found Behan in bed with the wife of a friend[64] and kicked him out,[65] although she used the Behan surname through the end of that summer. When Wyatt demanded, "Are you heeled or not? Somehow King walked in the front door of the jail and a few minutes later out the back. While San Simeon precinct, east of Tombstone, only had 10 registered voters, Shibell won that precinct with 103 votes to 1. ", McLaury said he was not armed. Many took sides with the deceased Cowboys. He was appointed as Tombstone's acting town marshal on September 30, 1880, after popular Tombstone town marshal Fred White was shot and killed by Brocius. County Sheriff John Behan and Milt Joyce saw an opportunity and exploited the situation. By law, both Frank and Billy should have left their firearms at the Grand Hotel. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [13][45][63] Ike now began to threaten Wyatt and Doc Holliday (who had learned of the deal) for apparently revealing Ike's willingness to help arrest his friends. Street and Fremont, where Ike and Tom's wagon and team were stabled. King was in Bauer's butcher shop located on Fremont Street. The Gunfight at the OK Corral, the Wild West’s most famous gun battle, lasts just 30 seconds with approximately 30 shots being fired.The gunfight occurs on October 26, 1881, killing Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. [102], Wyatt Earp drew a sketch in 1924 and another with John Flood on September 15, 1926 that depicted Billy Clanton near the middle of the lot, close to the Harwood house. Despite its name, the gunfight did not take place within or next to the O.K. Sorting out who was telling the truth was difficult then and remains so to this day. Deputy U.S. [128], Addie Bourland was a dressmaker whose residence was across Fremont Street from Fly's Boarding House. Right in Tombstone Arizona. "[87] Wyatt said Behan told him and Morgan, "I have disarmed them. Virgil Earp was told by several citizens that the McLaurys and the Clantons had gathered on Fremont Street. The ride for vengeance came to be called the Earp Vendetta Ride. He said Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan offered him his rifle and to fight him right there in the courthouse, which Ike declined. Wyatt, who was portrayed as a non-drinker, testified at the Spicer hearing that he went to Haffords and bought a cigar and went outside to watch the Cowboys. [109], Frank, now entirely across Fremont street and still walking at a good pace according to Claiborne's testimony, fired twice more before he was shot in the head under his right ear. Wyatt said that he still considered himself a deputy city marshal, which Virgil later confirmed. "[8], Spicer took written and oral testimony from a number of witnesses over more than a month. H.F Sills was an AT&SF RR engineer who had just arrived in town and knew none of the parties involved. Ike testified that he picked up the weapons from William Soule, the jailer, a couple of days later. They never had children. The gunfight was not the end of the conflict. Corral shooting, only Virgil had any real experience in combat. [82]:27, Several members of the citizen's vigilance committee offered to support him with arms, but Virgil refused. I have been murdered. They utilized a movie set to recreate a space similar to the lot where the original gun fight took place. Frank and Holliday exchanged shots as Frank moved across Fremont Street, and Frank hit Holliday in his pistol pocket, grazing him. He wouldn't tell who his confederates were until the posse lied and told him that Doc Holliday's girlfriend had been shot. [47][87] Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury exchanged gunfire with the lawmen.