Tombstone Part III

Shoot Out at the O. K. Corral!

Hot Spots in Tombstone Part III

It was a cold afternoon on October 26, 1881 in Tombstone.  Four men dressed in long black coats walked down Freemont street with vigilante justice on their minds.

Marshall Virgil Earp and his brothers Wyatt and Morgan, along with their friend Doc Holliday were looking to meet up with the Cowboys...the Clanton-McLaury Gang of six men.

Morgan Earp

But why were these "lawmen" after the Cowboys?

There had been long running problems with the Clanton-McLaury Gang.  

In March of 1881 three cowboys attempted to rob a stagecoach carrying $26,000 in silver bullion from Tombstone to Benson, Arizona.  The robbers shot and killed the stage driver and a passenger.  US Marshall Sheriff Virgil Earp and his temporarily deputized brothers Wyatt and Morgan pursued the Cowboys suspected of the murders.  This event set the stage for the shoot out at the OK Corral.

When the lawmen met up with the Cowboys, some 30 shots were fired in a 24 second time frame, at close range... killing three Cowboys:  Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton.  The shoot out left Virgil, Morgan and Doc wounded.

Tom McLaury

Frank McLaury

Billy Clanton

Live O. K. Corral show

However, the violence did not end with the death of 3 cowboys.  In fact, the Earp's became targets for revenge.  

On December 28, 1881, Virgil Earp was ambushed and seriously wounded on the streets of Tombstone by hidden assailants.  Although identified the men were never prosecuted.  On March 18, 1882, Morgan Earp was killed by a shot that struck his spine while playing billiards at 10:00 p.m.  Once again, the assailants were named but never arrested due to "legal technicalities."  Wyatt Earp, who became frustrated with legal justice led a posse that pursued and killed four of the men they held responsible.  

This ride became what is known as, the Earp Vendetta Ride.

Wyatt Earp

After the Earp family left Arizona, much of the Cowboy crimes subsided.

Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury, and Billy Clanton, killed in the O. K. Corral shootout, are among those buried in the town's Boothill Graveyard.  So named because most of those buried there "died with their boots on."

More on the Boothill Graveyard in our next Tombstone installment Part 4.  

Many movies and shows have been made about the O. K. Corral shootout.  Check them out!

We give the O. K. Corral a ghost rating!

The O. K. Corral has also been a popular location for paranormal investigations including, Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Ghost Lab, and Fact or Faked!