Photography

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

The gunfight at the O.K. Corral pitted lawmen against members of a loosely organized group of cattle rustlers and horse thieves called the Cochise County Cowboys on October 26, 1881. While lasting less than a minute, the gunfight has been the subject of many books and films. Taking place in the town of Tombstone in Arizona Territory, the battle has become one archetype of the American Old West. The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud between five outlaws (including two sets of brothers) and four representatives of the law, including three brothers. The trigger for the event was the local marshal's decision to enforce a city ordinance that prohibited the carrying of weapons into town. To enforce that ordinance, the lawmen would have to disarm the Cowboys. The lawmen were three brothers, Virgil, Wyatt, and Morgan Earp, and Wyatt’s close friend Doc Holliday. As Deputy U.S. Marshal and Town Marshal, Virgil was in charge, and it was his decision to enforce the ordinance that led to the gunfight. His two brothers and Doc Holliday had been appointed temporary assistant marshals. At the time of the gunfight, there were five members of the Cowboys in Tombstone: Billy Claiborne, brothers Ike and Billy Clanton, and brothers Tom and Frank McLaury. Despite its name, the gunfight did not take place within or next to the O.K. Corral, which fronted Allen Street and had a rear entrance lined with horse stalls on Fremont Street. The shootout actually took place in a narrow lot on the side of C. S. Fly's photography studio on Fremont Street, six doors west of the O.K. Corral's rear entrance. About thirty shots were fired in thirty seconds. During that brief battle, three men were killed, three were wounded, two ran away, and one fought but was unharmed. Ike Clanton subsequently filed murder charges against the Earps and Holliday. After a thirty-day preliminary hearing and a brief stint in jail, the defendants were shown to have acted lawfully. The gunfight was not the end of the conflict. On December 28, 1881, Virgil was ambushed and maimed in a murder attempt by the Cowboys. On March 18, 1882, a Cowboy fired from a dark alley through the glass door of Campbell & Hatch's saloon and billiard parlor, killing Morgan. The suspects in both incidents furnished alibis supplied by other Cowboys and were not indicted. Wyatt, newly appointed as Deputy U.S.

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See also

• ▸Daniel Craig
• ▸Columbian ground squirrel
• ▸Bomis

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.