The Messed Up Truth About The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral
It’s one of the most iconic moments in Wild West history, and it’s been romanticized in film, TV, books, and song, but how much do you really know about the historical gunfight at the O.K. Corral? You probably know the names of the heroes, or at least Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and while they were there, it’s hard to really qualify them as heroes.
Westerns tend to have a good guy and a bad guy, but the Earps and Doc Holliday weren’t really all that different from the Cochise County Cowboys that they went up against. Let’s take a look at the messed-up truth about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
#OKCorral #WildWest #Tombstone
Location, location, location | 0:00
Primed for battle | 1:37
No good guys | 2:49
The stagecoach robbery | 4:09
The real hero | 5:15
Smoke gets in your eyes | 6:09
The Cowboys weren't all that | 7:16
I like Ike | 8:18
Tombstone grieved the Cowboys | 9:29
Vigilante justice | 10:13
Reporter's bias | 10:55
Read Full Article: www.grunge.com/169885/the-mes...
What's the craziest thing you learned here?
8:49 I highly doubt the Earps were robbing stages - it doesn't match up to their purported upbringing (in the movies, although I don't follow it that closely). Those remarks about the Earps sound like someone trying to make them out as bad guys. It also sounded like Earp had a degree of respect for "old man" Clanton.
The biggest thing I learned is that Grunge has only touched over the history of the gunfight.....evidenced by your claim that there were no bad guys...If you're going to do a video on a subject you should at least try to know the material!
Gun bans suck.
I learned that you didn’t research the sordid pasts of all the major players in this incident. Doc Holiday is from my home town. He murdered a black man before going to dental school. Never faced any sort of justice for that.
Perhaps that folks are still as divided on the subject as they were when it first occurred! Also that there are some that get all their information from the internet but many go to the sources, as I have seen some good observations here. And we get to display some of our theories as well. For example, anybody who has read Frank Waters's book The Earp Brothers Of Tombstone knows Ali Earp was a pathological liar but there were a few interesting nuggets if you can believe them. She claimed that a niece lived with them in Tombstone, and that niece defied Wyatt and snuck off with Tom McLaury. I have often wondered if that explained him pistol-whipping Tom. He certainly seems to have overreacted. Any other tidbits from you amateur historians?
I remember, long ago in the Old West, when a KZhead video would play without interruption.
I would like to know what the difference is I did not have one interruption. Makes no sense .
@@BJETNT ADS!
@@jchors2947 yeah I get that but that's what I'm saying not one ad played during the whole time I was watching it. I've heard a lot of people complain about that but most of the time I rarely have any ads. I haven't paid any extra or done anything like that. For once I'm lucky I guess.
I bet you work for free too.
I had 5 ads in this 12 min video
" Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a .44, no Les, no more."
Toured the Cochise County courthouse a few weeks back, fascinating history
LOL I was just about to mention that! A real inscription on a Boot Hill tombstone.
I have never found the newspaper account in which a Lester Moore existed. That doesn't mean he didn't.
A bit off the point I know but there's a grave in Scotland that says "Here I lie, Martin Elginbrod. Have mercy on my soul oh Lord because I'd have mercy on your soul if I were the Lord and you were Martin Englinbrod".
I can remember seeing that in the move theater back in 93.
"The cowboys weren't really all that bad - they just terrorized the local populace"
the "cowboys' were nothing more than rustlers,,back stabbers,,all around bad guys, they led a terror campaign against the residents.I have many documents AND books about this,you need to weave thru countless material to understand the whole thing.No, the cowboys were NOT nice guys,
joe bloggs And the Earps were proto-gangsters, and pimps, who would get a brother within the law and then use the leverage against others. None of them were good men. Wyatt Earp was a bully, and he overlooked Murderers if it suited him.
@@CorbCorbin uhh i never said he was a " good man'....he was no different than MOST of his kind,,,,i happen to know alot of theses men in this time period so PLEASE do not try to come off like you are an expert with me,,,,i have many books and ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS concerning the EARPS as pimps or this n that,,,the thing is ,,that alot of these activities were NOT looked at in the same light as we look at them today....in reality i can talk circles around you so please, relax and go talk your "wisdom" to someone who you may feel the need to "get over"on,,,because my lil friend,"it aint me
joe bloggs I never said you did. I guess you spend all your mental energy in being so clever and smarter than others, that you didn’t read my comment correctly. I simply gave a very brief and basic breakdown of how Wyatt and his brothers, to go with your short breakdown of the Cowboys. Sorry you took offense, I didn’t mean any, guess I should’ve written it differently.
@@CorbCorbin uhhhh,if you learn to read correctly..then YOU would see that MY comment was about the subject in hand which was NOT about the Earps,,,it was about the cowboys which i commented on,,,sorry my friend,,,its you who needs to read and stay on subject.
Part of the "good guy" idea comes from the fact that the Earps could have killed those men they let run away, only to be shot at by them. So a lot is said about character in that situation, and that is why I would say they were the good guys. My grandma told me that her grandfather used to talk about these cowboys, and just how bad they were, as he witnessed them personally. They just raised all kinds of trouble and were more than a general nuisance, and basically were terrorizing the populace through their actions.
I agree. The Earps never shot any cowboys in the back while shooting pool.
Sound like well heeled bullies.
I believe they told one to get a gun or start running
@@Trebor74 Right. And to take the cannoli.
Ike Clanton was a criminal and Billy drew his gun first so yeah he got shot Wyatt was not a bad guy nor was Doc or the other Earp bros the stabbing at the beginnning of Tombstone by Doc not true I have looked it up there is no evidence it ever happened and everyone who knew Johnny Ringo say he was a Psychopath
Lived about 20 minutes from Tombstone for 8 years. As a child, Tombstone was on my bucket list, so eventually living nearby, I was in hog heaven. We went there many times over the years and got to tour the studio where the movie “Tombstone “ was filmed, which is about 30 miles away. Why they didn’t film in Tombstone is a whole different story. You can feel the history there and the locals keep the story alive. If not for that infamous shootout, the town would be nothing but rotting wood. There were several other mining towns in the area, and most are gone but for a few foundations. I don’t know how many folks are still interested in the “Old West”, I hope this small but significant bit of our history can survive all the changes in the future.
Driving from California to Texas, I spent an afternoon in Tombstone. It does have a very unusual feel to it. The past seems very close and I had the feeling the whole time That people from the past would suddenly show up...
We have been there when there were thousands of visitors for special events such as Wyatt Earp Days or Doc Holidays and it was a madhouse. On other days, usually during the midweek and off season and we were basically alone accept for a few reenactors. When it’s quiet like that it is very pleasant .
@@1949rangerrick I recently read josie Earps memoirs (out of print book I found in a thrift store) and several books about Wyatt. They were absolutely fascinating to me. They really liked adventure and roughing it, joining up with Alaska Gold Rush and opening a bar/brothel, living for 6 months of winter in a one room cabin with one small stove, making friends wherever they went. Their businesses were kind of on the shady side, but no one ever seemed to feel that they were ever cheated or treated less than fairly. Wherever Wyatt went, a few of his brothers and their ladies generally went, too. There is a great description of an older Josie by her niece who said she was always very prim and proper looking, round figured with a huge bosom (very desirable in the 1890s!) who had a weakness for gambling on horse races. Wyatt finally had to put a stop to her betting when she lost huge amount she could not afford to pay. Such a mix of prim and wild. They must have had such incredible stories to tell about their adventures, but they were both extremely tight lipped about their young days, glossing over the gunfight at OK Corral, pretending Josie did not live with other men before Wyatt, and always referring to each other as "husband and wife" even though there was no proof that they ever actually tied the knot... I love that, they are some of the few historic figures I would have loved to actually talk to and hear about their lives from them.
@@1949rangerrick ... I like the play on words, Doc Holidays. Edit "except" into your earlier statement.
J W noted, I usually catch myself on that one.
your usage of 'petty incidents of horse theft...' shows either a lack of knowledge or a way to increase their station in life. horse theives were almost universally despised. it was a very serious crime because of the extreme importance of the horse for work and travel, a crime sometimes being life threatening
I agree.. i can totally relate...if someone stole my civic id be out for blood.!!!
Nearly all rustling got you hanged. Livestock and horses were a family's life and income.
@@joshhencik1849 while there were many that dangled from a rope for it those were lynchings and therefore not legal actions. it was never a capital offense though it would have been a popular move
I only wish a lack of grammar now was considered as bad as horse theft then.
Old school GTA
Back then Tombstone had 20 saloons... and 2 bibles. But Tom Hanks came by regularly to read the news so it calmed everyone down.
A few things need to be addressed here: 1. To be specific, the exit to the O.K. Corral was 6 doors down from Fly's boarding house. Not the entrance. The entrance was a block over. The vacant lot in-between Fly's Boarding House and Harwood House, was just that: an empty vacant lot. 2. That photo at 2:52 is not Morgan Earp. Morgan was killed at the age of 30. He did not live long enough for his hair to grow gray. 3. When Virgil ordered the cowboys to disarm, a cowboy not directly involved in the street fight named Billy Claiborne, raised one hand into the air, then pulled his pistol from its holster with the other, and dropped it into the dirt. This, before retreating into the area between Fly's boarding house and the small photographic studio behind it. Court testimony doesn't make it clear what precisely happened to this weapon. But Claiborne and another man (Wesley Fuller) who also vacated the empty lot just as the Earp party arrived, reportedly later fought over this weapon. Fuller supposedly retrieved the weapon from the lot following the fight, and later attempted to sell the weapon as one that had been used in the gunfight. Claiborne caught him, and argued that it was his weapon, and if anyone was going to profit off the weapon playing a part in the shooting, it would be him. They story both told was that Tom McLaury had bent down to pick up the gun from the dirt, and Holiday stepped forward and fired a single round from one barrel of the short shotgun, which struck Tom McLaury underneath his arm. And that this exchange had in fact started the fight. It's an intriguing bit of information, and if true fills in the largest missing piece surrounding the incident, i.e. what actually started the gunfight. 4. Ike Clanton only ran a lunch counter briefly in 1878. By 1881, he was employed as a ranch hand. And he was well-known for being a loud-mouth who quarreled with others, often.
I wonder why Tom McLaury thought it to be a good idea to reach down for that gun whole being confronted, if that's how it happened.
@@Gutslinger They (the local cowboys gang) were all bold when it came to 'testing' law enforcement. It was simply a shared attitude.
I did a lot of research on the Clantons and McLaurys, Tom was 5'3 inches tall and Frank was 5'4 inches tall. They were not big men compared to the Earps. I didn't know about Clairborne's involvement in dropping the gun and Tom picked it up. We know for sure Morgan and Doc were itching for a fight.
@@user-mq9ky2ru5j Are you sure they were that short. Because that would explain a lot
@johnreidy2804 how so, if I may ask ?
I was just reminded of how much I love the movie Tombstone.
Sure was a fantastic movie
IF YOU LOVE TOMBSTONE THEN WATCH WYATT EARP WITH KEVIN COSTNER AND DENNIS QUAID , MADE THE SAME YEAR AS TOMBSTONE BUT BUT WENT UNNOTICED . THE BARELY RECOGNIZABLE DENNIS QUAIDS PERFORMANCE IS OUTSTANDING . ALSO , IT PORTRAYS A MORE ACCURATE TELLING OF INCIDENTS SURROUNDING THE CHAOTIC PERIOD .
Tombstone was a fun movie and Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc Holiday was fantastic but Wyatt Earp dealt with his earlier life as well as a more accurate account of events! Wyatt Earp is much longer but definitely worth the watch for a more dramatic portrayal of events
Sith_Ari Bad_Ned Quaid was really great in that role. I have always liked him but, to me, his Doc Holiday is a defining role of his.
@@sith_aribad_ned9748 Tombstone and Wyatt Earp are both great movies. Hour of the Gun is another really good movie
He was being snarky when he named it Tombstone. He wanted to go deep into Indian territory to find gold and silver. Everyone told him "if you head out into those parts all you're going to find is your tombstone."
If I had the time and inclination, I'd open a Western themed "Tombstone Pizza" parlor on Allen Steet just on the other side of the Birdcage Theater with windows for the sit down folk to look across and down the street for ghosts. What names and toppings on name pizzas should I offer? Here's one, the Ike Clanton. It would have beef tongue, chicken livers, yellow peppers, goat cheese, black olives and thin marinara sauce.
@@LesterMoore unfortunately for you Tombstone Pizza is a frozen pizza line owned by Nestlé. It is unlikely they'll be fine with you using the name.
@@thugpug4392 😫
Tombstone ranch pizza mushrooms olives chives everybody's coming to the party you'll have a good time
Probably the only actor that played on both sides of the fight was De Forest Kelly. He was one of the Clantons in the Star Trek TOS episode and was Morgan Earp in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Another reason Wyatt got most of the fame is because in his later years he really pursued Hollywood into making a movie on his life and it finally happened
That's actually not true. He was trying to get a book written, and as a friend to many of the fellas doing horse work in the new film industry he would often be hanging out on the set, as these were sort of like the new saloons for gathering and socializing.
But Wyatt did not earn any money once the movies started to come out and he for sure could not use any money after he passed away.
Wyatt's fame didn't come until decades after he died.
@@supportyourtroopsathletes6460 Who said anything about money? lol
Wyatt told lies about his life to director John Ford and that is why the Earps is considered as heroes which they are not. Ford believed every word of Wyatts lies of course.
Pissed of ex Confederate Rebels, ruthless highwaymen, corrupted law enforcement officials, crooked RR land deals, and the plight of small ranchers vs the big business ranchers... Tombstone is but a microcosm, of what life was like in the post Civil War western US Territories. from the tales of lawmen vs highwaymen on the Mullan Road, in Montana, on down to the Lincoln County War, in New Mexico, you can find similar incredible tales.
Pissed off at the way they were treated by the "carpetbaggers".
Great video. Really puts things in perspective. I learned a lot of this from the book "The Last Gunfight" which goes over Tombstones history pretty thoroughly. Living in Arizona and visiting and exploring the area around Tombstone frequently it's pretty cool to put the story to the scenery or vice versa.
Doc is smiling in his grave behind how well Val Kilmer did in Tombstone 🤣 I know I’d be .
Absolutely! Wonderful actors have played Holliday, but Kilmer CHANNELED him!
Check out Val Kilmer in The Salton Sea.
Amen 🙏
Trop...after seeing both several times I like Dennis Quaid's take on it as much as Vals
The best resumee of the GUNFIGHT AT THE O:K:CORRAL since reading the GUNLINGER volume of the OLD WEST - TIME Life series
if you're messed up about the gunfight before the video starts - be warned that you'll be messed up afterwards - this is an utterly confused history with much missing that it is practically worthless - find other sources
That's exactly true and why I just unsubscribed, opinions along with personal biases always distort the truth. Not to mention how can he not make even a genuine distinction of the correct firearm history when cap and ball new army 44cal. Civil War Revolvers were long phased out and that the smoke created by black powder obstructed view during the gun fight; not enough of them to completely cloud the view. Civil War most likely with 10's of thousands firing but not to the degree of less than 10. Wyatt Earp who made his name before going to Tombstone as a lawman in Dodge City Kansas in which on the handle of his Colt 45 Peacemaker that carried a 45Cal. Bullet full metal jacket had the engraving on a pure silver shield with Dodge City Kansas with his name on it. If you go to the NRA Museum in Fairfax VA it's on display and is the actual handgun he carried and is not a fake assumption, not to forget lever action rifles existed which were never shown, depicted or mentioned as well. In addition, the Cattle Trade and cattle itself was a commodity and lifeblood of the old west and many criminal gangs just like today used murder, threats and intimidation; they were not just a nuisance as said in this historically incorrect presentation that also depicts the Earp brothers and mutual friends like Doc Holiday and others in connection with the brutal gangs that profited from robbing and stealing cattle. So many more incorrect history and assumptions as said earlier I can write a book, clearly ridiculously wrong.
@@leatherneck7296 Colt .45 Buntline Special, not peacemaker
It's the woke narrative version of what happened. Of course it's messed up.
@@leatherneck7296- 1st, Civil War era weapons were NOT "phased out". They were being Bought, Sold, and Used WELL PAST 1900, as reflected by newspapers, magazines, and catalogs of the time. 2nd, "full metal jacket" was not invented until 1882 by a Swiss Col. A YEAR AFTER the shootout took place. (October 26, 1881). You don't know your Ass from your Elbow.
@@corvuscrow5485.... Spot on. Don;t you just love half educated "experts".
My cousin buried in same cemetery As virgil earp in Oregon....iv always loved reading about the old west
I read once that Wyatt was asked about the shootout on Fremont street in Tombstone and he said it was over near the OK Corral. That’s how it got its name.
Very interesting and informative. Thank you!
Most all the glory always goes to Wyatt Earp simply because in all the real historical records......He indeed was an original American badass.
The OK corral battle needs to be put into perspective. This "badass" faced off with 3 kids and 2 retards. All 5 cowboys were drunk as piss. Wyatt fought with 2 legit badasses in Doc Holliday and Virgil Earp. Both, in their 30's, had been in multiple gun battles. Autopsies showed Holliday shot 2 of them men who were killed with his shotgun. But Wyatt lived longest and in LA. So, he and his wife told the story.
No, it was because they had to make a hero, and he was picked. It could have been anyone. It's all about selling books and articles, and has nothing to do with actuality.
American bad guy is the right word.
@jacquelinemarie1078 Sad that You don't know and acknowledge that ( he could have been) in Real Life There ARE Hero's and Truth be Told You don't know any more or less than the rest of us But Your entitled to your beliefs and opinions.
@@samspencer582 Earp was a good guy who in his youth did some questionable things. The clanton gang were all very bad men
Seems I remember reading that Ike ran to Wyatt screaming he had no gun and Wyatt told him " the fight has commenced, get to fighting or get out" so Ike hauled ass
They didn't mention Virgil's ambush which almost took off his arm - and his life. A bit anti-Earp.
They say he was shot 19 times…
Nova did a terrific piece on the gunfight several yrs ago on PBS ...They used records and eyewitness accounts from the Tombstone Town Hall to recreate the " gunfight "
The dialog in the gunfight scene in the movie Tombstone was directly from the transscripts at the Spicer hearing after the gunfight.
Plus newspapers of the day, books of the day, affidavits of 1st hand eye witnesses.. Chief
How in the hell did Val Kilmer not get the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor from this movie? It was given to Tommy Lee Jones for the Fugitive. Really, Tommy Lee Jones for the Fugitive? Watch both actors and both parts and see who you think shouild have gotten the Oscar.
Oscars usually fixed.
Wyatt Earp's Biography was one of the most interesting books I've ever read
A single colt .45 *shows a S&W*
thanks for this!
Doc Holliday needs his own movie
Doc. Stacey Keach. It's ok
Living near Tombstone, I have to do the tour every time we get visitors that have never been there. I did find a couple of errors in your video. The OK Corral was not on Fremont St. it was & is fronted on Allen street with an entrance throught he alley next to Fry's. Allen and Fremont run parallel to each other. You are correct that "The gunfignt in the alley nxt to Fry's & spilling out on Fremont St" just doen't have the same ring. The other was mybe just symantics, byt Ike Clainton was killed for rustling cattle near Springerville, AZ by a range dectctive (not really a lawman, more of a hired gun. Other than thoes two very . minor notes, I found your video very entertaining & informative.
@James Jaudon Visited Tombstone about 20 years ago and the Allen St. entrance is just what I remember. The daily reenactment has the shooting on the bare sandy ground just on the West side of the corral and toward the North exit. Checked my souvenir tourist map to verify. The O.K. is on Allen St., not Fremont., which puts a dent in this poster's reliability.
The Cowboys were liberal and Democrat the Earps and Holliday were conservative and Republican. I just recently learned this.... In the November 2, 1880 election for Pima County sheriff, Democrat Shibell ran against Republican Bob Paul, who was expected to win. Votes arrived as late as November 7, and Shibell was unexpectedly reelected. He immediately appointed Johnny Behan as the new deputy sheriff for eastern Pima County, a job that Wyatt wanted. A controversy ensued when Paul uncovered ballot-stuffing by Cowboys and he sued to overturn the election.
thanks for sharing very interesting piece of history
Such rich history of men and their ideals makes me want to watch the movie again👏🏽
"You gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?"
Sounds like some KZhead channel is a distant relation to the Clantons.....
My ancestor was a saloon keeper in Tombstone during the gunfight, then he became a deputy sheriff in the town. He died of consumption in 1887.
Yup, me too 🤣
Unlike most guys of that era, Wyatt lived long enough to polish and enhance his reputation. Josephine helped with that. He is buried in Colma, by South San Francisco.
The biggest polisher of all was Stuart Lake, who swallowed Wyatt's tales hook, line, and sinker.
This part of american history is so fascinating
Wonderful to learn about History of gunfighter at Tombstone.
Pretty sure most know Virgil was the real stand up person as he was the one trying to de escalate in every movie, tv show, and book. His brother even said Virgil was literally looking to solve it without violence.
2:52 Frigging definitely not Morgan, and that wasn’t Wyatt either. Also, the clip used at 6:31 is misleading, as that’s a Smith & Wesson Schofield, not a .45 Colt. Do better, guys.
and what about the "gun were mostly black powder"... considering it's happened in 1881 and smokeless powder was not perfected until 1884 in Europe, you catch my drift...
Glad they finally used a a couple of shot's ( no pun intended ) of "Kirk Douglas & James Garner's" portrayals of Western Heroes/Anti-Heroes.
John Sturges directed both movies.. The Garner movie was essentially the sequel.
Nick...i kept waiting for Victor Mature & Henry Fonda from " My Darling Clementime" still waiting
I remember that shooting. It was loud. I told them to stop but they couldn't hear me. Whatever. I shook Doc Holidays hand afterward and took a picture with him. We had to stand there for 5 minutes for that.
😂
And everyone clapped
I remember you in Star Wars.
Love this movie! Watched it again the other night...❤👍
11:44 When sir Davos puts on his Wyatt Earp costume and tells you that you're corrupt, you're corrupt, period.
Everything I know about the gunfight I learned from the "Star Trek" episode "Spectre of the Gun."
The Melkosians were behind the whole affair.
One of the FEW good episodes of Season 3!
you are a idiot
That was my first exposure to the gunfight as a kid, later on I got more interested in it from movies like the 1950’s ‘Gunfight at the O.K. Corral’ and especially John Ford’s 1946 film ‘My Darling Clementine’.
@@cha5 'Clementine' is fantastic even tho it is mostly fiction,,,i love the film also!
I dont care if the gun fight did not happen at the OK Corral, and Dock Holiday's favorite quip was not "Im your Huckleberry". Thats the way it should have happened.
My favorite scene in the movie "Tombstone" is the part where the Earps, "Doc" Holliday, and a bunch of the "Cowboys" were watching a play, and the guy in the play is making a deal with the devil!! Curley Bill says.... "You know what I'd do? I make a deal and crawfish, then drill that ol' devil in the ass"🤣😂🤣😂 Then Curley Bill leans in and whispers to Johnny Ringo, and asked him..."What about you"? To which Johnny Ringo responds..."I already did it" CLASSIC!!😁
I seen the movie but I never understood the line can you explain it?
@@littlecarminelupertazzi1357 LOL!😂 Yeah he was just basically saying he'd make a deal with the devil, but then he'd "Crawfish" on the deal, meaning he renege on the deal, and when he says he'd "drill that ol' devil in the ass"...meaning he'd put a bullet in his ass!! So when "Curley" Bill leans in and ask Johnny Ringo "what about you"? Johnny Ringo answered "I already did it" meaning that he'd already made a deal with the devil!!😂 Hopefully I explained that right for ya Brother!👍👊
@@aronraygetchapull42071 you did. thank you
Aron Ray thanks, I didn’t get it either. 🤷♀️
You’re what’s wrong with the gene pool.
How can the truth be messed up. Although the 50s movie with Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster is a masterpiece for the acting. I think that it brings out the truth* without necessarily glorifying Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp. In fact Kirk Douglas is quite the meanie . Both are portrayed as kind of anti-heroes but the acting is superb and I'm glad that it's captured Forever on film. but I certainly enjoyed the new version with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer about the Best Best Western I've seen in the more modern times...*Hollywood might add or subtract but the storyline is the same. The version with Kevin Costner I think it's almost documentary-style movie of the life of Wyatt Earp has about an hour more than the other movies and I definitely think it's worth watching if you're into this kind of historical Western. I can never get enough of Doc Holliday !
A fair and accurate account! I have been there, and one thing that you will see is a lot more room than in the real fight. Most of the buildings have been reconstructed, and a lot of space was given over for tourists to wander through the area. I am not sure what size the original lots were, but picture crowding that bunch into a 2 car garage! Black powder guns weren't accurate at long ranges, but nobody would contemplate forcing a gunfight in a confined space with 7 men and horses! In his book The Tombstone Chronicles, Ben T. Traywick asserts that it was an accident, and the evidence for that is pretty compelling. Wyatt and Virgin had hidden their pistols in coat pockets, and Virgil had given his shotgun to Doc to hide under his long coat while carrying Doc's walking stick- not very tactical if you expected gunplay, but non-threatening. One of the big mysteries is who started it and why. In her book And Die In The West Paula Mitchell Marks suggests it was a simple accident. We know Wyatt and Virgil were attempting to coerce and avoid violence. A witness said somebody told Doc to "let them have it!" to which he replied, "all right." So at least two of the Earp party- most likely Morgan and Doc- were hoping to force an issue. Since they were right next to Doc's house he most certainly had reason to be alarmed but Morgan was probably more concerned about the reports of threats Ike had been making shoot him some Earps. Ike does get the credit for starting the fiasco with his drunken threats and belligerent behavior. He and Tom had both been buffaloed, and most likely had hangovers to boot. Frank and Billy came late, and who knows what Ike and Tom told them? Most certainly they were opting for a retreat if they could get Ike on a horse! I We do know that when the two groups met, Virgil demanded, "Throw up your hands! I want your guns!" and then, "Hold! I don't mean that!" We will never know if he was talking to Billy and Frank, or Morgan and Doc, but somebody had made a threatening gesture. What was it? Wyatt and Virgil both claimed it was because Frank and Billy drew and cocked pistols, but it may have also been Doc and Morgan doing the same. As for Tom, he was most certainly unarmed. Earlier he had a confrontation with Wyatt, who asked him if he was 'heeled', and Tom said he wasn't. Wyatt claimed he was, and pistol-whipped him to the ground. Regardless, Marks suggested Tom opened his vest or coat to show he wasn't armed, and the sudden action, never wise when tensions were so high, sparked a general panic with both parties assuming they were acting in self-defense from that point on. I personally agree with this theory, as Virgil and Wyatt would most certainly have drawn and fired at Virgil's "I don't' mean that!" if they had pistols cocked and pointed at them, or Morgan and Doc, primed for action, would have fired immediately. Doc had the shotgun ready to deploy, although he wasn't a fan of them. In Doc Holliday, John Myers Myers thought Doc would want to fire the shotgun and drop it as fast as he could, drawing his pistol, and that is what seems to have happened. Eyewitness testimony is very confused. The drama leading up to the fight and the aftermath is worthy of investigation. There is so much to digest the actual fight almost seems a postscript to the other events. Explore this bit of American frontier history at your peril, however- you will always want to learn more!
Claud Wolf Tombstone Chronicles was a very good read with the actual newspaper articles of the day
For the most part, you have written a good missive. However, it could use some proofreading and editing.
J W 🖕your not the grammar police
@@paulsoxl7739 ... Try to learn some of the simple spelling rules regarding homophones. If you do, you might not make such stupid phrases as "your not the grammar police".
J W Get a life it’s KZhead
All of these videos about the GUNFIGHT at the OK Corral are interesting, but NOBODY was there. Everyone reads many tales about that fateful and famous day. I think everyone just needs to like whichever version you like the most. I prefer the TOMBSTONE version.
This begs for a new historically accurate film no more than 150 minutes run time. Title - Shoot out Near the O.K. Coral .
Awesome vid unfitting music bro
More accurately, the Clantons and McLaurys weren't Cowboys or rustlers in their own right. They were local ranchers who were fencing the cattle and horses that the Cowboys were rustling, mostly out of Mexico. The gunfight itself resulted from a perfect storm of minor incidents and missteps by all parties involved that played out over the weeks, hours, minutes and even seconds before the actual battle erupted.
Wth are you talking about they were cowboys ike and billy’s dad was killed months earlier by mexicans after being ambushed twice by the cowbows led by ike’s father when he was killed curly bill became leader
@@FaMe901EnT The Clanton's might have rustled cattle from Mexico but they were still not members of the Cowboy gang. They were long standing members of the Tombstone community and they kept their noses clean, at least outwardly, around Tombstone. The Cowboys were outlaws that had been fairly recently run out of Texas by the Texas Rangers and had moved their activities to Arizona where the law wasn't as well organized. The Clanton's and McLaurys, who were already well established in Cochise County, exploited their services and were in bed with them financially but they weren't really Cowboys. Newton "Old Man" Clanton might have been their main financial patron until his death, but I doubt if any of the Cowboy's really viewed him as their leader.
What about Curly Bill Brocius? He shot Fred White tombstones first marshal while he was disarming him in october of 1880.
It was an accident the movie tried to make it seem intensional he didnt even shoot him in the chest it was the groin area ..curly bill and fred were friends the hammer was half cocked on the pistol
Crazy thing is that the mclaury are my relatives that moved to America from ireland, you wouldn’t believe how many times i’ve heard the story of the o.k. Corral at family reunions
The Pimp of Peoria.... Wyatt Earp rode shotgun for Wells Fargo. His claim to fame was he lived to be a ranch cook on a ranch in today’s Hollywood California and became friend and mentor to John Wayne.
That gunfight at such close range shows that the adrenaline proved too much for both sides--- terrible shots!! If Wyatt or Doc were so great with guns, no one would have survived. Clanton should have been the target of the double barrel even though he claimed to be unarmed.
This seems pretty well done. I live in AZ. I'll have to go down south and visit Tombstone. I didn't like all the mobile homes I saw the last time I was there. I guess property is 200G now days.
A damned mobile trailer with one bathroom and one bedroom'll run ya dry 150k nowadays brand new. God knows why.
❤️😘🥰Absolutely love it 🥰❤️Thank you ❤️😘👍
Two dance halls, a dozen gambling parlors, twenty saloons, brothels....sounds like a fun place. Why didnt Tombstone become the first Las Vegas?
@Taiwan92Abarth Lolololololol😎😎😎
Because the first Las Vegas already existed. Right across the border in New Mexico.
Too many murders
I could tell you. But what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
More like another Dodge City - Silverton - Denver... Location, Location, Location... Denver and San Francisco were boomtowns that thrived after the "boom" because of their location. Most boomtowns faded away. Tombstone never quite faded away, partly because of nearby Fort Huachuca. Although in the mid 1950's the post commander of Fort Huachuca conspired with some "civic leaders" to establish, Sierra Vista as a more "wholesome" alternative to Tombstone and Fry Town (with their "numerous bars and prostitutes") although, the automobile and Tourism "saved" Tombstone...
Of course the cowboys funerals were lavish Mafia/Cartel funerals generally are
Please don't be and Wyatt Earp worshipper he was convicted of every crime known to man and there was warrants out against him for murder of Frank Stilwell who was seen in Tucson early that morning even though Morgan was murdered at 12 midnight another word still will could not have been the killer despite what I thought so he murdered the man for no reason
And the only reason Wyatt Earp who would have been the first Target for everyone was not hit was because Wyatt Earp War I still miss and also I Clinton charged out in the middle of the fight shielding him from other people trying to get the weapon away from him
The gunfight at the OK Corral is recreated every weekend in cities across America
FANG yeah, because that somehow makes it better.
Gun baby guns!!
I love the fact I've visited the real Tomestone in Arizona, would go back in a heartbeat.
The local army fort mentioned was non other than my place of birth, Fort Hauachuca. The "Cowboys" cattle rustling became so problematic that the U. S. Army was ready to dispatch troops to handle the situation at the behest of the Mexican government who were so enraged they threatened war against to U.S. The gunfight should probably be called the "Gunfight on Freemont Street" but someone in Hollywood seeing the the O. K. Corral sign in the distance invoked artistic license and forever linked the two together since. Also I think it should be noted that it is no coincidence that the gunfight took place at the location it did as it was literally right outside Doc Holiday 's boarding house. I believe the Cowboys were intending to ambush Doc or at the very least make their threat feel more real to the Earps.
You basically slander Wyatt by not mentioning his work as a lawman after his horse stealing youth.
Todd Mott You just slandered Wyatt by calling him a lawman, one of the most slanderous professions ever.
@@itsallaboutthatbass8558 lol
He was Always a scammer and thief... nothing admirable at all. He was quite the story teller(liar!).
I live a hour away from Tombstone, that place is pretty sweet if you like history
Overall good history of the drama that took place. Lots of insider trivia not known to many folks. Unfortunately , a falsehood was spread by Clanton forces at the time, that Wyatt Earp and Doc were linked with those stage coach robberies. However, Fred Dodge who worked many years for WELLS FARGO as a Detective and Supervisor, absolutely cleared Wyatt of ALL suspicion when he testified under Oath, that Wyatt and Virgil worked for him and were trusted totally by Wells Fargo. Wyatt did approach Ike Clanton to give him the names and locations of the three murdering robbers and he (Ike) could keep the $ 3,000 reward, dead or alive and Wyatt would easily win the Sheriff's election. THATS what really helped fuel the gunfight because Ike was terrified the Cowboy / Rustler faction would find out and kill him on the spot. Of course Doc Holliday couldn't resist taunting Ike, that he knew about his little " secret plan " with Wyatt, which is one of the reasons Ike got drunk and went into Fly's Boarding House with his Winchester just prior to the shooting, according to Big Nose Kate , looking for Doc who was not there. (Bob B. Bell)
I was in Tombstone last week. The city Marshall's office is behind the main entrance to the OK Corral. His parking lot is next to the gunfight site.
Supposedly the shotgun was borrowed from Wells Fargo by Wyatt. Only Frank & Billy fired any rounds back.
Tom wasnt armed his brother frank and billy were armed
@@FaMe901EnT U R correct. Tom's horse bolted while he reached for his long gun. Left unarmed Doc gave Tom both barrels.
Probably black powder weapons used??? Smokeless powder didn’t come around for another decade, plus a few years!!
The crazy irony of the shootout is that the two individuals most responsible for the fight -- short-tempered hotheads Ike Clanton and Wyatt Earp -- were the only ones to come out of it without a scratch. And despite Hollywood's efforts to portray it as some epic, drawn-out battle, it seems the most apt description is that it was "30 shots in 30 seconds." It was over that quick (and very hard to hit someone with a pistol, even at close range).
In Hour of the Gun (1967) the actual gunfight lasts about 15 seconds.
I would disagree it being hard to hit somebody with pistol at close range, these men were about 6 feet from each other. It would be easy.
That was pretty good. I am actually a Clanton from my Mother's side and agree with most of what was said. However also have some different insights about why and how things were.
Very interesting. Mostly old news, but some new data. However, without documentation, it's all just hearsay.
Without a document somebody wrote its all hearsay. Either way its coming from word of mouth you fool.
People in Tucson, the largest town in southern Arizona, knew of the OK Corral. That’s the association. It was place reference people heard of
To expand on my reply to your pinned query: Had you done proper research you would know, and hopefully would have said, that the back entrance to the O.K. Corral was located in the small lot beside Fly's studio and boarding house, hence the catchy name of the incident. That Ike Clanton was a drunken cowardly bully and braggart who talked yards of sh*t when he was armed and had his friends nearby and/or when unarmed but the targets of his braggadocio weren't around, but caviled and slunk off when he didn't have that advantage or if said targets showed up. That is to say, he wasn't just a fellow who ran a lunch counter so maybe wasn't such a bad guy. Stephen Lang's portrayal of him in 'Tombstone' is spot on. That a goodly portion of the contention between the Earps and the Cowboys/Clantons was due to two matters, the gap between Town (the Earps) and Country (the Clantons et al) and the political difference between the two, the townsmen being Republican and the countrymen being Democrats. Instead you did a modicum of research and extrapolated from that and expressed what you feel the situation and the incident were based on your "modern" viewpoint.
I think the interplay between the Earps and the Clantons was interesting, because most of the tensions were created out of a desire to prosper financially, rather than an initial dislike for one another.
Even though it is today a tourist trap, Tombstone is still fun!
I don't know about you but if any of my neighbors did half the things to me that the Cochise County Cowboys did to their neighbors I'd be hunting them down with not so nice intentions just like the Earp's did so I'll stick to my understanding that the Earp's were more or less on the right side.
Thanks my great great great grandma was Nancy Ellen Clanton I’m a 5th cousin. This was nice to hear my family’s side of the story .
As I've stated before. This whole thing was a fight over GUN CONTROL! "Surender your guns!" "Come and get em!" Sound familiar?
Tim Shade spoken like a true bitch 😂🤣 I bet you can’t fight that’s why you love your guns
@@michaelturner3606 Bet you can't help defend this country with your fists. Bitch boy. The patriots have guns, tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, bombs, helicopters and jets ready to be fitted with weapons, etc. Patriotic machinists and engineers have buried stockpiles of full-automatics, missiles, bombs, if they are ever needed to be passed out.
@Joseph Lisitza Not I.
Michael Turner This guy will get Indian Jonesed. What a pussy.
Joseph Lisitza You poor bastard. They got you too huh?
It seems a normal day in Chicago is millions of times wilder then the Wild West. People are still talking about a single gunfight more then hundred years later while there is probably a gunfight every single day in inner city USA
Sad disgusting thing about this situation was it's actual conflict between brothel purveyors (war of pimps) and nothing more. Everything else is just candy-coating.
I was just in Tombstone. The shootout sight wasn't in the O.K Corral but it was VERY close. "6 doors down" makes it sound like a l o n g block away or down the street. It was not. Both were squeezed into the same small square block. I don't know which 6 doors are being referred to.
Great video, I especially liked the ad break every two minutes 🙄
Cowboy was a villainous word even in the 1700s. The other word was Skinners.
this goes pretty easy on the cowboys....due to lack of research I assume
What an story,, but yet some of it is unbelievably
There's two sides to every story, and in the middle there's the truth.
What a stupid statement. There are infinite sides to every story, and the truth is somewhere.
@@michaelbohm5160 he got it from cobra Kai.
"Understanding is a three-edged sword." -- J. Michael Straczinski
Sorry son, there is the truth and there’s always the lies
Val Killmer was the best man to play doc holiday out of all of them
Best role of his career.
Long live Napoleon, "History is what the consensus agrees upon"
Doc Only ever killed two people, Mike Gordon in 1879 and then Tom McLaury in 1881 during the infamous gunfight, and Mike Gordon was drunk and shooting a building when Doc walked outside and shot him. The gunfight is believed to have started when Virgil drew his gun and shot Billy Clanton point blank in the chest, killing him. Only Wyatt and Ike Clanton survived the gunfight unscathed. The Earps and Holliday were charged with murder, Wyatt spared an unarmed Ike Clanton and that's how they escaped conviction. Ike Clanton wasn't actually a member of the Cowboys either, more an associate. All stuff that could have been included.
Next, you'll be telling us that, as a representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, "300" may have fudged just a little.
Actually, thats a good point. 300, according to its creator in the original graphic novel form (Frank Miller), is about the legend of the battle, Same for all the Hollywood versions of the fight at the ok corral: legend...... So what was the truth? Pay your money and take your choice.....
The truth is Doc Holliday shot all 3 of them. Morgan shot one in the wrist, Virgil shot Frank in the gut, but all 3 kill shots were fired by Doc Holliday
Morgan shoots Billy in the side. Wyatt shoots Frank McLaurey in the stomach, Frank might have shot Virgil in the thigh. Billy shoots Morgan across the back and chips his spine. Doc unloads both barrels into Tom's side under the armpit as he reaches for Billy's Winchester in the horse's scabbard. Vigil or Wyatt hit Billy in the wrist. Someone possibly Wyatt shoots Billy in the chest. Frank confront's Doc and shoots him in the hip causing a minor wound. Morgan hits Frank in the head. Frank dies in the street after lingering a couple of minutes. Tom and Billy die "at the house on the corner". The wounded Earp party doesn't attend the inquest.
Virgil shot billy in the chest
How could he have shot 3 men with 2 shots from a double barrel
most of this does not add up with anything! I think I’ll believe scholars and historians.
this is taken from official records. its about interpretation.
@@orangewarm1 No, this is taken from innuendo and false claims. Just because something wrote something down or said something doesnt mean its official record.
Great information on the history of the event… Hollywood does mess history
I have learned that a quick draw with a pistol might be only accurate one shot in the hands of experience for 10 feet. But a fast plans draw and the same recock can have deadly accuracy. He'll the other way you might just shoot your friend on the other side of the bar
When I heard "large Apache presence" I imagined a squad of helicopters 🤣😂😂😂
And I thought of a linux web-server
It's simple. The Cowboys were wannabes, the Earp clan were legit badasses. It ended the way situations like that most ussually do.
There were badasses on both sides bro but cowboys had more members so yea they had more wannabes but guys like curly bill johnny ringo frank mclaury and frank stilwell and others were dangerous af…johnny ringo was already involved in a war similar to the earps like 1 year before that in texas where he killed multiple people and curly bill yea they all had a ling history before tombstone
Ive been in wyatt earps house in tombstone, its tiny lolol cool town but a little too touristy