The Messed Up Truth About The Gunfight At The O.K. Corral 

What's the craziest thing you learned here?

I remember, long ago in the Old West, when a RU-vid video would play without interruption.

" Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a .44, no Les, no more."

"The cowboys weren't really all that bad - they just terrorized the local populace"

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.

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 was just reminded of how much I love the movie Tombstone.

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.

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 <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="172">2:52</a> 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.

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.

Back then Tombstone had 20 saloons... and 2 bibles. But Tom Hanks came by regularly to read the news so it calmed everyone down.

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."

Doc is smiling in his grave behind how well Val Kilmer did in Tombstone 🤣 I know I’d be .

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

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.

My cousin buried in same cemetery As virgil earp in Oregon....iv always loved reading about the old west

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

Doc Holliday needs his own movie

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.

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!

This part of american history is so fascinating

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 "

Sounds like some RU-vid channel is a distant relation to the Clantons.....

Wyatt Earp's Biography was one of the most interesting books I've ever read

Most all the glory always goes to Wyatt Earp simply because in all the real historical records......He indeed was an original American badass.

They didn't mention Virgil's ambush which almost took off his arm - and his life. A bit anti-Earp.

thanks for this!

The best resumee of the GUNFIGHT AT THE O:K:CORRAL since reading the GUNLINGER volume of the OLD WEST - TIME Life series

Such rich history of men and their ideals makes me want to watch the movie again👏🏽

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

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="704">11:44</a> When sir Davos puts on his Wyatt Earp costume and tells you that you're corrupt, you're corrupt, period.

thanks for sharing very interesting piece of history

"You gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?"

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.

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.

Wonderful to learn about History of gunfighter at Tombstone.

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.

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.

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.

Love this movie! Watched it again the other night...❤👍

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!!😁

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.

Awesome vid unfitting music bro

A single colt .45 *shows a S&W*

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.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="172">2:52</a> Frigging definitely not Morgan, and that wasn’t Wyatt either. Also, the clip used at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="391">6:31</a> is misleading, as that’s a Smith & Wesson Schofield, not a .45 Colt. Do better, guys.

❤️😘🥰Absolutely love it 🥰❤️Thank you ❤️😘👍

Everything I know about the gunfight I learned from the "Star Trek" episode "Spectre of the Gun."

What about Curly Bill Brocius? He shot Fred White tombstones first marshal while he was disarming him in october of 1880.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

Very interesting. Mostly old news, but some new data. However, without documentation, it's all just hearsay.

You basically slander Wyatt by not mentioning his work as a lawman after his horse stealing youth.

As I've stated before. This whole thing was a fight over GUN CONTROL! "Surender your guns!" "Come and get em!" Sound familiar?

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.

I live a hour away from Tombstone, that place is pretty sweet if you like history

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 !

There's two sides to every story, and in the middle there's the truth.

What an story,, but yet some of it is unbelievably

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!

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

Two dance halls, a dozen gambling parlors, twenty saloons, brothels....sounds like a fun place. Why didnt Tombstone become the first Las Vegas?

The gunfight at the OK Corral is recreated every weekend in cities across America

Even though it is today a tourist trap, Tombstone is still fun!

Of course the cowboys funerals were lavish Mafia/Cartel funerals generally are

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.

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.

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 .

I love the fact I've visited the real Tomestone in Arizona, would go back in a heartbeat.

When I heard "large Apache presence" I imagined a squad of helicopters 🤣😂😂😂

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.

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.

It's simple. The Cowboys were wannabes, the Earp clan were legit badasses. It ended the way situations like that most ussually do.

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.

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)

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

most of this does not add up with anything! I think I’ll believe scholars and historians.

Great information on the history of the event… Hollywood does mess history

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).

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.

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.

Long live Napoleon, "History is what the consensus agrees upon"

Val Killmer was the best man to play doc holiday out of all of them

And I grew up playing cowboys and Indians.....God I miss the good old days....

this goes pretty easy on the cowboys....due to lack of research I assume

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.

Now it's year 2021 and nothing has changed.

Supposedly the shotgun was borrowed from Wells Fargo by Wyatt. Only Frank & Billy fired any rounds back.

There are so many factual errors in this video that it would take more time than I wish to waste to list them.

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

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.

Probably black powder weapons used??? Smokeless powder didn’t come around for another decade, plus a few years!!

Ive been in wyatt earps house in tombstone, its tiny lolol cool town but a little too touristy

Great movie. 🤠

I was always aware that the fight was not actually involved in the OK Corall itself, but in the Fly Shot business, and the cattle business, or.illegal cattle business