25. Battle of the OK Corral
Virgil, Morgan, and Wyatt Earp approached the Cowboys who were in a lot near the OK Corral during the midafternoon of October 26, 1881. Who fired the first shot is disputed. What is certain is Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran for their lives. The McLaury’s and Billy Clanton were killed. All of the Earp party were wounded except for Wyatt Earp. The famed gun battle lasted about 30 seconds (during which about 30 rounds were exchanged between the parties, who stood about six feet from each other when it began, in the open) and was the beginning, rather than the end, of a bloody vendetta between the Earps and the Cowboys.
