Corral in the town of Tombstone and Wyatt Earp 's Vendetta Ride in the early 1880s .

The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud Competition , with Cowboys Billy Claiborne , Ike and Billy Clanton , and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp , Special Policeman Morgan Earp , Special Policeman Wyatt Earp , and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side .

The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud Competition , with Cowboys Billy Claiborne , Ike and Billy Clanton , and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp , Special Policeman Morgan Earp , Special Policeman Wyatt Earp , and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side .

The gunfight was the result of a long-simmering feud Competition , with Cowboys Billy Claiborne , Ike and Billy Clanton , and Tom and Frank McLaury on one side and town Marshal Virgil Earp , Special Policeman Morgan Earp , Special Policeman Wyatt Earp , and temporary policeman Doc Holliday on the other side .

Virgil , Morgan , and Doc Holliday were wounded Bodily_harm , but Wyatt Earp was unharmed .

It was not well known Know to the American public until 1931 , when Stuart Lake published Publishing the initially well-received biography `` '' two years after Earp 's death .

On December 28 , 1881 , Virgil Earp was ambushed Attack and maimed Bodily_harm in a murder attempt by the Cowboys .

On March 18 , 1882 , a Cowboy fired Use_firearm from a dark alley through the glass door of a Campbell & Hatch 's saloon and billiard parlor , killing Morgan Earp .

Wyatt Earp , newly appointed Change_of_leadership as Deputy U.S .