Virgil Earp as a colonel during the Second Mexican War. Virgil Earp Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal when he led his brothers Morgan and Wyatt and Doc Holliday in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. They killed brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. All four lawmen were charged
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral had been properly deputized by Virgil Earp. The public perceptions were controversial concerning the Earp brothers' actions, and especially those of Wyatt. Even today, the brothers have strongly opinionated admirers and detractors. A hand-drawn sketch of the gunfight was made by John Flood with Wyatt Earp's assistance on September 15, 1921; it was sold at auction in October 2010 for $380,000. The map describes the position of a number of witnesses and all of the participants with the exception of Ike Clanton, who fled from the gunfight. In 1952, Victor Clyde Forsythe, a popular painter of desert scenes and cowboy