Family feuds in the United States had occurred on October 26, 1881, and was itself the climax of the Earp–Clanton family feud, simmering since the summer of 1880. Tensions between the Earps and both the Clantons and McLaurys increased through 1881, culminating in the historic gunfight. At the O.K. Corral, three deputized Earp brothers, Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil, along with Doc Holliday, had killed Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Tom McLaury. The Clanton and McLaury families were aligned with the "Outlaw Cowboys", a loosely knit outlaw group of families, friends and acquaintances then living in surrounding Cochise and Pima counties. The Earp Vendetta ride was a
Family feuds in the United States least one ballad and play, as well as through music recorded by John Hartford. Feud descendant and author Brandon Ray Kirk has written a history of the feud titled "Blood in West Virginia: Brumfield v. McCoy", which draws primarily upon twenty years of research including oral histories with other feud descendants, newspaper accounts, and courthouse documents. The Earp vendetta ride arose as a result of coordinated attacks (in December 1881 and again in March 1882) against the Earp brothers. These ambushes were in retaliation for their involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, in Tombstone, Arizona. The noted gun-battle