Wyatt Earp : Accuracies and Inaccuracies

Accuracies
- In the film, Wyatt Earp is shown running away from home to join the Union Army during the Civil War, and being caught by his father while doing so. He did attempt to run away from home for this purpose in his youth.

- His father did press to his children that nothing was more important than family.

- The Earp family did move to California when Wyatt Earp was a teenager.

- Wyatt Earp was arrested for horse theft in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

- Wyatt Earp did in fact meet Doc Holiday through boxer John Shanssey, in Fort Griffin.

- Wyatt Earp did capture outlaw Dave Rudabaugh near Fort Griffin. Rudabaugh is the only
outlaw to have been captured by lawmen Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett, and Bat Masterson.

- Wyatt Earp did marry his first wife, Urilla Sutherland, in Lamar, Missouri. The two married on January 10th, 1870. She did die a few months later from typhus.

- While married to his first wife, Urilla, Wyatt Earp did work for a time as a policeman in Lamar, Missouri.

- The whereabouts of Wyatt Earp between 1871 and 1874, following his first wifes death, have for years been speculation more than fact. It is safe to say that he drifted from place to place as depicted. It is believed that he, for a time, was working as a buffalo hunter, as suggested in the film, but that has never been confirmed beyond some doubt.

- Mattie Blaylock was in fact a prostitute when she and Wyatt Earp met. They never legally married, but he did allow her to use his last name. His brother, James, did marry a prostitute, Nellie Ketchum.

- Wyatt Earp was not, as stated in the film, shot even once during his lawman career.

- Wyatt Earp did in fact save Mike O'Rourke, aka "Tommy behind the deuce", from lynching after the latter was arrested for murder in 1881. However, the actual name was "Johnny Behind the Deuce", inexplicably changed to "Tommy" in this film.

- Ed Masterson did take over as marshal after Wyatt Earp's departure from Dodge City, however it was not Wyatt Earp that he replaced, but instead was Marshal Larry Deger.

- Wyatt Earp did have a reputation for "pistol whipping" men he would arrest, a technique that he defended as being extremely effective.

- Wyatt Earp was accused of having used excessive force while serving as a lawman in Dodge City.

- Wyatt and Josie did mine for gold in Alaska toward the end of the 19th century.

- Josie Marcus is alleged to have had a semi-nude photo taken of her which was in the possession of Sheriff Johnny Behan, her boyfriend at the time. The whereabouts of the photo now is unknown.

- Doc Holliday and his girlfriend Big Nose Kate did often have domestic disputes, often resulting in violence. Wyatt Earp or his brothers were often the only men who could intervene and calm the situation with little trouble.

- The "Earp wives", or rather the wives of brothers Morgan, James and Virgil did not in fact care for Wyatt Earp, feeling he had too much sway over his brothers decisions.

Inaccuracies
- In the film, two Earp brothers, Virgil Earp and James Earp, are portrayed returning home together following their service with the Union Army in the Civil War. In fact, James was wounded in a Missouri battle early in the war, returning home shortly thereafter. Virgil Earp actually returned home with another brother, Newton Earp, who was not mentioned in the film, but who, like Virgil, served until the wars end.

- Wyatt Earp was not a well known lawman until after the Gunfight at the OK Corral.

- Josie Marcus was not a well known actress, and in fact had been in Tombstone, Arizona for quite some time prior to Wyatt Earp's arrival, having lived previously with a lawyer, and with Sheriff Behan.

- Wyatt Earp is depicted as having shot and killed a man who shot into a theater in Dodge City, Kansas. The cowboys name was George Hoy, and in fact, both Earp and Bat Mastersons brother James fired on the man, and it has been said that James Masterson actually killed the man. The presence of James Masterson was ignored in the film.

- Wyatt Earp is depicted as having met Bat and Ed Masterson while working as a buffalo hunter out west. Historically, it is disputed as to when and where he first met the brothers, but it is certain that when he did meet them he came to know not only Bat and Ed, but their brother James as well. James was ignored in the film altogether.

- Josie Marcus was not present during the George Hoy shooting.

- In the film, Wyatt Earp is depicted burning everything he and his first wife had together, including the house. There is no existing evidence that this ever occurred. Also, if he had done this, it would more likely be for sanitary purposes, since she died from typhus, and not from grief.

- Although he is portrayed in the film as slightly ineffective, Bat Masterson's brother, Ed Masterson, was shot twice during his time as a lawman in Dodge City, not just once, and was an extremely effective lawman. He killed his assailant in the first instance, and wounded his assailant, Jack Wagner, in the second instance, with Wagner dying from his wounds the following day. But it is debated as to whether he did or did not shoot Wagner's boss Alf Walker as depicted. In the latter he died himself, as depicted, and Bat Masterson responded from across the street, firing on both Wagner and Wagner's employer, Alf Walker. As to whether Walker was killed, wounded, or missed all together is debated.

- There is no evidence that Wyatt Earp ever voiced his disapproval of Ed Masterson being a lawman.

- Ed Masterson replaced Marshal Larry Deger as town marshal of Dodge City following Wyatt Earp's departure, not Earp.

- Wyatt Earp did return to Dodge City following Ed Masterson's murder, but he did not return and become marshal. Instead, he returned and began working under lawman Charlie Bassett, whose presence was ignored in the film.

- Wyatt Earp was never the Marshal of Dodge City. He was Assistant Marshal and Deputy Marshal.

- There is no evidence that Mattie Blaylock ever fired a shot at Wyatt Earp while they were together.

- Tombstone Marshal Fred White was in fact well liked by the outlaw "Cowboy" faction, and contrary to the film depiction, by his own testimony prior to his death, the shooting by Bill Brocius that caused his death was accidental. Brocius in fact showed remorse and regret over the shooting.

- Marshal Fred White was depicted as being an older man, but in fact was either 31 or 32 at the time of his death.

- Outlaw Johnny Ringo was not shot and killed during the shootout at "Stinking Springs". His death happened later, and was "officially" ruled a suicide. Several men were implicated as having murdered him, to include lawman Wyatt Earp, gunman and gambler Doc Holliday, gambler Mike O'Rourke, and gunman "Buckskin" Frank Leslie, as well as little known gunman Lou Cooley, one of the few men alleged to have never feared Ringo despite his reputation. Earp and Holliday were most certainly in Colorado at the time, and more likely than not the death was in fact a suicide.

- Wyatt Earp was not involved in one hundred gunfights in his lifetime. Though an exact figure is difficult to calculate, less than ten would be more accurate.