Morgan’s Last Journey and Virgil Earp’s Departure — March 19–20, 1882

Morgan Earp was dead, but the Earp family’s movement out of Tombstone did not occur as a single journey. Contemporary sources document two separate departures on consecutive days: Morgan’s body left Tombstone on Sunday, March 19, while Virgil Earp and his wife left the following day. Keeping those movements separate is essential to understanding what happened next.

Sunday, March 19 — Morgan Leaves Tombstone

Morgan’s body was prepared for shipment to his parents in Colton, California. Contemporary Tombstone reporting stated that the funeral cortege left the Cosmopolitan Hotel at about 12:30 on Sunday afternoon. The fire bell tolled as the procession departed.

The Tombstone Epitaph reported that Morgan’s brothers and two or three close friends guarded the body as far as Contention. From there, the casket continued on the railroad journey west.

George Parsons recorded the departure in his diary the following day, noting that Morgan Earp’s body had been sent to Colton on Sunday.

Morgan’s departure on March 19 should not be combined with Virgil Earp’s trip through Tucson the following day. They were separate movements.

Monday, March 20 — Virgil Leaves

On Monday, March 20, Virgil Earp and his wife prepared to leave Arizona for California. Virgil was still suffering from the wounds received in the December 1881 ambush in Tombstone.

Parsons recorded that Virgil and his wife left for Colton with an armed bodyguard. Contemporary evidence surrounding the events in Tucson places Wyatt Earp, Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Sherman McMaster and a man identified as Johnson with the party.

Their presence in Tucson is not dependent upon later memoirs. Witnesses examined during the coroner’s investigation into Frank Stilwell’s death described the Earp party at the Tucson hotel, depot and railroad grounds.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tucson

Dr. D. G. Handy testified during the Stilwell inquest that he met Wyatt Earp at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tucson. Virgil Earp came out of the hotel and shook hands with him.

According to Handy, Wyatt said that he and the others were going to the depot with Virgil. Handy followed.

Handy also testified to something Wyatt told him about the reason members of the party intended to remain in Tucson. According to Handy, Wyatt said that the Earps and Holliday had been told that the man who killed Morgan Earp was in Tucson.

That testimony documents what Handy said Wyatt told him. It does not establish that the person referred to had actually killed Morgan, and it does not establish a plot to attack Virgil.

At the Depot

The Stilwell inquest provides unusually detailed testimony concerning the railroad grounds that night. Witnesses placed members of the Earp party around the depot and tracks. Virgil boarded the train while Wyatt and the others remained in the area.

The testimony describes armed men, movement between railroad cars and men walking along or near the tracks. Some witnesses described rifles, shotguns, Winchester rifles and pistols. Identification was often uncertain, however, and the presence of armed men does not by itself establish their intentions.

The Stilwell and Clanton Story

Later accounts commonly state that Frank Stilwell and Ike Clanton were waiting at the Tucson station to assassinate Virgil Earp. The contemporary evidence examined for this post does not establish that claim as fact.

The inquest testimony places armed men around the railroad grounds and documents the presence of the Earp party. It does not provide clear evidence of a planned attempt by Stilwell and Clanton to kill Virgil.

Ike Clanton was in Tucson during this period, but his presence in the city does not by itself establish that he was at the depot to attack Virgil. Without stronger contemporary evidence, the familiar ambush story should remain outside the documented narrative.

Virgil Boards the Train

Virgil Earp boarded the train that would carry him onward toward California. Wyatt, Warren, Holliday, McMaster and Johnson remained behind around the Tucson railroad district.

The surviving testimony from the Stilwell inquest documents their presence there. It also places Frank Stilwell in the railroad district that night.

At this point, the documented story changes sharply. What happened after Virgil boarded would become the subject of another coroner’s investigation.

The Train Pulls Away

Virgil Earp was aboard the train, leaving Arizona behind.

Wyatt Earp did not leave Tucson with him. Neither did Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Sherman McMaster or Johnson.

They remained near the railroad grounds.

Frank Stilwell was there as well.

The train carrying Virgil Earp pulled away.

Wyatt Earp and the others remained behind.

Documentation Note

This account deliberately separates Morgan Earp’s March 19 departure from Virgil Earp’s March 20 journey. It also avoids treating later claims about an attempted ambush of Virgil as established fact. Statements concerning the Tucson railroad grounds are based primarily upon testimony published from the coroner’s investigation into Frank Stilwell’s death.

Principal Contemporary Sources

• Tombstone Epitaph, March 1882 — contemporary reporting concerning Morgan Earp’s funeral cortege and shipment of his remains toward Colton, California.

• George W. Parsons diary, March 19–20, 1882 — contemporary entries concerning Morgan Earp’s death, the shipment of his body, and Virgil Earp’s departure with an armed escort.

• Frank Stilwell coroner’s inquest, Tucson, March 1882 — testimony concerning Virgil Earp, Wyatt Earp and the accompanying party at the Cosmopolitan Hotel, depot and railroad grounds.

• Contemporary Tucson and Arizona newspaper reporting surrounding the Stilwell investigation, used only where the report can be distinguished from later retellings.