Wyatt Earp and The Cowboy War

I've noticed a few cases where somewhere along the line, romantic entanglements have cropped up as explanations for some acts. I'm not sure what the sources might be, but in a couple of cases cited by Cody, the circumstances were different. The cited circumstances indicated that the gents in question were acting under very different motivations. Rather different in character from their later images.
 
Wyatt Earp

I came across this series on Netflix last week and decided to watch it all in one hit.

Entertaining, but I don't know how accurate it is.

Johnny Behan is referred to as the Tombstone Sheriff, and not Cochise County sheriff. The Earp brothers are referred to as "his" Marshalls, employed by him to keep law in Tombstone, whereas Virgil was elected Town Marshall with Wyatt and Morgan his sometime helpers. And there is no mention of Behan telling the Earps on the way to the OK Corrall that he had unarmed the Cowboys either.

But the biggest error was in the guns. Wyatt is seen only with his supposed long barrelled Buntline Special, a gun that was probably never, according to Colt records, produced. In addition Buntline was only known to travel west of the Mississippi once, in 1869, four years before the 1973 was introduced, so together with the lack of Colt records of his purchasing five long barrelled Peacemakers makes the story, first recorded by Lake in his 1931 Earp biography, legend rather than fact.

Add that Wyatt was known to carry a S&W Number 3 (I have a replica hanging on my wall in front of me as I type), and every handgun, even those in the early 1860 Earp childhood portions of the series, are 1873's with the rifles '73 and '82 Winchesters, makes me doubt the authenticity of the whole series.

Add in the hyped political situation (Earps and the townsmen being of one political party with Behan and the Cowboys of the other) and I would say it is entertaining, but facts some factual basis.

Still, it makes the point that the Wyatt was not the hero that he was made out to be in the decades after Lakes book.

IIRC (?) the WWI movie "The Blue Max" starring George Peppard had German Infantry armed wit Lee Enfielld No. 4 rifles
 
Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War

I watched a couple of episodes. Full of Pot metal revolver and rifle replicas, except for one close up of a British Webley (or Enfield) revolver being fired. Cheap Mexican Hollywood buscadero gun belts and holsters throughout. Saddles are not period correct. Wyatt Earp carrying a Buntline Special replica with the barrel sticking out of the bottom of the holster. Other than that...

If you want to read Robert B. Parker's take on The Earps, find "Gunman's Rhapsody" (GP Putnam's Sons, 2001), his first Western and a standalone novel. It's Parker's contribution to the Wyatt Earp legend. It attempts to be factually correct in some areas, and, like most of Parker's novels, quite entertaining.
 
If you want to read Robert B. Parker's take on The Earps, find "Gunman's Rhapsody" (GP Putnam's Sons, 2001), his first Western and a standalone novel. It's Parker's contribution to the Wyatt Earp legend. It attempts to be factually correct in some areas, and, like most of Parker's novels, quite entertaining.
Thanks! I'll do that. I am somewhat of a Robert B. Parker fan, but one result is that I know that he is not exactly an expert on firearms.
 
Watching it now. In episode 4 when Wyatt assembles a posse following Virgil's ambush, the camera focuses on an empty holster on one of the riders. I think I'd be sure I was armed chasing armed men!

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I watched the 1st 2 episodes. I hope the writers did "adequate" research. Bringing in the "larger forces" angle can't be proved or disproved although they have controlled history since the dawn of man. Worthwhile entertainment considering the drivel on the tube. And fuggedabout the "news." Joe
Which forces have controlled history since the dawn of man?

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I watched a couple of episodes. Full of Pot metal revolver and rifle replicas, except for one close up of a British Webley (or Enfield) revolver being fired. Cheap Mexican Hollywood buscadero gun belts and holsters throughout. Saddles are not period correct. Wyatt Earp carrying a Buntline Special replica with the barrel sticking out of the bottom of the holster. Other than that...

If you want to read Robert B. Parker's take on The Earps, find "Gunman's Rhapsody" (GP Putnam's Sons, 2001), his first Western and a standalone novel. It's Parker's contribution to the Wyatt Earp legend. It attempts to be factually correct in some areas, and, like most of Parker's novels, quite entertaining.


Key word here is novel, i.e., fiction.
 
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