Tipton served aboard the USS Malvern during the American Civil War and drifted west afterward.

While escorting Virgil Earp and his wife Allie to the train bound for California, Wyatt killed Frank Stilwell who had been named as a suspect in Morgan's murder.

[2] Tipton rode with Wyatt, Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Texas Jack Vermillion, Hairlip Charlie Smith, Turkey Creek Jack Johnson and Sherman McMaster as they searched for the other Cowboys thought responsible for attacking the Earps.

He was with the Earp posse when it rode out to Pete Spence's wood camp where they found Florentino Cruz, a.k.a.

Tipton remained with the group through New Mexico and into Colorado, where most of the posse stayed to avoid arrest warrants from Cochise County.