He served as Tombstone, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil and Wyatt, as well as Doc Holliday, confront the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys in the gunfight at the O.K.

During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.

Two and a half months later, on March 18, 1882, they ambushed Morgan, shooting him at night through the window of a door while he was playing billiards and killed him.

[1]: 242 [2] Wyatt Earp felt he could not rely on the criminal justice system and decided to take matters into his own hands.

[2] Wyatt assembled a posse that included their brother Warren Earp and set out on a vendetta to kill those they felt were responsible.

In spring 1868, his father Nicholas Porter Earp and his siblings Ginnie, Warren, and Adelia returned to the mid-west and Lamar, Missouri, where Nick became the local constable.

Shortly afterward, Wyatt, James, Virgil, and Morgan got into what witnesses described as a "20-minute street fight" with Urilla's brothers and other relatives over the alleged bootlegging activities of both families.

[citation needed] In 1875, Morgan left Wichita, Kansas and became a deputy marshal under Charlie Bassett at Dodge City.

Morgan apparently didn't think the wild mining town of Tombstone was suitable for Louisa, who was a petite woman and suffered from rheumatoid arthritis.

[7] In 1878, the July 25 Daily Pioneer reported that Morgan had joined prospectors pursuing gold in the Bear Paw mountains on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northern Montana Territory, "Mr. Morgan Earpt [sic] arrived last evening from the Tongue River, which he left about three weeks ago."

But other accounts report that Brooks later died at the hands of a lynch mob, but no contemporary documentation of the shootout has been found.

[6][8][9] Morgan's wife, Lou, wrote a letter to her sister Agnes on March 5, 1880: "We arrived in San Bernardino on Wednesday evening, and Thursday we came by train to the Temescal Mountains Warm Springs.… I suppose I will have to live here now for some time, for there is no way to make enough money to get away."

Tombstone town Marshal Virgil Earp learned that the Cowboys were armed in violation of a city ordinance and had gathered near the O.K.

Morgan was clipped by a shot across his back that nicked both shoulder blades and a vertebra, although he was able to continue firing his weapon.

[12] The Earp brothers moved into the Cosmopolitan Hotel for safety and hired several men to help protect the family.

By February 1882, Morgan grew wary of the danger to the Earps in Tombstone and sent Louisa to live with his parents in Colton, California.

Morgan, about 10 feet (3.0 m) from the door, was struck by a bullet in the back which injured his spine then exited his front and entered the thigh of mining foreman George A.

[16]: 97 Goodfellow described Morgan's wounds: He was in a state of collapse resulting from a gunshot, or pistol wound, entering the body just to the left of the spinal column in the region of the left kidney emerging on the right side of the body in the region of the gall bladder.

[13] Wyatt learned that Frank Stilwell and others were waiting for them in Tucson, and assembled several deputies who guarded Virgil, Maddie, Ally and James.

Around midnight, Cruz and Frank Stilwell showed up, armed with pistols and carbines, and her husband arrived soon after with Freis[26] (Frederick Bode)[25] and a fifth unidentified man (later identified as Hank Swilling),[25] all carrying rifles.

The Coroner's jury concluded that Spence, Stilwell, Frederick Bode, and "Indian Charlie" were the prime suspects in Morgan Earp's death.

[28]: 250 [29] Morgan Earp ... came to his death in the city of Tombstone on the 18th day of March, 1882 ... by reason of a gunshot or pistol wound inflicted at the hands of Pete Spence, Frank Stilwell, a party by the name of Freis, and two Indian half-breeds, one whose name is Charlie, but the name of the other not ascertained.

Readers may want to know "how these so-called Republican outlaws are regarded by decent, law-abiding people in Tombstone, regardless of politics."

The writer was of the opinion that Cochise County Sheriff Behan wanted the warrant from Governor Fremont with the "object was to have them assassinated...

"[30] Wyatt Earp finally concluded that he could not rely on the court system for justice and decided to take matters into his own hands.

[3] He concluded that the only way to deal with Virgil's shooters and Morgan's murderers was to find and kill the Cowboys he believed were responsible.

Separately, Cochise County Deputy Sheriff Frank Hereford arrested "John Doe" Freeze [sic].

[25] While accompanying his brother Virgil to the rail head in Tucson, Wyatt spotted Frank Stilwell lying in wait.

They killed Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz, who had been identified by Pete Spence's wife as taking part in ambushing Virgil.