# Virgil Earp — Tombstone character guide

> Virgil Earp in Tombstone by Walter Noble Burns.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Virgil, Marshal Earp

**First appearance:** 0002-tombstone

## Snapshot

Tombstone's dour, silent town marshal and Wyatt's older brother, whose crippling ambush wounds turn the Earp feud into an open vendetta.

## Who they are

Virgil walks Allen Street as the law's sober face, the counterweight to Wyatt's restless vigilance. When assassins fire from the dark at Fifth and Allen, one bullet passes through his body and another shatters his arm, leaving him a cripple on crutches. His survival, and the enemies who were never caught, set the stage for the second strike that the Earps answer with blood.

## Relationships

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_family_

Older brother and fellow lawman, sharing a strong bond of duty and mutual protection.

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_family_

Older brother and fellow lawman, sharing a strong bond of duty and mutual protection.

### [Wyatt Earp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/wyatt_earp)

_family_

Older brother and fellow lawman, sharing a strong bond of duty and mutual protection.

## In the story

### [III: Glad Hand and Trigger Finger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/iii-glad-hand-and-trigger-finger)

Town marshal of Tombstone, a Union Army veteran with a soldier's stern sense of duty.

### [Curly Bill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/v-curly-bill)

Elected town marshal to fill the vacancy after Marshal White's death, advancing the Earps' political fortunes.

### [On the Benson Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xi-on-the-benson-road)

Member of the posse, praised for tireless work in the pursuit.

### [Flashes of Storm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xii-flashes-of-storm)

Participates in the pursuit of the stage robbers and is accused of misleading Sheriff Behan's posse, though the chapter argues this is unlikely.

### [XIII: The Showdown](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xiii-the-showdown)

Disarms Ike Clanton, threatens to jail Holliday and Clanton, and is a key figure in the gunfight.

### [XIV: The Red Road of Vengeance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xiv-the-red-road-of-vengeance)

Mentioned as disabled by wounds, contributing to the Earps' loss of police power.

### [The Out Trail](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/chapters/xv-the-out-trail)

Crippled for life by enemies; later becomes chief of police in Colton, California; dies of pneumonia in 1905.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters/virgil_earp
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/tombstone_se/characters