Ric Murphy

Section 27: Separated at Death in Arlington

Posted on February 15, 2018March 2, 2018 by Ric Murphy

Uncover the history of Arlington National Cemetery’s historic Section 27 and what it tells us about race and healthcare during the 19th century. On February 15th at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, Ric Murphy and Tim Stephens explored the history of slavery and the effects of mid-1800s healthcare in Washington DC, and its effects on America’s most famous cemetery. The presentation focused on the medical care provided to African American civilians on the former plantation of ...
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Honoring our Veterans

Posted on November 11, 2017March 2, 2018 by Ric Murphy

Veterans Day is an opportunity each year to reflect on the freedoms we cherish and the men and women whose service has made them possible. This is a day that we honor military veterans who served in the Armed Forces of the United States (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marie Corps and the Coast Guard), and it gives us an opportunity to thank them (and their families) for their service and their sacrifices. And, if you are descended from a veteran of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War...
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25th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine

Posted on September 17, 2017March 2, 2018 by Ric Murphy

Ric Murphy the author of the upcoming book, Section 27: The Forgotten History of Arlington National Cemetery, spoke at the 25th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Sponsored by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, each year the conference brings together scholars, practitioners, and amateur historians from across the globe to discuss the history of Civil War medicine and its enduring impact today. The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is the prem...
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Roanoke Public Library

Posted on October 1, 2016February 19, 2018 by Ric Murphy

Roanoke, Virginia. The Roanoke Public Library System invited me to speak at its historic Gainesville Branch Library. What a wonderful and inviting audience. Roanoke was first called Big Lick Township, because of the huge salt deposit runoff from the Blue Ridge Mountains which attracted wildlife to lick the salt at the Roanoke River, and because of its mountain valley location served as the gateway for wagon trains going west. During the mid-nineteenth century, the township was renamed Roanoke a...
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Lt. Colonel Leo Roger Gray (Ret)

Posted on September 23, 2016February 23, 2018 by Ric Murphy

During World War II, the night sky was dotted with 350 bright stars who flew over European and North African skies in protecting American military planes, known as the brave Tuskegee Red Tail Pilots. This evening, the sky is that much dimmer, with the passing of one of the few Red Tail pilots left, Lt. Colonel Leo Roger Gray, whose life story was featured in the book Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War. We offer sincere condolences to Leo’s family-Lynette, Rog...
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National Museum of African American History: Donors Evening

Posted on September 17, 2016February 23, 2018 by Ric Murphy

September 17, 2016, Washington, DC. I had the awesome honor in attending the Donors Evening at a pre-opening event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and it was absolutely and AWESOME star-studded event. No long lines to get into the building, they handled issues of crowd control with absolute precision, including checking bags, IDs and onsite registration. The first thing a visitor will notice is the beauty and grandeur of the lobby, which was warm and inviting. ...
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New Orleans, Louisiana

Posted on September 15, 2016November 1, 2017 by Ric Murphy

New Orleans, Louisiana. The Ric Murphy Book Tour Bus stopped in New Orleans and there is no city like “The Big Easy,” with its jambalaya, Po-Boy, and crawfish; its rhythmic Jazz, Zydeco and Blue Grass sounds on Bourbon Street; and its party atmosphere and people watching–what great fun as always. The book signing at the Sheraton Hotel on Canal Street was such a success, I ran out of books. But, don’t worry, the 30 pounds of books that were taken to the hotle was m...
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Patriot Isaac Carter Chapter

Posted on September 3, 2016November 1, 2017 by Ric Murphy

September 3, 2016, Harlowe Township, Craven County, North Carolina. In an historic moment, the North Carolina Society of the Sons of the American Revolution chartered its newest chapter, the Patriot Isaac Carter Chapter, in honor of fourteen brave African American men who patriotically served in the American Revolutionary War. The Isaac Carter Chapter is the first of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution named after an African-American and is the...
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2016 BCALA Newsletter

Posted on June 23, 2016November 1, 2017 by Ric Murphy

Columbia, SC. The distinguished Black Caucus of the American Library Association in its Spring 2016 BCALA Newsletter, just provided a Book Review for Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War. The BCALA serves as an advocate for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community; and provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African Amer...ican librarians. For more...
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INDIE Book Awards

Posted on April 20, 2016November 1, 2017 by Ric Murphy

Ric Murphy’s award winning book, Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War, will be honored by the 2016 Indie Book Awards as the winner in the Multicultural Non-Fiction category at the Awards Ceremony at the Newberry Library in Chicago on Wednesday May 11th. For authors and publishers the Indie Book Awards is the largest nonprofit organization known as 'Sundance' of the book publishing world, and actively advances the work of distinguished authors interna...
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