Charles J. (Charles Joseph) Murphy

Born in Stockport, England, on June 3, 1832, Charles J. Murphy—Charles Joseph Murphy—became an American soldier, lecturer, and author. He is associated with Reminiscences of the War of the Rebellion, and of the Mexican War (1882), and Project Gutenberg also lists him as a co-author of Condensed History of the Mexican War and Its Glorious Results.

Murphy is best remembered outside of publishing for his military service. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society identifies him as a U.S. Army first lieutenant and quartermaster who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the First Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War. Later references to his work describe him living in Brussels and becoming known as a "corn propagandist," promoting American Indian corn in Europe; Nebraska Authors also notes his connection to a Nebraska state commission and his lecture in Paris on maize as an inexpensive and nutritious food.

That mix of soldier, public advocate, and memoirist gives his writing its character. His surviving books suggest a writer interested not just in recounting events, but in preserving lived experience and explaining American history and agriculture to a broader public.