Post by 45colt on Jan 4, 2024 13:23:09 GMT -5
Hey gang, just want to clarify something about the Rough Rider photos that I believe depict Brushy Bill Roberts. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. In my book I suggest that perhaps Brushy used the name "William S. Murphy" during his time in the Rough Riders. There are a lot of coincidences between what Roberts said about his service and the service of William S. Murphy. ONE of the things I say in the book that in my view made me more inclined to believe that Brushy could have used the alias William S. Murphy was that he was fairly prominent but I couldn't find a record of him before or after the war. This was in 2014. Now, there have been found several records of William S. Murphy after the war and it seems he was a bit of a drunk. He got shot in NYC and didn't even know it and couldn't remember where he had been.
When this was brought to my attention I did a video saying that I could accept that Brushy was not William S. Murphy. That does not mean, of course, that I don't think that is Brushy Bill in the photos. I still think that is Brushy Bill in the photos. NYPD Detective Michael Furia's professional opinion was that the person in these photos was Brushy Bill. The names of the troopers in the photos are mislabeled as evidenced by a lot of things I explain in the video, primarily the archivist themselves writing "probably" in front of some of the names but also because the heights in the service records don't jive with the soldiers shown, regardless of which way the photo is oriented.
So, all that said, I'm committed to continuing to run this down. I have pulled every service record for every volunteer that enlisted in Muscogee and I'm trying to figure this out. Interesting is that there is a William Roberts in there but he is William J. Roberts and not William H. so there is that. But, what I haven't yet made clear that I will state here is that I still think its possible Brushy used William S. Murphy's name. Do I think its likely? Probably not. I think the real William S. Murphy filed for a pension and I'm not one to try to continue to rationalize away clear evidence. I do think its funny lately the Garrett crowd has to do just that because of all the evidence against Garrett killing the Kid but regardless of who does it its a bad look. So, what I want to avoid in my research is ignoring clear evidence this person existed when he obviously existed. I also genuinely try not to be biased and have always said there are coincidences in life and coincidences don't prove anything in and of themselves. Certainly a huge number of coincidences begin to paint a picture, however. But, it could simply be coincidence that Murphy's story matches Brushy's exactly, right down to specifying being sick of "TB". A lot of soldiers in the Spanish American War were listed as sick on their service records. Murphy's is the only one I have seen SO FAR that says specifically "TB". So I find this interesting. Could Brushy have stolen Murphy's story as his own? Maybe. But having records of Murphy and showing he is a real person outside the rough riders definitely PROVES he wasn't Brushy Bill. That doesn't mean Brushy couldn't have used his identity but that to me is more of a stretch. Still could be possible but I'm not going to insist on it without more evidence. The bottom line for me is that this is something I'm going to continue to research. Truth may be stranger than fiction in this case. Dunno yet. But I think I want to know more about William S. Murphy..and every other Rough Rider that enlisted in Muscogee and went through San Antonio.