Dr. David Urquia is a retired Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University and now engages in non-medical academic activities, writing and lecturing on Civil War history. He is a Sigma Xi honors graduate of Princeton University, the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and the Duke University Surgical Residency Program.
He is a member of the Petersburg Civil War Roundtable, the Petersburg Battlefield Foundation, and an Associate Member of the Cobb Camp #68 Sons of Union Veterans Civil War, serving as Camp Historian and Commander. Dr. Urquia lectures for Belfast Senior College.
Besides this book on Belle Isle, literary credits include another two books in preparation for publishing, one revealing recently discovered diaries and letters of four soldiers from Maine and the second exploring the motivations of common Civil War soldiers.