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BUY Thunder from a Clear
Sky
From the Summer 2005 issue
of Texas Hill
Country Magazine
"Like Thunder From
a Clear Sky"
New book chronicles
adventures of Marble Falls founder
BY JOHN HALLOWELL
Ray Mulesky of Evansville, Indiana,
wasn't planning to write a book about the Texas Hill
Country. In fact, his early objective was simply to
research the history of his wife's great great grandfather,
who had enlisted in the Union Army in 1862.
He soon found
that there had been a flood of new volunteers in Indiana
that year, and started asking, "Why?" The reason was Adam
Rankin Johnson, Burnet County's all-time most influential
citizen and founder of Marble Falls, a genuine Texas hero
whose daring raid on a federal arsenal in Newburgh,
Indiana, sent shock-waves around the world (and especially
Indiana) in July 1862.
As Mulesky
researched the events of that epic summer, he became a real
admirer of the intrepid young Confederate leader, and his
well-written book (called Thunder From a Clear Sky
from an article in the
Evansville newspaper at the time of the raid) reflects that
new-found admiration. Mulesky provides a vivid background
for the week's adventures, then tells how thirty ragged
soldiers invaded the North, captured a town with its
federal arsenal and more than one hundred Union soldiers,
then escaped back to Kentucky with three boatloads of
looted weapons and supplies, all without suffering a
scratch. Johnson's trump card, which gave him the nickname
"Stovepipe Johnson," was a faked artillery battery across
the river from Newburgh. Before the invasion, Johnson had
his men construct two menacing-looking cannons from a
stovepipe, a charred log, and some wagon wheels. The threat
of shelling prevented the townsfolk from mounting a
counter-attack, and gave Johnson and his men time to make
good their escape.
The bold attack
made headlines in Europe and America, and forced the Union
Army to fortify the length of the Ohio River for the rest
of the war, but it also turned up the heat on Johnson's
"Partisan Rangers" in western Kentucky, which was overrun
with Union troops seeking revenge. Johnson himself was
blinded by a friendly-fire incident later in the war, but
his accomplishments in civilian life here in Texas prove
that his success at Newburgh was no fluke.
It is a great
honor to have such a book published, especially by an
Indiana man, and I found Thunder From a Clear Sky
to be a fascinating read.
Since I am acquainted with some of General Johnson's
descendants, I requested autographed copies for them, and
Mr. Mulesky cheerfully obliged. He has since consented to
visit Burnet County on the weekend of Fort Croghan Days
(October 8) for a book signing.
I think that
anyone interested in Texas history would enjoy this book,
which is available online at Amazon.com,
BarnesandNoble.com, Bordersstores.com, iUniverse.com and
for order at other book retailers. I hope many of you will
take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about a
great Texas hero.
