CLICK HERE TO
BUY Thunder from a Clear
Sky
May
2006
May
7 * Guest
Speaker- Historic Newburgh, Inc. Annual Preservation Awards
Dinner, Newburgh, IN
Historic Newburgh, Inc. President Melissa McGuire, a
surprised Ray Mulesky, and HNI Preservation Committee
Chairman Frank Hijuelos
Nancy Lybarger, the Executive
Director of Historic Newburgh, Inc., invited me to speak
about the Newburgh raid at the Annual Preservation Awards
Dinner put on by Historic Newburgh. Its sort of a final act
to Newburgh's observance of National Historic Preservation
Week. This was my first ever speech about the Newburgh raid
given in Newburgh, Indiana. I've just been so busy that the
time never seemed right. The time was certainly right on
the evening of May 7. The dinner was held at La Veranda
Restaurant on the Newburgh riverfront just twenty yards
from where Adam Johnson's worn boots first crunched the
pebbles of Indiana soil 144 years ago. It was an inspiring
night.
Many
of the members of Historic Newburgh who attended were no
strangers to the story of the raid, so I thought I'd talk a
little about the many things that I've found out since
Thunder From a Clear
Sky was published. So, after dinner I got up
and started talking about the subject I love. As usual,
time got away from me and I went too long. I volunteered to
keep my remarks to 20-25 minutes, Nancy said she planned me
for 30 minutes, and I think I rattled on for 40-45 minutes.
I guess I have to get into the habit of looking at my watch
more often, but once I get going I'm not thinking about the
time. I try to pack all I can into a short period, but I
always think of things I accidentally left out while I'm
driving home. Since I don't use notes anymore, every speech
I give is tailored to the audience and the occasion. When
the audience doesn't know much about the raid, I
concentrate on the fundamentals. When the audience knows
the general outlines of the raid, I try to hit some of the
little known or unpublished quirks about the raid or the
players.
After
dinner there were some announcements about some of the
other events HNI was planning. Frank Hijuelos, a Newburgh
City administrator and HNI Preservation Committee Chairman,
came to the podium to give out an award. I was sitting
there thinking to myself that someone was going to get a
nice award from the Newburgh City Council, but that I
probably wouldn't know who it was since I don't know all
that many people in Newburgh. Honestly, I was sort of
unwinding from the speech and maybe daydreaming a bit. When
Frank was done reading the National Historic Preservation
Week Proclamation he then said the recipient of the award
was Ray Mulesky! I think I audibly said the word "What!?"
but luckily not too loud. I was completely and utterly
surprised. I had to tell myself to get up and receive the
award or else I would have remained seated, stunned, for
some time. I am so grateful to the Newburgh Council and the
members of HNI for this award. I didn't see it coming, but
I'm glad it did. I will cherish it always. As I tell
everyone I know, you can only conceive a small part of the
good that comes to you when you start following your
dreams. This award is another one of those things that just
never entered my mind.
PS- WIKY radio recorded my entire speech and I have their
permission to post it on my web site. Stay tuned.
May
20 * Book
Vendor- Battle of Sacramento Re-enactment, Sacramento, KY
The orange muzzle flash of a Rebel battery is visible
in this shot from the Sacramento Battle re-enactment (taken
by yours truly). By my count, there were 14 Rebel batteries
and 5 Union batteries present. At the real battle there was
no artillery present.
One of the reasons I thought
the Battle of Sacramento re-enactment would be a good
location for an appearance was the fact that Adam Johnson
was at the original battle on December 28, 1861. This was
the first Civil War battle that the famous Rebel cavalryman
Nathan Bedford Forrest commanded. Johnson described the
action as a completely disordered affair with Forrest
urging his men ever onward into the wild melee. Late in the
battle, Forrest fell from his horse after tumbling over two
fallen enemy steeds. Adam Johnson quickly grabbed a free
horse and gave it to Forrest.
The
day opened with clouds and drizzle. To me, this was a bad
omen. However, we had good weather for the rest of the day-
it even got hot and sunny for awhile. The Mollie Morehead
Chapter of the UDC invited me to headquarter in their tent
and it was a great location. Sue, Edna, and Nancy of the
UDC spent the afternoon helping those who were researching
Civil War veterans. I sold a good bunch of books throughout
the day- not as many as I expected, but the attendance at
the annual event was down a bit this year from previous
turns. This was the 12th annual event. I made a few new
friends at the event, for which I am grateful, and the
members of Cobbs Battery dropped by to say hello. I was
interviewed and will be posting some additional audio clips
soon. Although the battle re-enactment was certainly
impressive, and I had never seen such an array of
thundering artillery, the best part about the affair was
the welcoming, generous, good-hearted people of Kentucky.
My thanks again to the Mollie Morehead UDC for their
generous invitation. I had a great time. For a town of only
600 people, Sacramento, Kentucky, does everything it can to
help the success of the event.
May
23 * Guest
Speaker- West Central Indiana Civil War Roundtable Annual
Dinner, Greencastle, IN
West Central Indiana Civil War Roundtable officers Ken
Anderson (on my right) and Jim Buffington (on my left).
Jim's family were the original owners of Buffington Island,
Ohio, where John Hunt Morgan was nearly captured in 1863
during the Great Raid.
When Jim Buffington emailed me to speak at
the West Central Indiana Civil War Roundtable I jumped at
the chance. For a long time I knew I was going to speak at
Greencastle, Indiana, but didn't look into where it was
located. For those of you not familiar, Greencastle is
about 40 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The town was
founded in 1825 and it maintains its historic town square.
It is a perfectly beautiful historic town. The home of
Civil War veteran (and famous pharmaceutical founder) Eli
Lilly. I hope it never changes. The Roundtable was
extremely welcoming and about 35 or so people were in
attendance at the Almost Home Restaurant. I walked around
and tried to meet everyone before we started dinner and, as
usual, I couldn't eat much. Right after dinner I was on and
decided to walk the crowd through the fundamental events of
the raid. I lost track of time as usual. I then got onto
Adam Johnson's life after the war and took off for another
10 minutes. I ended with a few words about how the book has
changed my life and how you shouldn't wait for the right
time to put your dreams into action. You should put your
dreams into action today- if not sooner. Someone came up to
me afterward and told me the last part of the talk really
struck a chord. I sold a few books and everyone seemed
happy. I started home at 8:30 PM and got home before
midnight. It took me about 15 seconds to fall asleep. A
long and satisfying day. Thank you Jim Buffington and Ken
Anderson! You made me feel at home even though I was 150
miles away.
