Ozarks Studies Institute Hosts Author talk and Signing

The Ozarks Studies Institute (OSI), an initiative of Missouri State University Libraries, will host an author talk and signing of its newly published book, “‘We Gave Them Thunder’ – Marmaduke’s Raid and the Civil War in Missouri and Arkansas.” 

The event is free and open to the public. Per university policy, masks are required. Individuals may also attend the event via zoom. 

Written by Dr. William Garrett Piston and John C. Rutherford, the book marks the fourth publication by the OSI since its inception in 2016. “We Gave Them Thunder” is an authoritative study of Marmaduke’s raid into Southwest Missouri, the Battle of Springfield (Jan. 8, 1863) and the Battle of Hartville (Jan. 11, 1863). 

Piston is professor emeritus of history at Missouri State and Rutherford is a local history associate at Springfield-Greene County Library. Both authors will attend the event to discuss their book, which is now available for sale online and at Meyer Library.  

“Piston and Rutherford’s excellent study rescues General John S. Marmaduke’s ‘First Missouri Raid’ from obscurity,” wrote Jeffrey L. Patrick, museum curator of Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. “This work should prompt students of the Civil War to turn their attention to the Trans-Mississippi West, where they will discover stories as compelling as the raids of Confederate commanders John Hunt Morgan and Jeb Stuart.” 

In addition to “We Gave Them Thunder,” recent OSI publications include “Living Ozarks: The Ecology and Culture of a Natural Place.” OSI books are distributed in consortium with the University of Arkansas Press.

Free