Summary of Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 The Missouri River was the longest river in the United States, and it was navigable by steamboats. The most difficult challenge for these boats was navigating the river in the summer and fall, when the water level dropped.
#2 The Missouri riverboat was an invasive species of empire. It was the tangle of ropes and wooden poles on the bow that distinguished the Missouri riverboat from her less adaptable counterparts on the Mississippi.
#3 Custer was called to testify about corruption within the War Department of Grant’s Republican administration. He eagerly implicated Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, and President Grant’s brother Orville.
#4 On May 10, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant opened the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ceremony did not go well. There were more than 186,000 people at the exhibition that day. The fairgrounds, surrounded by three miles of fence, contained two hundred buildings, including the two largest structures in the world.

Sujets

• Central
• South

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 28 mars 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669372318
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5 Insights from Chapter 6 Insights from Chapter 7 Insights from Chapter 8 Insights from Chapter 9 Insights from Chapter 10 Insights from Chapter 11 Insights from Chapter 12 Insights from Chapter 13 Insights from Chapter 14 Insights from Chapter 15 Insights from Chapter 16
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Missouri River was the longest river in the United States, and it was navigable by steamboats. The most difficult challenge for these boats was navigating the river in the summer and fall, when the water level dropped.

#2

The Missouri riverboat was an invasive species of empire. It was the tangle of ropes and wooden poles on the bow that distinguished the Missouri riverboat from her less adaptable counterparts on the Mississippi.

#3

Custer was called to testify about corruption within the War Department of Grant’s Republican administration. He eagerly implicated Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, and President Grant’s brother Orville.

#4

On May 10, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant opened the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ceremony did not go well. There were more than 186,000 people at the exhibition that day. The fairgrounds, surrounded by three miles of fence, contained two hundred buildings, including the two largest structures in the world.

#5

On May 10, 1876, President Grant spoke in Philadelphia about his Indian policy, but was met with silence from the audience. Custer and General Terry arrived at Bismarck the same day, and took the ferry across the Missouri River to Fort Lincoln.

#6

When Custer arrived at Fort Lincoln, he was excited to be back in the West, and he was ready to start chasing Indians again. He was also bubbling with enthusiasm when he met General Terry, who would be leading the expedition.

#7

Custer was scapegoated for the failings of his superiors, and the Battle of the Washita was seen as a great victory by both Custer and Sheridan. But local Indian agent James Mooney pointed out that the leader of the village had been Black Kettle, a noted peace chief, and not Custer.

#8

Custer’s peacemaking efforts with the Cheyenne Indians were highlighted in a letter published in the New York Times. His efforts were crowned by the release of two white women hostages, who had suffered a fate worse than death during their captivity.

#9

Custer was recalled to duty with the Seventh Cavalry in the Dakota Territory in 1873. He was elated, but his elation was cut short when he learned that his commanding officer, General Stanley, did not like him. Custer blamed Stanley’s drinking for their problems, but most of their arguments had to do with Custer’s need to go his own way.

#10

Custer had made overtures to Benteen, and he was delighted to see that the two were cousins. He used the papers to set Custer straight, and he was sure to remain undisturbed.

#11

Custer had learned the art of taxidermy, and the walls of his study contained the heads of a buffalo, an antelope, a black-tailed deer, and the grizzly bear he’d bagged in the Black Hills. At dusk, he and Libbie would lounge within this crowded self-made world, with only the glowing embers of the fire to illuminate the unblinking glass eyes of the animals Custer had killed.

#12

The final circuit of the garrison was depressing, as it was clear that Custer had done little to help his career. His wife, Libbie, was especially affected by the wives of the enlisted men, who were sobbing their farewells.

#13

The band played as the soldiers marched away from Fort Lincoln. The wives, who had been standing bravely at their doors to wave good-bye, immediately melted in despair and retreated inside their homes.

#14

Custer’s wife, Libbie, was very understanding of her husband’s quirks. She knew there were others, but she still trusted him. Their marriage was saved by their mutual belief in destiny, which was Custer’s.

#15

Custer’s marriage seemed to be improving during the Yellowstone campaign in 1873. His wife, Libbie, was excited about his future as a public speaker, and she was aware of his rival, Lawrence Barrett, who had first met Custer in St. Louis almost a decade ago.

#16

On May 27, nine days after saying goodbye to their husbands, Libbie and a group of officers’ wives made their way down to the Fort Lincoln landing on the Missouri River. The Far West had arrived that morning, and its captain, Grant Marsh, was supervising his thirty-man crew in the transfer of tons of forage, ammunition, and other supplies onto the boat’s lower deck.

#17

In 1876, Grant Marsh took the Far West up the Yellowstone River, which was one of the least known rivers in the United States. He took careful note of the Yellowstone’s many north-flowing tributaries, including the Powder, Tongue, Rosebud, and Bighorn rivers.
Insights from Chapter 2

#1

In 1876, Sitting Bull, the chief of the Hunkpapas, was 40 years old. He had a high, resonant singing voice, and he used it to sing as he charged the Crow chief in a standoff.

#2

The Sioux were a warrior society that had come to fruition by the end of the eighteenth century. They had overrun the Arikara, or Ree, on the Missouri River and made it as far west as the Black Hills, where they quickly ousted the Kiowa and the Crows.

#3

The Lakota were a thriving tribe that had success after success in their surge into a new and fertile land. But their culture was also dependent on the buffalo, and the buffalo was beginning to die out.

#4

The future is never more important than when a society is about to face catastrophe. The Lakota were facing this threat when their food source, the buffalo, disappeared.

#5

The White Buffalo Calf Woman was a sacred figure in the Lakota tribe, and her story was central to their identity.