Summary of Nathaniel Philbrick's The Last Stand

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.