The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick:
I have always been a voracious reader. So, here is a book review from an ebook I read on my Kindle Fire. Ebooks don't have the same satisfying heft and smell to them. But, they seem easier for my 50 plus year old eyes to adjust to these days.
This historical account is written in a similar style to "Killing Lincoln" by Rill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. Both books are excellent by the way. The Last Stand uses letters and accounts and memories on the people who were present at that time to re-create a narrative that is both historical and reads like a semi-biography/novel. "Hey, did I just make up a new term?"
Anyway, I have recently started reading a lot of Rock biographies from the "guitar hero's" of my youth. But, I have always loved history and in particular American History. So, this book was of real interest to me. When I think of the Little Bighorn I think of a single cavalry troop running into a large group of Indians and getting slaughtered. Anyway, let me hit some highlights that I feel really make this book interesting. First the author writes from the perspective of the 1800's and not from a modern politically correct place. So, the term "Native American" isn't ever used. To be honest I don't think most Indians of that time would have appreciated being called "American" anything. Sorry, it's just true. Also, let me say that my Granddaddy was part Cherokee and I don't mean a blued eyed "Hey, I have Indian Blood in me." I mean a high cheekboned, dark skinned person. Not, full blooded but you could see the influence. I say that so if anybody reads this they will understand that I am using the term Indian the way the author did and not out of disrespect.
Custer: I knew very little of Custer outside of the pop culture and some mention in history books of my youth. He does appear breifly in the "Killing Lincoln" book but not as a main character. This book talks about his relationship with his wife which seemed to be strong and she was indeed a proctector of his legacy. It also shows his ambition and disrespect for some of his fellow officers. He rubbed some the wrong way because of his flamboyance. Some of them rubbed him the wrong way because of his ambition and apparent lack of concern for anything other than his "career." But, the main thing that I was taken with was his disrespect for the Indian tribes.
He (if the book is correct) had no problem at all in taking women and children hostage and using them as pawns to lure the warriors into his web. He also had no qualms about taking an Indian woman for himself. It was also evident that the government of that day with Grant as president had little reguard for the treaties and welfare of the Indian. They kept coming west and kept taking land and moving the Indian to the reservation especially if that land had minerals and water that would bring more booty into the coffers. Sorry, it's just true. Some of Custers fellow officers were ambitious and jealous but also felt he wasted lives with his wild and overreaching tactics. I was amazed to read accounts of officers drinking hard both before and during a battle.
There is an account of one of Custer's officers going to sleep in the midst of gunfire around him. Not, so much because of drink but because he was emotionally worn down. He did wake up and faught bravely once he rested up. Matter of fact it was kind of brave to be able to sleep in the midst of that. Having worked as a civillan for the army and had a spouse in the army. I was amazed at how "loose" the U.S. army of that day was. I was also amazed at how close to the 20th century the U.S. west remained a wilderness and unmapped uncharted territory. Now, this more than likely not the most accurate historical account. At least it's not a text book account. Too many accounts taken from years after the battle from people with their own agendas. But, it is a fascinating look into a time gone by.
Sitting Bull: There is a place in the book late in the book where the head of a government agency says to Sitting Bull "You scared us to death" According to the book the chief replied. "Had you not come onto our land you would have no reason to be afraid."
The Indian tribes in this book are not on the offensive (depending on your definition of offense) but mainly trying to hold on to a way of life that was being yanked out from under them. They were not a "united" people and not used to working together outside of their own tribe or people. So, the core was not going to hold long enough or strong enough to stop the inevitable. But, I got the feeling that if they had of been united the westward expansion of the U.S. would have taken much longer and been much harder. It was hard anyway.
Sitting Bull also had a vision which seemed to show him what was about to happen before the battle. To the authors credit he doens't try to downplay or over play it. He just reccounts it. Sitting Bull seems to come off here as more of an older uncle or even father to the people.
He does get them together one last time. He does indeed unite a large (largest camp the U.S. Army had ever witnessed up to that time.) But, reading between the lines the hold was tenacious at best and the center was holding mainly because of the young warriors agression and anger which would have eventually broken the "alliance" anyway. The Indian also had their inner drama and ambitions. It was also amazing to me to see how the Indian Scouts for the army had no qualms about killing their own "kind" off. It was also amazing at how the same indian warriors that were fighting at Little Bighorn would go back and forth from the reservation back to the camp. Sitting Bull was eventually killed by "Indian" police and not white men. This also touched on the Battle at Wounded Knee as a pay back for the Little Bighorn by the army. The accounts both from the indian and the soilder and even some of the wives of both sides read like a good novel.
I highly recomend this book to anybody who is interested in American History and in particular "Cowboys and Indians" I don't mean to be flippant because this isn't a flippant subject. But, many folks my age who grew up with accounts of the civil war and of the later cowboys and Indians and Roy Rogers and Jesse James and Wyatt Earp and of course General Amrstrong Custer will find this riviting and interesting.
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