This is a fine look at an important part of Montana history: how Montana transformed from territory to statehood while profoundly influenced by settlers still bitter from both sides of the Civil War.
In Montana Territory and the Civil War: A Frontier Forged on the Battlefield (History Press, $19.99), Ken Robison uses vignettes of Montana’s heroes and heroines to detail the compelling stories of just how the Civil War influences forged and shaped Montana’s early years. Heavily biased toward the Union view of matters, and mostly using heroes who were Union supporters or abolitionists, Robison even refers to the “Lost Cause” as a myth. Although many will question his opinions of George Custer and O.O. Howard, the author’s heroes are well chosen and worthy.
—Mike O’Keefe, author of Custer, the Seventh Cavalry, and the Little Big Horn: A Bibliography
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