SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - It was June of 1856 when the first riverboat, The Omaha, arrived in Sioux City. Not only did it bring the first teacher to town, but it also opened the door to an era of westward expansion.

The most respected person piloting riverboats on the Missouri was Grant Marsh. He took part in the longest riverboat race in history and also rescued the survivors of Custer’s last stand.

“Everybody ran to the river to see what the boat was bringing, who the boat was bringing,” says Crystal Mensch of the Mead Museum in Yankton, South Dakota.

The Pennsylvania-born Grant Marsh began his steamboat career as a cabin boy at the age of twelve. He later became a good friend with another steamboat worker named Samuel Clemens who would become the famous humorist Mark Twain.

Marsh eventually began piloting a variety of boats on the Missouri for Sanford Coulson and the Coulson Line, calling Sioux City his home port.

While in Sioux City Marsh took part in the longest riverboat race in history. In 1872 he captained the Nellie Peck against the Far West from Sioux City to Fort Benton, in Montana Territory and back.

Marsh’s Nellie Peck had a lead for 1,300 miles. But when Marsh turned over the helm to catch some sleep the Nellie Peck hit a sandbar. The Far West beat the Nellie Peck by just three hours.

Sioux City was just a temporary stop in Marsh’s career.

“Commodore Coulson who had been in Sioux City... he had realized that Yankton would be the next up-and-coming riverboat port,” says Mensch.

Through the years Marsh ferried loads of military supplies and personnel up the Missouri. In 1876 that included piloting the Far West with an aggressive General George Custer and his 7th cavalry to the Little Big Horn in what’s now Montana.

“He was going to be the guy who was going to finally put this Indian rebellion to rest,” adds Mensch.

But Custer was killed along with more than 260 others. A total of 52 wounded survivors made it back to the Far West.

“They were loading the Far West. I think they were finished loading about 2 a.m.,” says Mensch.

Fearful of another attack Marsh then began a perilous journey back to Fort Lincoln in Bismarck.

“These are rivers he had just arrived on for the first time the day before when they first got there. It wasn’t like it was a river he knew very well,” says Mensch.

Even well-known parts of rivers pose a danger from sand bars, decaying trees and floating debris. Over the years more than 300 steamships from Omaha up the mighty Missouri were sunk.

Evidence of those dangers can still be seen these days along the river. But Marsh managed to pilot the Far West back day and night, safely traveling more than 700 miles in a record 54 hours. The rescue added more to Marsh’s legendary status.

He was once so famous they put up a statue of him on the side of the Missouri River in Yankton, South Dakota. And while he may have called Yankton home, he was rarely “home.”

“His wife Katie who was a steamboat widow. They had five kids. And she was alone most of the time. You know he was gone a lot. The only time he’d been home was when the river would be frozen,” according to Mensch.

Despite his success on the river, Grant Marsh is said to have died in near poverty at the age of 81. He’s buried in one of the highest spots in Bismarck, North Dakota with a view of the Missouri River. His tombstone is even engraved with the image of a riverboat.

Marsh’s last important trip was to ferry Sitting Bull and 171 followers, the last of the “hostiles,” from Fort Randall to Fort Yates.

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