May 14 Tuesday – Sam departed New Orleans as a passenger on the Nebraska. Commercial traffic was halted. This was the last boat allowed through the Union blockade at Memphis. Sam’s days as a river pilot were over, though he did not know it at the time. He would later wax nostalgic and eloquent about his idyllic career on the river. Just as his idyllic days of boyhood in Hannibal had abruptly ended, so too did his time on “the best job in the world.” Paine gives the name of the boat as the Uncle Sam: “I’ll think about it,” he said.

May 8 Wednesday – The Alonzo Child arrived in New Orleans. This was Sam’s last trip as a steamboat pilot. Captain DeHaven was a rabid secessionist who decided after reaching New Orleans not to return north, forcing Sam to find another way home.

May 2 Thursday – The Alonzo Child left for New Orleans.

April 28 Sunday – Sam boarded the Die Vernon as a passenger for the return trip to St. Louis, where he spent a few days with his family [MTL 1: 120n2].

April 27 Saturday – Orion arrived in Keokuk with his wife and daughter. That night he left alone for St. Louis to see his mother, brother, and sister [MTL 1: 121n3].

April 26 Friday – Sam boarded the Hannibal City to Hannibal. Sam wrote Orion of his intention to travel to Hannibal to collect a debt (probably the $200 Will Bowen had borrowed). He asked Orion to bring or buy the book, Armageddon by Samuel D. Baldwin.
“My Dear Brother: / I am on the wing for Hannibal, to collect money due me. I shall return to St. Louis to-morrow. “Orion bring down ‘Armageddon’ with you if you have it. If not, buy it.” [MTL 1: 120]. Note: Armageddon, by Samuel D. Baldwin (1845); see source notes on this book.

April 25 Thursday – The Alonzo Child arrived in St. Louis.

April 20 Saturday – Orion Clemens received his commission as Secretary of Nevada Territory [MTL 1: 121n3].

April 18 Thursday – The Alonzo Child left for St. Louis. From Sam’s 1905 notebook entry: Alonzo Ch. heard of firing on Fort Sumter, April 18 at Vicksburg on way down (the day after it happened.) We hoisted stars & bars & played Dixie [Bates 36]. Note: Ft. Sumter was bombarded on Apr. 12, 1861.

April 16 Tuesday – The Alonzo Child arrived in New Orleans.