Samuel Langhorne Clemens had been a riverboat pilot from February of 1857 to May of 1861, primarily navigating the Lower Mississippi River from New Orleans to St. Louis. James Buchanan was president. Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated in March of 1861; Sam was renewing his pilots license; the Civil War broke out. By the end of April, Sam's career on the river was over. Lincoln appointed Orion Clemens, Sam's older brother, secretary of the new territorial government of Nevada. Three months after leaving the river Sam was on his way to Nevada on the Overland Stage from St. Joseph, Missouri to Carson City.