Franklin Pierce elected President. Mark Twain is a pilot on the Mississippi River. Lincoln elected President. For a few weeks, Twain is a member of the Confederate Army, then goes to the far West. Emancipation Proclamation frees slaves in rebel states.
Twain works as a newspaperman in California.
Twain moves to New York City. Publication of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women . Publication of The Innocents Abroad . Twain marries Olivia Langdon. Twain's son dies at age of two years.