MUSIC

Sam Clemmons jumped at the chance to head west.

It was 1861. He was 26 years old.

And his older brother Orion had just been appointed secretary for the governor of Nevada

in the Missouri. Orion graciously offered to take Sam with him and Sam was excited for the adventure.

They made the trek from Missouri to Nevada. Orion settled into his job as the governor secretary

and Sam settled into his new life as a minor.

After a year of unsuccessful prospecting, Sam decided to change direction.

In July 1862, he secured a job at the territorial enterprise newspaper in Virginia City.

And at that time, the United States was a tale of two countries.

Out there in western Nevada, the people were most directly affected by the mining industry, obviously.

The newspaper was filled with stories of the happenings in the area.

But in the east, the Civil War had been raging for more than a year.

And it was about to take on new dimensions.

Five days before Sam Clemmons published his first article, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's men

pushed Union General George McClellan's army to the breaking point.

By July 11th, five days after Sam Clemmons wrote his first article,

President Abraham Lincoln decided he was done with McClellan.

He replaced McClellan with General Henry Hallock, who became Commander of the Union Forces in the east.

That same day, Lincoln made General Ulysses S. Grant the commander of all the forces in the west.

The next day, July 12th, 1862, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor for bravery in battle.

All of that, and much more, happened less than a week after Sam Clemmons began his career as a writer.

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