Although a writer by trade, Twain also served a brief stint as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. At the age of 18, Twain left home for the New York City and Philadelphia where he worked at various newspapers. He eventually returned home in 1857 and became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi. This new career came to a halt when the Civil War began and river traffic was disrupted.
Twain decided to join a Confederate militia, the Marion Rangers, but only lasted two weeks before he quit and went West.
It is not known exactly why Twain quit the militia. In his fictionalized account of his war experiences titled “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed” Twain describes the moment he decided to quit:
“The last camp which we fell back upon was in a hollow near the village of Florida, where I was born – in Monroe County. Here we were warned that a Union colonel was sweeping down on us with a whole regiment at his heels. This looked decidedly serious. Our boys went apart and consulted; then we went back and told the other companies present that the war was a disappointment for us and we were going to disband.”
Whatever the reason, Twain left the military and never looked back Twain went on to become an iconic American writer best known for his classic novels such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
