years old) abandoned his education and took a job carrying water for workmen at a nearby quarry, then became caretaker of "Waverly" a nearby farm own by Governor Howard. When Davis was 20, the B&O completed track from Frederick to Cumberland, and needed men to run the trains and handle cargo. Thus Davis went to work for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as a brakeman. His hard work and enthusiasm drew the attention of the railroad's president, Thomas Swann, who promoted him to freight conductor, then passenger conductor. Davis met many statesmen, including Senators Henry Clay of Kentucky (whom Davis came to admire and received invitations to visit at his home), Thomas H. Benton of Missouri, Lewis Cass of Michigan, Benjamin Wade and Thomas Corwin of Ohio, and Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois—all of whom embarked the B&O train in Cumberland to reach Washington, D.C. (or disembarked on the reverse route). Davis also often stayed at a hotel in Washington between trips, and conversed with other notables, including Senators William C. Rives of Virginia, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. When the B&O finally completed track to Wheeling on the navigable Ohio River, Davis was put in charge of the Piedmont station. It was a crucial station because it was at the foot of a mountain, where trains traveling eastward added engines to surmount the slope. Until the railroad completed a house for him (so his new wife could join him), Davis lived in a box car, and also came to admire the natural landscape of the Allegheny Mountains. After four years, his brother Thomas joined him, and they established a store, often trading farm products for manufactured goods such as jeans, shoes, calico and sugar. In 1858, Davis resigned his railroad job to concentrate on the firm, Henry G. Davis & Company. Davis also explored the Alleghenies, particularly the area drained by the Potomac River to the east and the Cheat River on the western side of the eastern continental divide. He purchased land rich in timber or coal (often for $1 an acre). He soon built sawmills to process the lumber and extended branch railroads to new coal mines, and also invested in banking in Piedmont. When the Civil War began, even the B & O's President, John Work Garrett initially sympathized with the Southern cause. However, the B&O was crucial for the