ell Jones, noted professional gamblers of the time. It was for the young Pinchback a fair arrangement. He continued his regular duties on the boats, protected Devol and Jones from their gambling weaknesses, and attained the rank of steward on the riverboats (Haskins, 1973, p. 14). He learned to gamble rather skillfully himself. With higher earnings from his work and gambling, he was able to send more money home to his mother, to dress in expensive clothing, and to buy all the wine and women he wanted (p. 15).
By 1860, Pinchback was twenty-three. The country seemed on the brink of war. Pinchback had lived with insecurity most of his life since leaving the southern plantation, and the national unrest made him desire a steadying influence in his life. He married Nina Emily Hawthorne, a strong, steady young woman, not unlike his mother, Eliza Stewart (Haskins, 1973, p. 17). Nina was sixteen years old at the time.
Pinchback, early on, showed signs of being a social reformer. He attempted to gather together a black regiment to engage in the war. In 1863 he addressed a "Meeting of Free Colored Citizens" in New Orleans to discuss measures for securing the right to vote. The New Orleans Times reported his speech in part. "He believed that if colored people were citizens they had a right to vote. If they were not citizens, they were exempted from the draft (haskins, 1973, p. 278).
After the assassination of Lincoln and the ending of the war, Pinchback became a leader of the newly fre
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