BREAKER
Telegraph operator/technician
File Name: Alvin R Kibbey
Place of Birth: Gatlinburg, TN

Growing up in the hills of Tennessee, Alvin got to be quite the horseman on his father's plantation. As a teen he was placed in charge of the plantation's human "stock", but was well liked among the workers because of his fairness and kindness. As soon as he could afford his own horse, Alvin took to the road, looking for adventure in the frontier. He signed on with the fledgling Pony Express as a Rider, traveling far across the plains to see what the country had to offer. His mother continued to write and send news of the family and county politics, and he was saddened by the talk of rebellion. Traveling through the Utah Territory he was set upon by a Paiute raiding party and his horse was killed. Alvin managed to find cover and hold off his attackers until help showed up in the form of a Wells Fargo freight coach. As they were about to make their escape, the coach threw a wheel. Without missing a beat, Alvin grabbed the coachman's shotgun and his own rifle as the driver, a Yankee named Lance, set to replacing the wheel. He held them off until they were out of ammo, using the butt of his Remmington to break the skull of a scout that got too close. Lance got the new wheel on in a clutch, and that's what Alvin called him from then on. Whether it was due to the Indian's broken skull or Alvin's broken rifle, that's what Clutch called him after that -- Breaker.

When the tensions between the north and south ignited a Civil War, Breaker returned home out of concern for his mother, and found himself compelled to help those who sought freedom from their oppressors. He signed on with the Confederate Army and joined the Confederate Dispatch as a courier at first but soon discovered he had a knack for Morse Code and the telegraph machines they used to send messages to the capitol. He became an expert in the technology, which he secretly used to send messages to the North.

In the midst of a Union raid on his company headquarters, Breaker came across a small group of runaway slaves. He took pity on them, and found them a place where they would be safe until he could arrange for help to get them up North. Breaker immediately thought of his friend Clutch, who he knew was with the Union Army. He knew Clutch could get across the lines and back with the family with no trouble, before the Rebel scouts even knew he was there. This was to be the first of many runs for a secret branch of the Underground Railroad, smuggling dozens to freedom in the North.

Once the war was over, Breaker returned to the west, this time as a telegraph operator/technician for Western Union. He was in charge of setting up new offices, repairing damaged/obsolete equipment and arranging for the transport of all the equipment. Once again, he turned to his old friend Clutch to move equipment fast, often going along for the ride.