On April 15, 1837, Abraham Lincoln arrived in Springfield, Illinois, on a borrowed horse to begin his career as an attorney and met Joshua Speed, a fellow Kentuckian, in a local store. The two became roommates and close friends for the rest of Lincoln's life, despite differing political views and disagreement over slavery. After Joshua Speed returned to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1842 and lived at Farmington, he and his older brother James Speed became two of Lincoln's most ardent supporters after Lincoln's election and the outbreak of the Civil War. Joshua helped distribute guns to Union forces in Kentucky that became known as Lincoln guns, and Lincoln valued his advice and reportedly offered him the post of secretary of the treasury, which he repeatedly declined. James Speed, a Louisville attorney whose political career in Kentucky was limited by his opposition to slavery, joined Joshua in playing a key role in keeping Kentucky in the Union despite their divergent opinions about slavery. During the Civil War, James served as mustering officer for Kentucky Union volunteers, commanded the Louisville Home Guard, and became Lincoln's attorney general in December 1864. After Lincoln's assassination, he remained attorney general under President Andrew Johnson until July 1866. On April 16, 1865, James wrote to his mother that Lincoln was the best and greatest man he had ever known and urged her not to despair, declaring that the principles of self-government would endure. A core group of Kentucky advisers also helped keep Lincoln informed about the state during the Civil War, including Robert J. Breckinridge, George Prentice, Joseph Holt, and James Guthrie, all of whom supported the Union cause in different ways.