Ambrose Bierce
[18] He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom were given names by their father beginning with the letter "A": in order of birth, the Bierce siblings were Abigail, Amelia, Ann, Addison, Aurelius, Augustus, Almeda, Andrew, Albert, Ambrose, Arthur, Adelia, and Aurelia.[22][23] In April 1863 he was commissioned a first lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields.[24] As a staff officer, Bierce became known to leading generals such as George H. Thomas and Oliver O. Howard, both of whom supported his application for admission to West Point in May 1864.[25] In June 1864, Bierce sustained a traumatic brain injury at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September.His first book, The Fiend's Delight, a compilation of his articles, was published in London in 1873 by John Camden Hotten under the pseudonym "Dod Grile".He also became one of the first regular columnists and editorialists on William Randolph Hearst's newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner,[2] eventually becoming one of the most prominent and influential writers and journalists[citation needed] on the West Coast.Central Pacific executive Collis P. Huntington persuaded a friendly member of Congress to introduce a bill excusing the companies from repaying the loans, amounting to $130 million (worth $4.76 billion today).[37][38] Bierce wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war[39] in such stories as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "A Horseman in the Sky", "One of the Missing", and "Chickamauga".[37] In his later stories, apparently under the influence of Maupassant, Bierce "dedicated himself to shocking the audience", as if his purpose was "to attack the reader's smug intellectual security".[43] Bierce's bias towards Naturalism has also been noted:[44] "The biting, deriding quality of his satire, unbalanced by any compassion for his targets, was often taken as petty meanness, showing contempt for humanity and an intolerance to the point of merciless cruelty".Day committed suicide after a romantic rejection (he non-fatally shot the woman of his affections along with her fiancé beforehand),[50][51] and Leigh died of pneumonia related to alcoholism.[52] He had lifelong asthma,[53] as well as complications from his war wounds, most notably episodes of fainting and irritability assignable to the traumatic brain injury experienced at Kennesaw Mountain.In Ciudad Juárez he joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer, and in that role he witnessed the Battle of Tierra Blanca.[55][56][57] After closing this letter by saying, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination," he vanished without a trace, one of the most famous disappearances in American literary history."[58] Skeptic Joe Nickell noted that the letter to Partington had not been found; all that existed was a notebook belonging to his secretary and companion Carrie Christiansen.Partington concluded that Bierce deliberately concealed his true whereabouts when he finally went to a selected location in the Grand Canyon and died as a result of suicide.[61] Oral tradition in Sierra Mojada, Coahuila documented by priest James Lienert states that Bierce was executed by firing squad in the town's cemetery.[62] Bierce has been fictionalized in more than 50 novels, short stories, movies, television shows, stage plays, and comic books.Most of these works draw upon Bierce's vivid personality, colorful wit, relationships with famous people such as Jack London and William Randolph Hearst, or, quite frequently, his mysterious disappearance.Bierce has been portrayed by such well-known authors as Ray Bradbury,[63] Jack Finney,[64] Carlos Fuentes,[65] Winston Groom,[66] Robert Heinlein,[67] and Don Swaim.[68] Some works featuring a fictional Ambrose Bierce have received favorable reviews, generated international sales,[69] or earned major awards.[72] A French version called La Rivière du Hibou, directed by Robert Enrico, was released in 1962;[73] this black-and-white film faithfully recounts the original narrative using voiceover.[82] Biographer Richard O'Connor argued that, "War was the making of Bierce as a man and a writer... [he became] truly capable of transferring the bloody, headless bodies and boar-eaten corpses of the battlefield onto paper.
Meigs County, Ohiohorror fictionwar fictionwesternliterary criticismAmerican RealismAn Occurrence at Owl Creek BridgeThe Death of Halpin FrayserThe Moonlit RoadThe Devil's DictionaryTales of Soldiers and CiviliansUnion ArmyFirst lieutenant9th Indiana Infantry RegimentAmerican Civil WarBattle of PhilippiBattle of Laurel MountainBattle of Corrick's FordBattle of Cheat MountainBattle of Greenbrier RiverBattle of Camp AlleghenyBattle of ShilohSiege of CorinthBattle of PerryvilleBattle of Stones RiverBattle of ChickamaugaChattanooga CampaignBattle of Lookout MountainBattle of Missionary RidgeBattle of ResacaBattle of Kennesaw MountainAtlanta CampaignBattle of JonesboroughBattle of Franklin (1864)Battle of NashvilleAmerican Revolution Bicentennial AdministrationGrolier ClubMichael DirdaEdgar Allan PoeH. P. LovecraftS. T. JoshiJuvenalVoltaireStephen CraneErnest HemingwayfabulistMexican RevolutionWilliam BradfordKosciusko Countycounty seatWarsawprinter's devilabolitionistKentucky Military Institute9th Indiana Infantryoperations in Western VirginiaBattle of Rich MountainWilliam Babcock Hazentopographical engineerGeorge H. ThomasOliver O. HowardWest PointWilliam T. Shermantraumatic brain injuryGreat PlainsOmaha, NebraskabrevetThe ArgonautOverland MonthlyThe CalifornianThe WaspLibrary of AmericaJohn Camden HottenRockervilleDeadwoodDakota TerritoryWilliam Randolph HearstSan Francisco ExaminerWest CoastHearst NewspapersLogan CircleUnion PacificCentral Pacificfirst transcontinental railroadCollis P. HuntingtonCongressWashington, D.C.CapitolassassinationWilliam McKinleyWilliam Goebelcause célèbreSecretary of WarElihu RootBohemian Clubabsurdity of deathA Horseman in the SkyOne of the MissingMilton Subotskypsychological horrorgrotesquerietrick endingsMaupassantNaturalismSupernatural Horror in Literaturehorror genreweird fictionWilliam Dean Howellspneumoniadivinity of ChristasthmaCivil WarEl PasorevolutionCiudad JuárezPancho VillaBattle of Tierra BlancaChihuahuaBlanche Partingtonhe vanished without a traceJoe NickellGrand CanyonHugh L. ScottFelix A. SommerfeldSierra MojadaCoahuila