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Civil War
A collection of vibrant, horrifying, and sardonic stories and reminiscences about the American Civil War by soldier, journalist, and cynic Ambrose Bierce.
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Published June 1, 1996
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About the author
Ambrose Bierce
2,443 books1,301 followersdied perhaps 1914
Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.
People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.
The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."
People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.
Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.
Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.
Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"
Caustic wit and a strong sense of horror mark works, including In the Midst of Life (1891-1892) and The Devil's Dictionary (1906), of American writer Ambrose Gwinett Bierce.
People today best know this editorialist, journalist, and fabulist for his short story, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and his lexicon.
The informative sardonic view of human nature alongside his vehemence as a critic with his motto, "nothing matters," earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce."
People knew Bierce despite his reputation as a searing critic, however, to encourage younger poet George Sterling and fiction author W.C. Morrow.
Bierce employed a distinctive style especially in his stories. This style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, the theme of war, and impossible events.
Bierce disappeared in December 1913 at the age of 71 years. People think that he traveled to Mexico to gain a firsthand perspective on ongoing revolution of that country.
Theories abound on a mystery, ultimate fate of Bierce. He in one of his final letters stated: "Good-bye. If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think it is a pretty good way to depart this life. It beats old age, disease, or falling down the cellar stairs. To be a Gringo in Mexico--ah, that is euthanasia!"
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 1, 2023
These stories brought back to me the emotions stirred up by Ken Burns 1990 miniseries The Civil War and putting aside historians' critiques of that documentary, these stories are written by a Bona fide Federal Civil War Veteran (1861-1865). They are extremely poignant and heart rendering and especially eye opening.
CONTENTS:
Introduction by William McCann ✔
WAR MEMOIRS:
On a Mountain 3.25⭐
What I Saw of Shiloh 5⭐
A Little of Chickamauga 4.5⭐
The Crime at Pickett's Mill 5⭐
Four Days in Dixie 5⭐
What Occurred at Franklin 4⭐
A Bivouac of the Dead 5⭐
WAR STORIES:
A Horseman in the Sky 3.5⭐
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 5⭐
Chickamauga 4.5⭐
A Son of the Gods 4⭐
One of the Missing 5⭐
Killed at Resaca 4⭐
The Affair at Coulter's Notch 5⭐
The Coup De Grâce 5⭐
Parker Adderson, Philosopher 4⭐
An Affair of Outposts 4⭐
The Story of a Conscience 5⭐
One Kind of Officer 4⭐
One Officer, One Man 5⭐
George Thurston 4⭐
The Mocking-Bird 5⭐
Three and One Are One 4⭐
A Baffled Ambuscade 4⭐
Two Military Executions 5⭐
A Resumed Identity 5⭐
Jupiter Doke, Brigadier-General 5⭐
CONTENTS:
Introduction by William McCann ✔
WAR MEMOIRS:
On a Mountain 3.25⭐
What I Saw of Shiloh 5⭐
A Little of Chickamauga 4.5⭐
The Crime at Pickett's Mill 5⭐
Four Days in Dixie 5⭐
What Occurred at Franklin 4⭐
A Bivouac of the Dead 5⭐
WAR STORIES:
A Horseman in the Sky 3.5⭐
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 5⭐
Chickamauga 4.5⭐
A Son of the Gods 4⭐
One of the Missing 5⭐
Killed at Resaca 4⭐
The Affair at Coulter's Notch 5⭐
The Coup De Grâce 5⭐
Parker Adderson, Philosopher 4⭐
An Affair of Outposts 4⭐
The Story of a Conscience 5⭐
One Kind of Officer 4⭐
One Officer, One Man 5⭐
George Thurston 4⭐
The Mocking-Bird 5⭐
Three and One Are One 4⭐
A Baffled Ambuscade 4⭐
Two Military Executions 5⭐
A Resumed Identity 5⭐
Jupiter Doke, Brigadier-General 5⭐
March 8, 2023
Excellent gathering of Bierce's short stories.
February 1, 2019
Having already read many of Ambrose Bierce's civil war stories in other collections, much of this work was already familiar to me. Those who are familiar with Bierce's writings in general have likely read such classics as "A Horseman In The Sky," "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge," "The Story Of A Conscience," "Killed At Resaca," or "One Kind Of Officer," all of which are great stories and all of which are included here. What this book does, though, is place these familiar and excellent stories in a context that demonstrates how it is that Bierce was so strongly affected by his Civil War experience and how he managed to enjoy being a soldier despite his dislike of authority. One also gets a plausible account of the author's death in the Mexican Revolution as well as a discussion of the serious injuries he suffered and some of their consequences. It is possible that a great deal of Bierce's known waspishness was due to the pain he suffered as a result of war wounds which gave him constant and massive headaches, which adds to at least some sympathy as far as his suffering is concerned.
The first 75 pages or so of this book of a bit more than 250 pages is made up of the author's nonfictional writings on the Civil War, which amount to fragmentary materials that would these days likely have ended up in a memoir. These essays include his writings about the second day of Shiloh, his experiences in Chickamauga, four days in Dixie, and his view of the crime of Pickett's Mill regarding his brigade and its attack on the Confederate lines, as well as a discussion of the Battle of Franklin and its context. The rest of the book consists of Bierce's short stories about the Civil War, many of which were already familiar to me but still very worthwhile and enjoyable stories. Among the stories that were not familiar with me, the story of "Parker Adderson, Philosopher" and spectacularly unsuccessful spy, was perhaps the most poignant, and "Jupiter Doke, Brigadier-General" was perhaps the most entertaining, an epistolary short story where a Union officer with greenhorn troops manages to kill and capture a large number of menacing rebels after having been abandoned by his superior and is then promoted as a result of his bravery.
There are at least a few worthwhile insights that the reader can gain from these stories. For one, the Civil War had an obvious and serious effect on Bierce as a person and as a writer. The stories themselves dwell on questions of death and honor, the elusiveness of bravery, the futility of death, and of the occasional lies that people engage in, sometimes with very serious results. One can see that Hazen's example as a brave but somewhat combative officer was an inspiration for Bierce's own character and conduct both in the war as a talented topographical officer and after the war as an able writer. One can also see that the author manages not only to turn the Civil War into a question of morality tales or ghost stories or humorous stories, even occasionally adopting the language of blacks--something that would not pass muster today, but manages to turn his own experiences and observations into compelling literature that has managed to endure. Perhaps Bierce would be gratified to know that his own observations on the Civil War as well as his own fictional stories taken from his experiences are still read and enjoyed today, but he would likely not be as enamored of the way that many of the lessons of that brutal war have not been learned or heeded by our nation or the larger world.
The first 75 pages or so of this book of a bit more than 250 pages is made up of the author's nonfictional writings on the Civil War, which amount to fragmentary materials that would these days likely have ended up in a memoir. These essays include his writings about the second day of Shiloh, his experiences in Chickamauga, four days in Dixie, and his view of the crime of Pickett's Mill regarding his brigade and its attack on the Confederate lines, as well as a discussion of the Battle of Franklin and its context. The rest of the book consists of Bierce's short stories about the Civil War, many of which were already familiar to me but still very worthwhile and enjoyable stories. Among the stories that were not familiar with me, the story of "Parker Adderson, Philosopher" and spectacularly unsuccessful spy, was perhaps the most poignant, and "Jupiter Doke, Brigadier-General" was perhaps the most entertaining, an epistolary short story where a Union officer with greenhorn troops manages to kill and capture a large number of menacing rebels after having been abandoned by his superior and is then promoted as a result of his bravery.
There are at least a few worthwhile insights that the reader can gain from these stories. For one, the Civil War had an obvious and serious effect on Bierce as a person and as a writer. The stories themselves dwell on questions of death and honor, the elusiveness of bravery, the futility of death, and of the occasional lies that people engage in, sometimes with very serious results. One can see that Hazen's example as a brave but somewhat combative officer was an inspiration for Bierce's own character and conduct both in the war as a talented topographical officer and after the war as an able writer. One can also see that the author manages not only to turn the Civil War into a question of morality tales or ghost stories or humorous stories, even occasionally adopting the language of blacks--something that would not pass muster today, but manages to turn his own experiences and observations into compelling literature that has managed to endure. Perhaps Bierce would be gratified to know that his own observations on the Civil War as well as his own fictional stories taken from his experiences are still read and enjoyed today, but he would likely not be as enamored of the way that many of the lessons of that brutal war have not been learned or heeded by our nation or the larger world.
April 1, 2023
"Modern literature is full of evidence that our great grandfathers looked upon mountains with aversion and horror. Teh poets of even the seventeenth century never tire of damning them in good, set terms. ... The flatlanders who invaded the Cheat Mountain country had been suckled in another creed, and to them western Virginia - there was, as yet, no West Virginia - was an enchanted land. How we reveled in its savage beauties! With what pure delight we inhaled its fragrances of spruce and pine! How we stared with something like awe at its clumps of laurel!"
"It had been a terrible race; some regiments had lost a third of their number from fatigue, the men dropping from the ranks as if shot, and left to recover or die at their leisure. Nor was the scene to which they had been invited likely to inspire the moral confidence that medicines physical fatigue. True, the air was full of thunder and the earth was trembling beneath their feet; and if there is truth in the theory of the conversion of force, these men were storing up energy from every shock that burst its waves upon their bodies. Perhaps this theory may better than another explain the tremendous endurance of men in battle. But the eyes reported only matter for despair."
"Hidden in hollows and behind clumps of rank brambles were large tents, dimly lighted with candles, but looking comfortable. The kind of comfort they supplied was indicated by pairs of men entering and reappearing, bearing litters; by low moans from within and by long rows of dead with covered faces outside. These tents were constantly receiving the wounded, yet were never full; they were continually ejecting the dead, yet were never empty. It was as if the helpless had been carried in and murdered, that they might not hamper those whose business it was to fall to-morrow."
"The bugle calls of the Federal and the Confederate armies were the same: it was the 'assembly'! As it died away I observed that the atmosphere had suffered a change; despite the equilibrium established by the storm, it was electric. Wings were growing on blistered feet. Bruised muscles and jolted bones, shoulders pounded by the cruel knapsack, eyelids leaden from lack of sleep - all were pervaded by the subtle fluid, all were unconscious of their clay. The men thrust forward their heads, expanded their eyes and clenched their teeth. They breathed hard, as if throttled by tugging at the leash. If you had laid your hand in the beard or hair of one of these men it would have crackled and shot sparks."
"There is a class of events which by their very nature, and despite any intrinsic interest that they may possess, are foredoomed to oblivion. They are merged in the general story of those greater events of which they were a part, as the thunder of a billow breaking on a distant beach in unnoted in the continuous roar."
"It is seldom, indeed, that a subordinate officer knows anything about the disposition of the enemy's forces - except that it is unamiable - or precisely whom he is fighting. As to the rank and file, they can know nothing more of the matter than the arms they carry. They hardly know what troops are upon their own right or left the length of a regiment away. If it is a cloudy day they are ignorant even of the points of the compass."
"It is said that the State of Alabama has more dogs than schoolchildren, and that they cost more for their upkeep. The estimate of cost is probably too high."
"But fools are God's peculiar care, and one of his protective methods is the stupidity of other fools."
"Of this devoted band was the gallant General Adams, whose body was found upon the slope, and whose animal's forefeet were actually inside the crest. General Cleburne lay a few paces farther out, and five or six other general offices sprawled elsewhere. It was a great day for Confederates in the line of promotion."
"True, more than a half of the green graves in the Grafton cemetery are marked "Unknown," and sometimes it occurs that one thinks of the contradiction involved in 'honoring the memory' of him to whom no memory remains to honor; but the attempt seems to do no great harm to the living, even to the logical."
"Something in the awful disturbance of his organic system had so exalted and refined them that they made record of things never before perceived. He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck. He looked at the forest on the bank of the stream, saw the individual trees, the leaves and the veining of each leaf - saw the very insects upon them: the locusts, the brilliant-bodies flies, the gray spiders stretching their webs from twig to twig. He noted the prismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass. The humming of the gnats that danced above the eddies of the stream, the beating of the dragon-flies' wings, the strokes of the water-spiders' legs, like oars which had lifted their boat - and all these made audible music. A fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush of its body parting the water."
"Farquhar dived - dived as deeply as he could. The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, rising again toward the surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened, oscillating slowly downward. Some of them touched him on the face and hands, then fell away, continuing their descent. One lodged between his collar and neck: it was uncomfortably warm and he snatched it out."
"No one who has ever been in action but remembers how naturally every rifle turns toward the man on a white horse; no one but has observed how a bit of red enrages the bull of battle. That such colors are fashionable in military life must be accepted as the most astonishing of all the phenomena of human vanity. They would seem to have been devised to increase the death rate."
"On the morning of the memorable 6th of April, at Shiloh, many of Grant's men when spitted on Confederate bayonets were as naked as civilians; but it should be allowed that this was not because of any defect in their picket line. Their error was of another sort: they had no pickets."
"It had been a terrible race; some regiments had lost a third of their number from fatigue, the men dropping from the ranks as if shot, and left to recover or die at their leisure. Nor was the scene to which they had been invited likely to inspire the moral confidence that medicines physical fatigue. True, the air was full of thunder and the earth was trembling beneath their feet; and if there is truth in the theory of the conversion of force, these men were storing up energy from every shock that burst its waves upon their bodies. Perhaps this theory may better than another explain the tremendous endurance of men in battle. But the eyes reported only matter for despair."
"Hidden in hollows and behind clumps of rank brambles were large tents, dimly lighted with candles, but looking comfortable. The kind of comfort they supplied was indicated by pairs of men entering and reappearing, bearing litters; by low moans from within and by long rows of dead with covered faces outside. These tents were constantly receiving the wounded, yet were never full; they were continually ejecting the dead, yet were never empty. It was as if the helpless had been carried in and murdered, that they might not hamper those whose business it was to fall to-morrow."
"The bugle calls of the Federal and the Confederate armies were the same: it was the 'assembly'! As it died away I observed that the atmosphere had suffered a change; despite the equilibrium established by the storm, it was electric. Wings were growing on blistered feet. Bruised muscles and jolted bones, shoulders pounded by the cruel knapsack, eyelids leaden from lack of sleep - all were pervaded by the subtle fluid, all were unconscious of their clay. The men thrust forward their heads, expanded their eyes and clenched their teeth. They breathed hard, as if throttled by tugging at the leash. If you had laid your hand in the beard or hair of one of these men it would have crackled and shot sparks."
"There is a class of events which by their very nature, and despite any intrinsic interest that they may possess, are foredoomed to oblivion. They are merged in the general story of those greater events of which they were a part, as the thunder of a billow breaking on a distant beach in unnoted in the continuous roar."
"It is seldom, indeed, that a subordinate officer knows anything about the disposition of the enemy's forces - except that it is unamiable - or precisely whom he is fighting. As to the rank and file, they can know nothing more of the matter than the arms they carry. They hardly know what troops are upon their own right or left the length of a regiment away. If it is a cloudy day they are ignorant even of the points of the compass."
"It is said that the State of Alabama has more dogs than schoolchildren, and that they cost more for their upkeep. The estimate of cost is probably too high."
"But fools are God's peculiar care, and one of his protective methods is the stupidity of other fools."
"Of this devoted band was the gallant General Adams, whose body was found upon the slope, and whose animal's forefeet were actually inside the crest. General Cleburne lay a few paces farther out, and five or six other general offices sprawled elsewhere. It was a great day for Confederates in the line of promotion."
"True, more than a half of the green graves in the Grafton cemetery are marked "Unknown," and sometimes it occurs that one thinks of the contradiction involved in 'honoring the memory' of him to whom no memory remains to honor; but the attempt seems to do no great harm to the living, even to the logical."
"Something in the awful disturbance of his organic system had so exalted and refined them that they made record of things never before perceived. He felt the ripples upon his face and heard their separate sounds as they struck. He looked at the forest on the bank of the stream, saw the individual trees, the leaves and the veining of each leaf - saw the very insects upon them: the locusts, the brilliant-bodies flies, the gray spiders stretching their webs from twig to twig. He noted the prismatic colors in all the dewdrops upon a million blades of grass. The humming of the gnats that danced above the eddies of the stream, the beating of the dragon-flies' wings, the strokes of the water-spiders' legs, like oars which had lifted their boat - and all these made audible music. A fish slid along beneath his eyes and he heard the rush of its body parting the water."
"Farquhar dived - dived as deeply as he could. The water roared in his ears like the voice of Niagara, yet he heard the dulled thunder of the volley and, rising again toward the surface, met shining bits of metal, singularly flattened, oscillating slowly downward. Some of them touched him on the face and hands, then fell away, continuing their descent. One lodged between his collar and neck: it was uncomfortably warm and he snatched it out."
"No one who has ever been in action but remembers how naturally every rifle turns toward the man on a white horse; no one but has observed how a bit of red enrages the bull of battle. That such colors are fashionable in military life must be accepted as the most astonishing of all the phenomena of human vanity. They would seem to have been devised to increase the death rate."
"On the morning of the memorable 6th of April, at Shiloh, many of Grant's men when spitted on Confederate bayonets were as naked as civilians; but it should be allowed that this was not because of any defect in their picket line. Their error was of another sort: they had no pickets."
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January 4, 2016In Ambrose Bierce's "Ambrose Bierce's Civil War" the main idea was to express stories told by men on the Northern side. It was a slightly darker boook, speaking of, for example, losing families and never seeing them again. This caused me personally not to enjoy those parts, but I would reccomend this book for people who enjoy the Civil War down to every unnerving detail. It also spoke of many different battles, and things such as the layout of the fields or the moods of the men. The book also painted in depth mental pictures, for it was the account of a soldier, making it a primary source. Of course there was dark and light, action and just waiting, but overall it was a very eye-opening book.
November 16, 2023
An excellent collection of memoirs and short stories of Ambrose Bierce, most stories involving the officer class which he belonged to. Of course with a touch of 19th century dramatic writing.
The civil war isn’t displayed as some grand adventure but an horrific tale of lost youth, trauma, tragedy, shame, and senseless bloodshed that tore the nation apart. Comparing his experiences to his fictional stories stories you can see similarities with his memories, from the landscape to the horror that occurred on those southern fields.
This book stands as a testament of one man’s experience with war and understanding early Civil War memory.
The civil war isn’t displayed as some grand adventure but an horrific tale of lost youth, trauma, tragedy, shame, and senseless bloodshed that tore the nation apart. Comparing his experiences to his fictional stories stories you can see similarities with his memories, from the landscape to the horror that occurred on those southern fields.
This book stands as a testament of one man’s experience with war and understanding early Civil War memory.
August 8, 2022
His life story during the civil war was fascinating but I was bored by the short stories
September 12, 2020
5 stars for the first part, two stars for the second part of the book. Regarding the first part: It is acerbic, cynical, clear eyed, dark humor, and brilliant. An incredible view of soldiering, human nature, and warfare. Beautiful. Devastating. Important. A military history classic. I wish I’d read it sooner when I was fascinated by the Civil War, but I think I’m getting more out of it now after studying the war than I would have when less mature.
All the above regards the memoir pieces based on Bierce’s experience, or Part One of this volume. The short stories of Part Two were sometimes quite good, but overall didn’t have the realism impact of his own anecdotes. I understand now why Ambrose Bierce has a gruesome reputation: every story has a macabre twist and usually something that's supposed to shock and dismay at the end, including unnecessary deaths. There are several near the end that are ghost stories. The final story in this collection is a humorous parody of political military appointees. (In all the pieces there is a common theme of Generals not being worth the stars on their collars, but this was the most satirical.) The best of the short stories, and perhaps the one that reads most as if based of something he personally observed, is "A Son of the G-ds."
A common theme of the short stories is the random-chance nature of war, man’s cruelty to man, and that there are no real “winners” in a war. All suffer. There is bravery on both sides. Life is wasted and bodies instantly become refuse and fodder for wild animals. I wouldn't bother reading the short stories again, but they do contain moments that give you a sense of what snatches of life were like during the Civil War in addition to the memoir pieces.
All the above regards the memoir pieces based on Bierce’s experience, or Part One of this volume. The short stories of Part Two were sometimes quite good, but overall didn’t have the realism impact of his own anecdotes. I understand now why Ambrose Bierce has a gruesome reputation: every story has a macabre twist and usually something that's supposed to shock and dismay at the end, including unnecessary deaths. There are several near the end that are ghost stories. The final story in this collection is a humorous parody of political military appointees. (In all the pieces there is a common theme of Generals not being worth the stars on their collars, but this was the most satirical.) The best of the short stories, and perhaps the one that reads most as if based of something he personally observed, is "A Son of the G-ds."
A common theme of the short stories is the random-chance nature of war, man’s cruelty to man, and that there are no real “winners” in a war. All suffer. There is bravery on both sides. Life is wasted and bodies instantly become refuse and fodder for wild animals. I wouldn't bother reading the short stories again, but they do contain moments that give you a sense of what snatches of life were like during the Civil War in addition to the memoir pieces.
January 4, 2016
In Ambrose Bierce's "Ambrose Bierce's Civil War" the main idea was to express stories told by men on the Northern side. It was a slightly darker book, speaking of, for example, losing families and never seeing them again. This caused me personally not to enjoy those parts, but I would recommend this book for people who enjoy the Civil War down to every unnerving detail. It also spoke of many different battles, and things such as the layout of the fields or the moods of the men. The book also painted in depth mental pictures, for it was the account of a soldier, making it a primary source. Of course there was dark and light, action and just waiting, but overall it was a very eye-opening book.
January 9, 2012
Some of Bierce's Civil War Memoirs, along with several of his shorter fictional War Stories. Ambrose Bierce's timeless telling of the atrocities of war are . . . well, timeless. As is said of all great writers, Bierce most assuredly wrote of what he knew. Indeed, he knew it better - more intimately - than he would have liked.
This belongs up there with All Quiet on the Western Front as anti-war theme literature.
This belongs up there with All Quiet on the Western Front as anti-war theme literature.
September 12, 2016
I'd not read anything by Ambrose Bierce before, and found him delightful. The first half of the book relates his own experiences in the Civil War, but the second half is short tales full of humor, pathos and irony. I loved it!
January 27, 2021
Some of the short stories are well written and interesting. Some of them couldn’t hold my attentions. He did a great job of capturing what it was like in the war. What the people would have felt or thought. I was expecting more though.
July 11, 2011
Solid memoir of the Civil War.
February 18, 2015
Killer prose, poignant essays, awesome primary source. Bierce was Twain's equal and then some, but nobody really noticed.
July 2, 2018
A collection of short stories from a Federal soldier's perspective. Some read like ghost stories.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews