The History Corner

Just a quick note here...Last week I won another Versatile Blog Award - this time from Marji Laine. Thank you Marji! I hope everyone will go over to her blog - Marji Laine Writer ~ Unravel the Mystery - and say hi. She has a beautiful blog, and I always leave feeling inspired.

Right now, I think we’ll just head over to the History Corner with my better half, Eric Huebner. His post this week is an interesting read. Hope you enjoy it!

Private Lars (Loree) with Frederick Douglass
Gettysburg, PA
Photo by Eric Huebner

The History Corner with Eric Huebner

As you may know, Loree and I are Civil War reenactors with the 9th Indiana Volunteers Company E. We were initially drawn to the regiment as they were from Northern Indiana, but as we learned more about the unit, their amazing record in battle made us truly admire these brave soldiers. In tribute to their service, Loree and I wrote an article titled Among the Bravest of the Brave, the Battle History of the 9th Indiana that was published last spring by the Indiana Historical Society. Of possibly more interest to this audience is the fact that author Ambrose Bierce was a member of the 9th Indiana.
    

Bierce witnessed terrible fighting during the Civil War and was shot in the head during the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, a bullet remaining lodged in his skull. He survived the ride back to a Federal hospital in Chattanooga on an open flat car in spite of the odds. When he returned home with his head wrapped in bandages, his relationship with his girlfriend ended badly, leaving him scarred emotionally and physically. These experiences set the tone for his writing career for which he became known as "Bitter Bierce."
    

Bierce wrote for several newspapers and he was one of the first columnists and editors for William Randolph Hearst. His other works ranged from short stories, many about the war or the macabre, to poems, and The Cynic's Word Book or The Devil's Dictionary. Examples from this piece are:
1. Alone, adj. In bad company

2. Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
3. Politeness, n. The most acceptable hypocrisy

4. To be positive: To be mistaken at the top of one's voice
5. Year, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.

6. Lawyer, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law.
7. Bride, n. A woman with a fine prospect of happiness behind her.

Bierce's greatest work can be found in his short stories. The strange tale, Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge was possibly his best. A French film version of this story was shown as the final episode of The Twilight Zone and won first prize for Best Short Subject at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival. Author Kurt Vonnegut once stated that he considered Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge the greatest American short story and a work of flawless American genius."    

Be forwarned, his stories are not for the squeamish.

Here is a link to the text of that story: http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/175/

    

My personal favorite, however, is What I saw of Shiloh, the best, no holds barred description of a battle that I have ever read, better even than The Red Badge of Courage. This piece can be found at the same website. Please take a moment and read through a few of his pieces. I believe he was way ahead of his time.

Bierce's life ended in mystery. At the age of 71 he joined Pancho Villa's army and then disappeared without a trace. In 1989 there was a movie about this story titled Old Gringo with Ambrose Bierce played by Gregory Peck. Another movie came out in 2006 called Ambrose Bierce - Civil War Stories with Campbell Scott as Bierce.

Thanks for visiting the History Corner,

 Eric

   

If the Civil War, Bierce, or the 9th Indiana are of any interest to you, check out our facebook page (Eric is the administrator) and please hit "like" 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/9th-Indiana-Volunteer-Infantry-Company-E/169498509771944

 

Between you, me and the gatepost,

Loree