Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) was an American soldier, journalist and short-story writer, famous for his bitter wit. His tales of the Civil War, such as An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, and his satirical Devil's Dictionary are classics. He disappeared in Mexico in 1913–1914.
Genres
novels and stories, essays
Works
Tales of Soldiers and Civilians
The soldier
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on 24 June 1842 in Meigs County, Ohio, the tenth of thirteen children of a poor farming family, all of whose names began with the letter A. He grew up in Indiana.
He enlisted in the Union army in 1861 and fought at Shiloh, Chickamauga and in the Atlanta campaign, where he was seriously wounded in the head in 1864. He worked as a topographical engineer, drawing maps of battlefields.
Bitter Bierce
After the war he settled in San Francisco and became a journalist, famous for his savage columns. From 1887 he wrote for William Randolph Hearst's San Francisco Examiner, attacking politicians, railroads and hypocrites, which earned him the nickname 'Bitter Bierce'.
His stories were collected in Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891) and Can Such Things Be? (1893), and his definitions in The Cynic's Word Book (1906), renamed The Devil's Dictionary in 1911.
Disappearance
His personal life was marked by tragedy: his two sons died young, one in a shooting and one of alcoholism, and his marriage ended in separation.
In late 1913, aged seventy-one, he travelled to Mexico, then in revolution, and may have joined Pancho Villa's army as an observer. His last known letter is dated 26 December 1913; his fate has never been discovered.
Anecdotes
The letter A
All thirteen children of Marcus and Laura Bierce had names beginning with A, from Abigail and Addison to Almeda, Andrew and Ambrose.
A last letter
In his last known letter, written from Chihuahua in December 1913, Bierce said he intended to follow Villa's army. Nothing certain is known after that.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Ambrose Bierce?
He disappeared in Mexico during the revolution, around the beginning of 1914. His death has never been confirmed.
What is The Devil's Dictionary?
A satirical dictionary of witty and cynical definitions, published as The Cynic's Word Book in 1906 and under its present title in 1911.
Did Bierce fight in the Civil War?
Yes, as a Union soldier from 1861 to 1865, at Shiloh, Chickamauga and Kennesaw Mountain, where he was badly wounded.