Ambrose Bierce, best known for his biting wit and masterful short stories, served for three years as a sergeant of volunteers with the 9th Indiana Regiment. Bierce, who originally signed three-month enlistment papers in 1861 at the age of 18, saw his first major action at Shiloh in April of 1862. That experience and the many others that followed left him a changed and disillusioned man. Many of his short stories, including the well-known and beautifully written An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, are based on his recollections of the War.
Bierce disappeared from public view in 1914 when he failed to return from a trip into war-torn Mexico. It is presumed that he was either a casualty of that war or the victim of bandits. No trace of him has ever been found.
(1842-1914?)
