Ambrose Bierce: Fierce and FuriousSoldier, Newspaperman, Cynic1842-1913?

Background• Born in rural Miegs

County, Ohio• 10th of 13 children• Parents impoverished but

strongly devoted to education

• House was filled with books

• Attended high school, but left at 15

• Became a “printer’s devil” at a small Ohio newspaper

Wartime Experiences• Enlisted in Union army in 1861• Fought in several small battles in

and around Virginia• Was promoted to first lieutenant

because of bravery in the field• Fought at the Battle of Shiloh—

wounded• Fought at the Battle of

Kennesaw Mountain—serious head wound

• Discharged in 1865 at end of war, but participated in a western campaign which took him to San Francisco in 1866

Personal Life• Married Mollie O’Day in 1871• They had three children: two sons and a daughter• Both sons died before Bierce did. One committed suicide, the

other died of complications from alcoholism• Mollie and he divorced in 1905• Bierce had lasting effects from his war wounds and also

suffered greatly from asthma

Journalism Career• Worked on a series of

California newspapers • Worked for newspapers

in England from 1872-1875

• Settled first in San Francisco, where he became a columnist, then in Washington D.C.

• Eventually established as a critic of politicians and society and influential columnist

Literary Works• Considered a master of the short story• Deeply cynical and highly ironic• Trusted no one and valued nothing except honesty• His motto was “Nothing matters.”• His nickname was “Bitter Bierce”• Sardonic humor was his trademark• Delighted in exposing hypocrisy and double dealing

His Death…Disappearance• Bierce went to Mexico to write

about the revolution• Joined up with Pancho Villa’s

army in 1913• Wrote a letter to a friend in

which he stated, “As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination.”

• He was last seen on Dec. 26, 1913

• Several writers have dealt with his disappearance in novels and movies.