Posted on 08/31/2021 9:57:40 PM PDT by CheshireTheCat
It would perhaps be around this time in 1863 that a Southern planter is arrayed for hanging in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
This “greatest American short story … a flawless example of American genius” (according to Kurt Vonnegut) was 1890 product of puissant wordsmith Ambrose Bierce.
In this non-chronological story, Peyton Farquhar, “a well to do planter, of an old and highly respected Alabama family,” is entrapped by a Union spy purporting to be a Confederate agent to attempt an act of sabotage in the face of a hanging warning issued by the Union army.
It can be ballparked in late August or early September based on its location in northern Alabama, which essentially didn’t see Civil War activity until the very end of the war. Except, that is, for the maneuvering building up to the Battle of Chickamauga fought just over the border in southeastern Tennessee September 19-20, 1863.* That also squares with seasonal indicators in the text pointing to summer, e.g.: “the flood of last winter had lodged a great quantity of driftwood against the wooden pier at this end of the bridge. It is now dry and would burn like tinder.”...
(Excerpt) Read more at executedtoday.com ...
Bierce ....where did he die?
You should post that
Guess we’ll never know...
Well, that was a confusing read...
‘An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge’.....hmmmmmm. Sounds like one of those old 70’s B-horror movies you’d find on a cable station at 3 AM on a Sunday morning.
This is a really famous ghost story. Even today it can raise the hair up my back.
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
And his death is still a mystery, causing one writer to say:
In his 1932 book Wild Talents, American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena Charles Fort wrote about the unexplained disappearances of Ambrose Bierce and Ambrose Small, and asked, "Was somebody collecting Ambroses?
This ... cartoon circulated among Bryukhanov's political rivals
In the spirit of late night posting, of course.
Rod Serling bought the French short film they made of the story and ran it as a Twilight Zone episode.
BTTT
The Battle of Chickamauga was fought in North Western Georgia.
Great writer. Read “The Coup de Grace” when you get a chance. Also his Devil’s Dictionary - lots of clever little tidbits in there.
“Negligible Tales” and “The Parenticide Club” contain some of my favorite Bierce stories.
If you can find it, get a copy of this read by David McCallum. It is truly haunting.
I thought it a bit too risque.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.