Ambrose Bierce's stories convey truth mixed with fiction,
amongst the cynicism. For example, One of
the Missing uses the name of Brigadier General William Tecumseh Sherman
(General Sherman) and depicts the "Confederate retreat"[1]
through the fictional character of Private Jerome Searing, who is an
"orderly"[2]
for Sherman's army. The story also depicts the "miles of trenchlines"[3]
which it appears Bierce described as "A line of earthworks"[4]
and "little banks of earth scooped out of the slight depression"[5].
Of course, this would only be genuine if Union soldiers had taken over the
Confederate trenches. "Searing pushed forward across the line of abandoned
pits"[6]
gives us evidence to show that this is likely true. It appears that the Atlanta
Campaign is presented as a sort of building site as well as a battlefield. His
stories show how genuine historical settings and characters can be portrayed in
fiction.
[1] Geologic
Origins of Kennesaw Mountain - ?
[2] Ambrose
Gwinnett Bierce, One of the Missing, http://www.ambrosebierce.org/main.html
[3]Angela
Tooley, The Dallas Road Community and the
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, National Park Service U.S. Department of the
Interior Kennesaw Mountain National
Battlefield Park, Experience Your America™
[4] One
of the Missing
[5] One
of the Missing
[6]
One of the Missing
Added the underlined sentence to make my "point more clearly". I am unsure if I should write this paragraph.
No comments:
Post a Comment