Chickamauga — A Classic Short Story by Ambrose Bierce

About this episode

This episode features Ambrose Bierce's graphic short story 'Chickamauga', reflecting on the brutal realities of war.

Ambrose Bierce fought as a Union officer at the battle of Chickamauga in September of 1863. Twenty-six years later, he wrote this story about it. A warning before you press play. "Chickamauga" is brief and graphic. Bierce describes wounded and dying men in unflinching detail, and there is a small child at the center of the story. If you've served, if you've lost someone to war, or if you're listening with children present, take a moment before you begin. This is not the Civil War of monuments and ceremony. It is the war as Bierce saw it, written by a man who refused to let his country forget. A note on the language: Bierce wrote for readers of 1889, and his vocabulary, sentence length, and classical allusions reflect that. He expected his audience to do some work. The difficulty is part of the experience. The battle in the title was a real battle. More than 34,000 men were killed, wounded, or captured over three days in north Georgia. One of them, captured on September 20th, 1863, was John B. Anderson of the 6th Indiana Volunteer Infantry — my great-great-grandfather. He survived Libby Prison, Danville, and Andersonville, and walked home on the last day of 1864. His story…

People in this episode

Host: Short Storyverses

Topics covered

• Civil War
• graphic storytelling
• historical fiction
• war experiences
• family history

Keywords

• Chickamauga
• Ambrose Bierce
• Civil War
• short story
• war
• graphic detail
• historical fiction

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 6th Indiana Volunteer Infantry

Books & works: The Line Uncrossed

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