Ambrose Bierce (?)

 Born in Ohio and raised in Indiana.  He was the 10 th of 13 children.  He educated himself by reading his father’s books.  He left the farm in his late teens to attend a military academy in Kentucky.

 At 19, Bierce joined the 9 th Indiana Volunteers in the Union Army and saw action at the bloody Civil War battles of Shiloh & Chickamauga. He was severely wounded once and was cited for bravery no fewer than 15 times.

 After the war and leaving the army, Bierce moved to San Francisco to work with his brother at the United States Mint.  While there, he also worked as a reporter.

 He wrote a column called the “Prattler,” which appeared in three San Francisco newspapers. His column covered politics, society, literature, and gossip.  Because he often used humor and satire in his column, he angered many key political and business figures, but he was still well- liked by the majority.

 In the early 1890’s, Bierce published two collections of his stories: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians and Can Such Things Be?  Bierce also wrote The Devil’s Dictionary, a humorous and cynical view of the real dictionary.

 Although he enjoyed some literary success, his life was still marked by despair. His marriage ended in divorce, and his two sons both died at an early age.  In 1913, he set out for Mexico, which was in the middle of a bloody civil war. He was never heard from again.