Gwinnett Bierce Biography

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Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was born on June 24, 1842, in Horse Cave Creek, Ohio. His mother was Laura Sherwood and his father was Marcus Aurelius Bierce. Bierce came from a big family; he was number ten out of fourteen children. He was never really close to his parents and always wanted to do things for himself. At the age of four his family moved to Indiana, where he spent most of his teen years. At the age of fifteen he left home to work for an abolitionist’s newspaper company where he was a ‘printer’s devil’. Soon after, he moved to Akron, Ohio with his uncle Lucius Versus Bierce. Young Ambrose deeply admired his uncle not only because he was a lawyer and former Mayor of Akron, but also because he had bravely served in the military. He was inspired by his uncle to attend the Kentucky Military Institute and further his education. After one year, he dropped out and enlisted in the military. “When the Civil war erupted, he enlisted at the age of eighteen as a volunteer in the Ninth Indiana Infantry Regiment” (Grenader). A brave solider, he quickly escalated from Cadet to First Lieutenant. Two years later he was given the position of Major. He fought in numerous battles, including Sherman’s march to the sea, the battle of Shiloh and Chickamauga. After being injured in one of the battles, he was left permanently damaged and was forced to retire. Being able to experience war at first hand would later help him write some of his best known works. After his departure from the military he

settled in San Francisco. At this time, Ambrose started his career as a journalist. In 1867 ...

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...ved by Ambrose dated December 26, 1913. He was never seen or heard of again. Circumstances of his death are uncertain.

Works Sited
“Ambrose (Gwinett) Bierce.’’ Contemporary Authours Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature
Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2014
Grenander, M.E. ‘’ Ambrose (Gwinett) Bierce.’’ American Literay Critics and Scholar, 1880-
1900. Ed. John Wilbert Rathbun and Monics M. Grecu. Detroit: Gale Research, 1988.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 71. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar.
2014
Grenander, M. E. “Bierce, Ambrose (Gwinnett) (1842-1914).’’ Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia of American Literature. George B. Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger. Vol
1. New York Harper Collins, 1991. 93. Literature Resource Center. Web. 8 Mar. 2014

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