Summaries
Ambrose Bierce wrote What I Saw of Shiloh as his memoir of the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, a Civil War conflict in which he served the Union Army that went against Confederate troops. The atrocities of war are clear in the depictions of Bierce, most notably when he recounted the defeat of the Union Army on the first day of the battle. At the same time, Bierce emphasized the follies of most of the soldiers who fought, whose desire to serve for prestige has ultimately alienated them from the people who permitted them to go to war, hence saying, “I ...