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 IMAGE CREDIT: Allan Gullette | One of the most intriguing mysteries in American literary history is the baffling disappearance of Ambrose Bierce in 1913. The author of the notorious Devil's Dictionary (1906, 1911 ) and a number of Civil War stories, the most famous of which is "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" (1890, 1891 ), Bierce dropped out of sight in Mexico, got involved in the Mexican Revolution, and was killed as a result. At least, that's the conventional wisdom, although some of his biographers disagree with that scenario, one even going so far as to speculate that Bierce may have continued northwest to the Grand Canyon and committed suicide there (Morris 262). |
 The world famous Alamo on Alamo Plaza
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Bierce had arrived in San Antonio from New Orleans on October 27, 1913, where he was welcomed uncharacteristically, according to Carey McWilliams, by an autumn blizzard. When the weather improved, he made the expected visit to the Alamo, which he described as being full of "rather interesting relics, old documents, and bad poetry, the shrine of each Texan's devotion" (McWilliams 322). The last several words of Bierce's description seem to echo Stephen Crane's reverent phrase, "the patriot shrine of Texas." Not so reverent was Bierce's remark that the Alamo looked small enough to be covered with a hat (Morris 253). However, as he strolled through the city on a clear, bright All Soul's day (November 2), he could not help but notice that some of the historic churches, such as San Fernando Cathedral, were "old for this country," and he reflected on "the contrast between such overt piety and a name like San Antonio"(Carey McWilliams 323).
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 The observation tower in the Quadrangle of Fort Sam Houston (completed in 1878) |
At Fort Sam Houston Bierce encountered some of his old military friends from earlier years in San Francisco and Washington. According to a recent biographer, Roy Morris, Jr., "The officers of the Third Cavalry treated him like a foreign ambassador and could hardly be dissuaded from parading the regiment in his honor" (Alone in Bad Company 253). Such special treatment is not too surprising. After all, as a Civil War veteran and a prominent California journalist and literary artist, Bierce had been acquainted with some of these men when they were stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco. He had undoubtedly encountered others in popular military meeting places, such as the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. (Carey McWilliams 323).
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 the main entrance to Ft. Sam Houston
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More recently the celebrated Mexican author, Carlos Fuentes, has broached the subject of Bierce's apparent life-ending sojourn into Mexico in the novel The Old Gringo (1985); in 1989 it was adapted into a movie of the same name featuring Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda. Although Fuentes never specifically identifies "the old gringo" around whom the novel is centered, the details make clear that he had Ambrose Bierce in mind. His violent death at the hands of Pancho Villa's insurrectionists pretty much follows the pattern hinted at in his letters and fleshed out by most of his biographers. For example, a letter to an acquaintance named J.H. Dunnigan, dated Christmas Eve, 1913, makes the request, "Pray for me-real loud" (O'Connor 303). His last letter, dated December 26, was sent to Carrie Christiansen in Washington, D.C. Although the letter was destroyed, she paraphrased the contents in the following terms: "Trainload of troops leaving Chihuahua every day. Expect next day to go to Ojinaga, partly by rail." After that, according to Richard O'Connor, there is nothing but "silence and mystery" (303). If these biographical details are accurate, San Antonio was the last major American city that Ambrose Bierce visited before his death in Mexico. |
San Fernando Cathedral on Main Plaza