The National Guardsman by Ambrose Bierce
The National Guardsman is a short story written by Ambrose Bierce, first published in 1891. The story follows the journey of a man who joins the National Guard as a way to escape his mundane life and find adventure. However, upon his return home after a training exercise, he finds that nothing has changed and he is still trapped in his routine.
By Ambrose Bierce · First published 1878 · Genre: Military Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure · 111 words
First lines
I'm a gorgeous golden hero / And my trade is taking life.
Hear the twittle-twittle-tweero / Of my sibillating fife / And the rub-a-dub-a-dum / Of my big bass drum! / I'm an escort strong and bold, / The Grand Army to protect.
My countenance is cold / And my attitude erect.
I'm a Californian Guard / And my banner flies aloft, / But the stones are O, so hard! / And my feet are O, so soft!
Similar titles
- A Wet Season by Ambrose Bierce
- A Military Incident by Ambrose Bierce
- Three Recruits by Ambrose Bierce
- A Years Casualties by Ambrose Bierce
- Two Military Executions by Ambrose Bierce
- Down Among The Dead Men by Ambrose Bierce
Genres
- Military Fiction — The book focuses on the life of a national guardsman, making it part of the military fiction genre.
- Historical Fiction — Given Ambrose Bierce's general propensity for historical settings, it can be inferred that this book falls within the realm of historical fiction too.
- Adventure — Elements of adventure are likely present in the plotline, given the context of the protagonist's occupation.
- War — Being a National Guardsman invariably entails situations of war and conflict.
Tags
war · military · fiction · short story · soldiers · battle · violence · death · loss · grief · trauma · psychological
What this Textopian page supports
The National Guardsman is listed on Textopian as a short story by Ambrose Bierce, dated 1878 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Ambrose Bierce
- Date: 1878 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Military Fiction, Historical Fiction, Adventure, War
- Length: 111 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The National Guardsman by Ambrose Bierce
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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