The Affair At Coulter's Notch

A Dead Man’s Battle It was a short battle, but it caused great devastation. “The Affair at Coulter’s Notch” is a short story about a federal army’s battle against the enemy. It was written by Ambrose Bierce. The story was first published by the San Francisco Examiner in October of 1889. Its main characters are the leaders of the Federal army: a colonel, a general, and Captain Coulter. “Do you think, Colonel, that your brave Captain Coulter would like to put one of his guns in here?” The general poses this question at the beginning of the story. He is referring to a “notch” in a hill near a forest. They had discovered the enemy stationed half a mile away and were planning their attack. When Coulter arrives and discovers the enemy camp he becomes visibly flustered. He begins to question the general’s command to engage in battle. This embarrasses the colonel, for he had spoken so highly of Coulter’s bravery. However, only Coulter knows what lies inside the enemy camp. The battle was full of gore. Even the colonel had witnessed horrors that he would have never dreamed of. “—something horrible and unnatural: the gun was bleeding at the mouth!” The colonel had just gone back to the notch to call for a cease-fire when he witnessed the tragedy. The soldier sponging the gun had ran out of water and began using …show more content…
During supper, an orderly comes to the tables and announces he noticed suspicious movement in the cellar. The colonel, a staff officer, and the orderly go to inspect. With a candle as their only light source, the troops descends into the cellar. The dim light reveals a figure and as they come closer they realise it is a man. The man is cradling a dead woman who has a dead baby in her arms. The man, whom they assumed was also dead, raises his head. They’re in his plantation house. Coulter asks who the bodies in his arms are; “My wife and child. I am Captain