Ambrose Bierce is an interesting character from the 19th century. As a writer, he was a contemporary of Mark Twain, and had an adventurous life similar to Twain. He disappeared during the Mexican revolution, and the movie "Old Gringo", with Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda is about that phase of his life.
His satire was sharp, his short stories crisp and interesting. I have been a fan for a long time. He fought in the battle of Chickamauga as a Union officer.
I was  much surprised, recently, to find this story that could be about many of our ancestors in Walker County. Was this child an Ellis, a Couch , a Snodgrass, a Kelly, a Brotherton, a Boss, a Walden or a Glenn? No one knows, but it makes for interesting speculation.
 
 
Here is a link to many of his short stories and his biography.
 
http://www.classicreader.com/author.php/aut.131/
 
Here is a link to the story in question:  Chickamauga