Mark Twain

There were probably few events in Mark Twain's life that gave him as much discomfort as his short stint as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. His account in "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" emphasizes the physical torments and climaxes with the moral dilemma raised by the shooting of a stranger on a dark night, but that he rarely mentioned his experiences during the war until many years later is an indication of the problems participation in the war presented for a Southern writer.

Mark ...