"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was first published in the July 13, 1890, issue of The San Francisco Examiner and collected in the compilation Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891).
Editors of a modern compilation described the story as "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature".[2] Author Kurt Vonnegut wrote in 2005: "I consider anybody a twerp who hasn't read the greatest American short story, which is '[An] Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,' by Ambrose Bierce. It isn't remotely political. It is a flawless example of American genius, like 'Sophisticated Lady' by Duke Ellington or the Franklin stove."[4]
