Mark Twain's War Days

           Mark Twain fought in the Civil War—sort of. In “The Private History of the Campaign that Failed” Twain recounts his days in the war. Days in this sense is not figurative as his involvement in the war only lasted a few weeks before the militia he was part of disbanded. His experience during these few weeks was rather uneventful until something happened that gave Mark Twain his fill of war.

When the Civil War broke out Mark Twain was in Missouri, visiting the city of Hannibal in Marion County, where he spent his childhood. When the Union began to enter Missouri the Governor called for militia groups to fight back. Twain banded together with several other men of Marion County to form the Marion Rangers.

This group of soldiers wandered around the neighboring counties staying in the homes of farmers, barns, and campsites. They pack up and move on at the very rumor of approaching Union soldiers.

Twain was a lieutenant in this militia but since no one would take orders from him, his rank was rendered moot. It begs the question what’s the point of a leader without followers. Is someone still a leader if no one follows them? I wonder if Twain considered that question at the time. If he did, he didn’t have much time because his military career was cut short.

Not long before the Marion Rangers disbanded, the militia was holed up in a corn crib when they received word that “the enemy was hovering in [their] neighborhood.” Instead of running the Rangers stayed put with their rifles at the ready. The Rangers stayed up through the night looking out to the road. Quiet and still—until they heard hoof beats on the road. The militia observed an obscure figure on horseback. They could not identify the stranger and figured that he was with the Union and more were following him.

They aimed their rifles at the figure. They were nervous and scared. One of the soldiers shouted “Fire!” Which they did. Several members of the militia pulled their triggers and the figure fell. The Marion Rangers waited for a moment because they were sure that more men were coming behind the downed enemy, but when nothing happened and no one else came Twain and the militia men ran out to see who they had actually shot. Twain says in the piece that at that time it occurred to him that he was a murder as he put it, “I has killed a man— a man who had never done me any harm. That was the coldest sensation that ever went through my marrow” (Twain 180). Twain recounts that he would have given anything to restore the dying man—even give his own life. He had taken not only a life but an innocent life. The man had nothing, as far as any of the Rangers could tell, to do with the war and the supposedly approaching enemy.

According to Twain’s account he wasn’t the only one feeling the sense of guilt. All the other militia members were fixating on the fallen innocent. No thought or word about the enemy, just this one man whom none of them knew. You see, no one knew whose bullet hit the stranger. Many of the men had fired but there was no way to tell which bullet went where. So, every man that fired had to wrestle with the possibility of being the killer.

This incident hung over Mark Twain’s head and likely was the direct cause of the disbandment of the Marion Rangers, because not long after that they informed other companies in the area that the war was “a disappointment” to them. After the war Twain went out west with his brother for an entirely different adventure.

Mark Twain’s experience in the Civil War was brief but fascinating. In just a few weeks’ time he confronted an existential dilemma regarding the purpose of a leader with no followers. Then he had to deal with the responsibility of taking a life, straight after. That’s a lot for anyone to deal with in only a few weeks. Then he left the war to for other adventures.