The Private History of a Campaign That Failed

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Mark Twain in 1863 Mark Twain 1863.jpg
Mark Twain in 1863

The Private History of a Campaign that Failed is one of Mark Twain's sketches (1885), a short, highly fictionalized memoir of his two-week stint in the pro-Confederate Missouri State Guard. [1] It takes place in Marion County, Missouri, and is about a group of inexperienced militiamen, the Marion Rangers, who end up killing a stranger in panic. In 1887, he claimed before Union veterans that he had been in one battle in which a stranger had been killed in the summer of 1861. [2] In fact, Twain saw no action; he quipped that during his service he spent more time retreating while being hunted than fighting. [3] [4]

Contents

Television film

The Private History of a Campaign That Failed
Written byPhilip H. Reisman Jr.
Directed by Peter H. Hunt
Starring Edward Herrmann
Pat Hingle
Joseph Adams
Harry Crosby
Kelly Pease
Music by William P. Perry
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer Peter H. Hunt
Cinematography Walter Lassally
EditorHerbert H. Dow
Running time89 minutes
Production company Nebraska Educational Television
Original release
Network PBS
ReleaseApril 6, 1981 (1981-04-06)

In 1981, a made-for-television film adaptation of The Private History of a Campaign that Failed was broadcast on PBS starring Edward Herrmann, Pat Hingle, Joseph Adams, Harry Crosby and Kelly Pease. The film also adapts Twain's short story "The War Prayer".

Cast

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References

  1. Griffin, Benjamin, ed. (2019). Mark Twain's Civil War. Berkeley, California: The Bancroft Library, University of California.
  2. Mark Twain explains why he turned his back in the Civil War
  3. History net
  4. Civil War Saga Mark Twain