The Private History of a Campaign That Failed

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]

Television film

The Private History of a Campaign That Failed
Written byPhilip H. Reisman Jr.
Directed byPeter H. Hunt
StarringEdward Herrmann
Pat Hingle
Joseph Adams
Harry Crosby
Kelly Pease
Music byWilliam P. Perry
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducerPeter H. Hunt
CinematographyWalter Lassally
EditorHerbert H. Dow
Running time89 minutes
Production companyNebraska Educational Television
Original release
NetworkPBS
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

  • Edward Herrmann as The Stranger
  • Pat Hingle as Col. Ralls
  • Joseph Adams as Capt. Tom Lyman
  • Harry Crosby as Cpl. Ed Stevens
  • Kelly Pease as Cab
  • Gary McCleery as Second Lieutenant
  • Roy Cockrum as Sgt. Bowers

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
English Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • Twain, Mark (1885). "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed". The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine. 31 (2): 193–204.
  • Full text
  • mp3 audiobook 43:37
  • EPUB
  • The Private History of a Campaign That Failed at IMDb


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