{
 "id": "ambrose-bierce/a-military-incident",
 "title": "A Military Incident",
 "ordinal": null,
 "subtitle": null,
 "poet": "Ambrose Bierce",
 "poet_slug": "ambrose-bierce",
 "language": "en",
 "book": "Black Beetles in Amber",
 "book_slug": "black-beetles-in-amber",
 "book_kind": "volume",
 "sequence": 98,
 "container": "Black Beetles in Amber",
 "epigraph": null,
 "first_published": {
  "year": 1892,
  "venue": "Black Beetles in Amber (1892)",
  "note": "First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established.",
  "uncertain": false,
  "sources": [
   "https://archive.org/details/blackbeetlesinam00bier"
  ]
 },
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   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15599",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof04bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof05bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/collectedworksof08bierrich",
   "https://archive.org/details/shapesofclay00bier",
   "https://archive.org/details/blackbeetlesinam00bier",
   "https://archive.org/details/literarycalifor05mighgoog",
   "https://archive.org/details/cali07webb"
  ],
  "rights": "public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931)"
 },
 "verification": {
  "level": "structural-only",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-20"
 },
 "stats": {
  "n_lines": 16,
  "n_stanzas": 4,
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  [
   {
    "text": "Dawn heralded the coming sun⁠—",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Fort Douglas was computing",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "The minute⁠—and the sunrise gun",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Was manned for his saluting.",
    "indent": 1
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "The gunner at that firearm stood,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "The which he slowly loaded,",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "When, bang!⁠—I know not how it could,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "But sure the charge exploded!",
    "indent": 1
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "Yes, to that veteran’s surprise",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "The gun went off sublimely,",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "And both his busy arms likewise",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Went off with it, untimely.",
    "indent": 1
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "Then said that gunner to his mate",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "(He was from Ballyshannon):",
    "indent": 1
   },
   {
    "text": "“Bedad, the sun’s a minute late,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Accardin’ to this cannon!”",
    "indent": 1
   }
  ]
 ]
}