"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," a short story by American author Ambrose Bierce, is "one of the most famous and frequently anthologized stories in American literature." The story is set during the American Civil War, in which Bierce himself was a soldier. "An Occurrence" is renowned for its irregular time sequence and twist ending. Bierce's narrative, discarding linear sequence, and adopting the protagonist's inner experience, is an early employment of stream of consciousness.