The story is set during 1861, the first year of the Civil War, in western Virginia, reflecting Ambrose Bierce’s interest in the real consequences of the war as he experienced them. Virginia split during the war, with western Virginia remaining with the Union and becoming West Virginia. Bierce shows how the war split every layer of the social fabric: country, state, family, and even individual psyches, as seen when Druse must wrestle with conflicting duties to family and military. The shape of the valley is also important: It is described as wild and savage but almost entirely shut in by cliffs. The Druse household, however, is only a “few miles” away (4), suggesting the violence will not be confined to the battlefield but will spill into the home.

Bierce’s use of irony—expressions that mean something different (often opposite) from their literal meaning—arises at key moments in the text. Irony is appropriate to this story, which often concerns the limits of human perception. In this context, irony provides another example of how appearances may be misleading.

For example, when the narrator says that the commander “knowing better, smiled” in response to the officer who claimed there was no southern road into the valley, readers are not sure what the commander knows.