The Night At Chancellorsville by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald | Published: February 1935

The Night At Chancellorsville Synopsis

"The Night at Chancellorsville" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in Esquire on February 1935. Later, it was also published in Taps at Reveille in the same year.

This short story centers around one night on a train ride from Virginia to Washington during the Civil War. Nora, a prostitute traveling with a group of girls to Washington, was caught off guard when the train she boarded was attacked by rebels fighting against the northern forces. She was sound asleep when she was awakened by what she initially thought was the sound of a storm, only to realize it was the sound of cannonballs being fired. Amidst the chaos of horse gallops and gunshots, two Confederate soldiers abruptly entered Nora's section of the car.

Excerpt from The Night At Chancellorsville Online Book

I tell you I didn't have any notion what I was getting into or I wouldn't of gone down there. They can have their army--it seems to me they were all a bunch of yella-bellies. But my friend Nell said to me: "Nora, Philly, is as dead as Baltimore and we've got to eat this summer." She just got a letter from a girl that said they were living fine down there in "Ole Virginia." The soldiers were getting big pay-offs and figuring maybe they'd stay there all summer, at least till the Johnny Rebs gave up.

About F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940) is considered one of the great American authors of the 20th century. He wrote many novels and short stories widely read and celebrated for their startling insight into the Jazz Age—a period that stretched from 1918 to 1929—and its aftermath in America. Fitzgerald's works are drawn from his experiences living in cities such as New York, Paris, and Hollywood during this time. Find out more about F. Scott Fitzgerald at sevenov.com.