The Red Badge of Courage is a novella written by Stephen Crane. Released in 1895, it tells of Henry Fleming joining the American Civil War. It is one of the most well known books of the Civil War.
Characters[]
- Henry Fleming (or "the youth")
- Jim Conklin (or "the tall soldier")
- The tattered man
- Wilson (or "the youth's friend")
- The lieutenant
- The colonel
Publisher's Summary[]
Scholastic edition of The Red Badge of Courage (includes introduction by Sherwood Cummings)
Henry Fleming has joined the Union army because of his romantic ideas of military life, but soon finds himself in the middle of a battle against a regiment of Confederate soldiers. Terrified, Henry deserts his comrades. Upon returning to his regiment, he struggles with his shame as he tries to redeem himself and prove his courage.
The Red Badge of Courage is Stephen Crane’s second book, notable for its realism and the fact that Crane had never personally experienced battle. Crane drew heavy inspiration from Century Magazine, a periodical known for its articles about the American Civil War.
However, he criticized the articles for their lack of emotional depth and decided to write a war novel of his own. The manuscript was first serialized in December 1894 by The Philadelphia Press and quickly won Crane international acclaim before he died in June 1900 at the age of 28.
Summary[]
Chapter One[]
As the Civil War rages on, a small encampment of Union soldiers sits across from a river. One soldier named Jim Conklin begins spreading rumors that the regiment the encampment belongs to will being marching again. Another soldier, Henry Fleming, begins contemplating his battle readiness.
Henry joined the Union Army (specifically the 304th Regiment) seeking glory in battle. During his current tenure with the Army, Henry has seen no action and worries that in battle he will desert.
Chapter Two[]
While it initially seems that Jim's rumors were facetious, a colonel emerges and sends the 304th Regiment on the march. The march is not an orderly march, as one soldier tries to steal a horse from a little girl and fails (with the other members of the regiment taking the side of the little girl).
Once the regiment stops marching, Henry begins contemplating his battle readiness again. He tries to talk with another soldier about cowardice in battle but accidentally angers the soldier.
Chapters Three, Four, Five, and Six[]
The soldiers march on. During their march, Henry becomes convinced that he is trapped into the regiment - unable to flee. He sees a corpse in the road before the regiment reaches a battlefield. The distant sounds of battle compound Henry's feelings of being trapped into the regiment. It also makes Henry think that the regiment is being brought into a trap by incompetent higher-ups, though he keeps this idea silent for fear of mockery, As the soldiers halt in a grove, they see a horde of retreating soldiers before all hell breaks lose as the Confederates begin shooting at the Union regiment.
Once the battle fully reaches the regiment, Henry fires onto the Confederate soldiers. He is largely without vigor, firing like a barely-animate machine. While the battle reaches its climax, Henry assumes that the Confederates will win and flees from his regiment.
Chapter Seven and Eight[]
Unfortunately for Henry, the Union regiment wins the battle. Fearing that he will be mocked for his display of cowardice (though Henry does not view it as such), he flees even further into the jungle. During his flight, Henry finds the corpse of a soldier in an advanced state of decay after touching it and flees in terror at the macabre sight. While still on the run, Henry finds a column of wounded soldiers. One of the soldiers (a tattered man with a rather odd personality) begins following Henry, much to Henry's dismay.
Chapter Nine and Ten[]
Henry and the tattered man find a comrade of Henry's - Jim Conklin - who has been grievously wounded in battle. Henry acts in an extremely odd way (presumably due to blood loss from his injury) before dropping dead. The tattered man reacts to the sight of a man dropping dead with humor. Henry (who was mortified by the sight of his friend dying) is disgusted by this and by the tattered man's constant questioning and leaves the man to die a miserable death.
Chapter Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen[]
As Henry continues his largely aimless wanderings, his mental image of himself deteriorates and becomes extremely paranoid that other soldiers will view him as a coward for fleeing. During his wanderings, Henry finds a regiment of fleeing soldiers. He meets an older soldier within the regiment who - fearing being touched - smashes him over the head with his rifle. He soon meets another much friendlier soldier who brings him back to the camp of his regiment. In the camp, Henry meets another young soldier named Wilson who (believing him to have been grazed by a bullet) begins caring for him.
Chapter Fourteen, Fifteen, and Sixteen[]
The next morning, Henry awakens in a rather ill state. He engages in an argument around a campfire which quickly ends peacefully. Henry - having gotten several rather grim letters from Wilson - gives the letters back to Wilson after a period of contemplation. As the Confederates advance, Henry makes a speech on preparing for battle. This is ended by a sarcastic soldier mocking him. After this, the regiment begins waiting for the first sign of Confederate soldiers.
Chapter Seventeen, Eighteen, and Nineteen[]
Sighting the Confederates, Henry is filled with a nigh-inhuman rage and fires his rifle without pause. Once he is finished, Henry is regarded by his fellow soldiers with both shock and awe. Due to word of Henry's adeptness at battle, his entire regiment is chosen to charge on the Confederates. During the charge, Henry taunts the Confederate soldiers then (along with Wilson) grabs the regiment's flag after the flag-holder is killed.
Chapter Twenty and Twenty-One[]
As the regiment's charge on the Confederates begins to sour, Henry's rage turns towards an officer who called the regiment "mule drivers". The lull only lasts a short moment before the regiment is able to break through a line of Confederate soldiers. The colonel that called Henry's regiment "mule drivers" discusses the charge of the regiment - dismissing their efforts and calling them "mud diggers". Henry is initially enraged by this but it turns out another official within the army praised Henry and Wilson's efforts with the flag.
Chapter Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, and Twenty-Four[]
The regiment begins another charge upon the Confederates. In the chaos, Henry is unsure which side will come out victorious. The regiment's fire begins to wane as its forces begin dying to the Confederates. In a final charge, the Union forces are able to beat the Confederates. During this charge of victory, Wilson captures the Confederate flag - just as its flag-holder dies. The regiment also captures several prisoners of war. After the battle, Henry is left pondering his battle readiness (seeing himself as past the "red sickness" of bloodlust) and reflecting on the fate of the tattered man - whom he is able to put in his past.
See Also[]
| Title | Author | Release date | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil War Stories | Ambrose Bierce | 1956 | Another contemporary work on the Civil War |
| Gods and Generals | Jeff Shaara | 1996 | Another major work on the Civil War |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Erich Maria Remarque | 1929 | A novel with similar themes |
| A Farewell to Arms | Ernest Hemingway | 1929 | A novel with similar themes |
| Bring the Jubilee | Ward Moore | 1953 | Another major work on the Civil War |
| Blood and Hope | Iain McLaughlin | 2004 | A Doctor Who novella set during the Civil War with similar themes |
| Civil War on Sunday | Mary Pope Osborne | 2000 | A book set in the Civil War |
Sources[]
- Sparknotes
- Wikipedia