Since he was not a solider, he reasoned, it would be natural for him to run away from danger. Justifying his fear and doubts had a serious result: becoming a coward. .
Because of Henry's doubts and fears, he became panic-stricken and fled in the second battle, thus proving to himself that he was a coward. After Henry's disappearance from the battlefield, he felt guilty. Because he convinced himself that being fearful was acceptable, he now felt ashamed of himself. He pondered between how he had behaved based on nature's law of self-preservation and wishing that he was dead because of his cowardly behavior. As a result, this showed that Henry was a coward in more than one way. He "threw down his gun and fled" (Crane) because he saw danger ahead. .
Later in the book, he wished he were dead because he did not have the courage to face his comrades for his absence in the battlefield and he feared that his comrades would discover his cowardice. During Henry's return to his regiment, he was fearful that his comrades would make fun of him. Overall, Henry was a coward because he was thinking on the negative side. He thought fear was a part of him and felt that he would never have courage.
Henry always wanted the red badge of courage. He consistently envied his comrades for their joy in fighting. After running from battles, he felt guilty about not contributing to the war effort. However, during the soldier's march back to their regiment, Henry was hit in the head with a gun by one of his comrades. The wound on his head was one the greatest things that happened to Henry. He felt confident and brand refreshed about himself. Because Henry lied to his comrades about the wound when he returned to his regiment, he felt more confidence in himself from the compliments of his comrades. As a result, Henry was able to fight in the next battle. According to Martin Asiner, a top reviewer on amazon.