America during the Civil War is the setting of Stephen Crane's classic story The Red Badge Of Courage. In Crane's story, young Henry Fleming joins the Union Army maturing while experiencing battle and making a friend or two along the way.
The story begins in an army camp alongside a river where the 304th regiment is anticipating a battle. Henry is extremely nervous when his regiment is finally sent into action and he thinks of all he'll do during battle. All throughout the book we learn Henry's thoughts. Marching toward his battle destination, Henry is infuriated with the generals for sending him and his troops to be slaughtered.
Henry, in fear of dying such a dreadful death, runs from his first battle with several others from his regiment. He feels like a coward for running and while wandering around, finds a wounded soldier from his regiment, Jim Conklin, who tells him the regiment held back the rebel advancement. When Henry helps Jim, the two become fast friends. After Jim's death, Henry heads back to his regiment but finds himself in the midst of a fleeing band of a different regiment. He is hit in the head. Two soldiers help him up and direct Henry toward his regiment. When he got back to his regiment, Henry told the others he'd been fighting way off to the right and had been his in the head with a bullet. Wilson, a fellow soldier in Henry's regiment, let him sleep in his covers.
Henry wakes to find his regiment is preparing for another battle. During this battle Henry fights harder than ever to prove his courage. When Henry and Wilson go to get water after the battle they hear the general talking about the 304th charging the rebels. They return and tell the rest of the regiment. Soon after, the general comes and gives the orders to charge. When the flag bearer is shot, Henry takes up the flag and leads the charge. The 304th's charge is unsuccessful but Henry still bears the flag.
