The Red Badge of Courage is the story of Henry Fleming, a teenager who enlists with the Union Army in hopes of fulfilling his dreams of glory.
Shortly after enlisting, the reality of his decision takes hold. He experiences boring waiting, not instant glory. The longer he waits for the battle, the more doubts and fear creep into his mind. When he finally engages in his first battle, he blindly shoots into the haze of battle, never seeing his enemy. As the next enemy assault approaches, fears of Henry's death overwhelm him and he flees the camp.
Henry continues his retreat for some time, even after hearing that his regiment has repelled the enemy. When he finally slows down and rests, he hears the sound of a renewed battle and, ironically, returns to the battle he fled from. He meets many wounded who are returning from the front for medical assistance. One of these wounded soldiers, identified as "a soldier in tatters", befriends Henry and starts a conversation with him; however, when the tattered soldier asks Henry where he is wounded, Henry evades the question by leaving him and drifting through the throng of soldiers.
As Henry continues to walk with the wounded, he sees a veteran soldier in his company, Jim Conklin, who is mortally wounded. Henry follows Jim and eventually the tattered soldier joins them. When Jim suddenly collapses and dies, Henry is devastated. The tattered soldier asks Henry about his wound again. Again, Henry cannot explain that he has no injuries, so he leaves the disoriented, wounded and tattered soldier stumbling on the field.
Henry is distressed by his lack of courage, but cannot overcome the guilt and self-hatred that prevent him from returning to his regiment. He hears the sound of a battle and sees reinforcement troops heading for the front. As he watches, the battle turns against the Union forces and many of the men begin to retreat. Henry becomes involved in their retreat. He tries to stop a retreating soldier to find out what's going on; however, the soldier just wants to escape, so he hits Henry on the head with his rifle, leaving him with a serious head injury. He is stunned by the blow and goes back into the woods. Henry then befriends a cheerful soldier who takes him back to his regiment.
Henry fears being ridiculed by his comrades upon his return, but when he enters his camp, two soldiers, Wilson and Simpson, see his wound and immediately begin to minister to him. They assume Henry was wounded in battle; however, Simpson asks Henry where he is and Henry cannot answer.
As the regiment prepares to relocate, Wilson asks Henry to return a package of letters he gave to Henry before the first battle. (Wilson feared he would die in battle and wanted Henry to deliver the letters to his family.) Henry realizes that Wilson was afraid of battle too, and is delighted to think he now has power and a weapon, to use to hold someone else's head. This knowledge gives Henry courage and restores his confidence.
Henry turns his fear of the enemy into anger and becomes a leader, bravely fighting alongside his lieutenant. Henry becomes such a confident, assertive and aggressive soldier that, ironically, he becomes a fighting machine himself. Henry resolves his guilt for abandoning the tattered soldier by deciding to use the memory of this selfish and indifferent act to keep himself humble - to control any selfishness he feels due to his now strong fighting ability.
When Henry's regiment is chosen to charge the enemy, Henry leads the charge with the lieutenant and, ultimately, also takes on the role of colored bearer for the regiment after the colored sergeant is killed.
Henry's transformation from a fearful, lost and doubtful young man to a brave, confident and duty-bound soldier is the essence of the novel. It is the story of the growth of a young man from innocence to maturity.
