In the novel Red Badge of Courage written by Stephen Crane, the protagonist is a young man named Henry Fleming. Henry Fleming is leaving his home to fight in the Union Army. The novel takes place some time during the American Civil War. Henry has always dreamt of the glory of battle and proving himself worthy on the battlegrounds. In the beginning of the novel, Henry fought in two battles. Henry, in the first battle was filled with adrenaline and was eager to show his bravery but when the enemy comes back Henry retreats because he realized how scary; war and death is. Henry does not run away from the first battle because he felt like he needed to prove himself as a man and he felt like it was his duty to fight in the Union
