Red Badge of Courage, The

Novel by Stephen Crane, 1895

The Red of Badge of Courage is a classic literary work about the Civil War by Stephen Crane. Through the eyes of a young soldier experiencing his first combat during the battle of Chancellorsville, Crane examines the interplay under the stress of combat of the values of regard for human life, self-preservation, and most important, courage.

Stephen Crane was born in Newark, New Jersey on November 1, 1871, the 14th child of Rev. Jonathan Townley Crane and Mary Helen Peck Crane. Both his father and mother were writers and encouraged the gift in their son. At age 17, Stephen, through his brother Townley, a journalist, got a job reporting on social and cultural events in Asbury Park, New Jersey. In 1893, Crane used money left to him after the death of his mother to publish his first novel, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets. The work was not a financial success, and it made Crane rethink his writing style. He had already sent a copy of his novel to Hamlin Garland, an author whom he admired. Garland, along with others, had launched the style in America known as “literary realism.” Garland and Crane soon developed a friendship, and Garland later lent Crane the money to get The Red Badge of Courage published.

The Red Badge of Courage, published in 1895, centers on a young soldier, Henry Fleming. The story begins on the banks of the Rappahannock River in the spring of 1863, where Henry, a recent recruit to the 304th Regiment, waits with the rest of the Union Army for orders to march. Their destination is Chancellorsville and an encounter with the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee. Henry enlisted, like so many others in wartime, with a romanticized view of heroism of war. Neither the ideology nor the politics of the war interest him much; rather, he is animated by the desire to become a hero in combat and to earn a lasting reputation. Henry takes himself through the possible scenarios of battle while talking with his fellow soldiers. He tries to convince himself that he will not run from the fighting and that even death may be a necessary price to pay for glory in combat.

During the battle at Chancellorsville, Henry holds his ground, in part because he is boxed in by his fellow soldiers. He feels that even if he wanted to, he could not run away. However, when his unit is attacked a second time, Henry runs, telling himself that he had no chance of survival if he stayed and that all who did were fools. Henry is shaken in this belief, though, when he overhears a general stating that his unit had indeed repulsed the Confederate attack. As he continues to flee, Henry still tries to convince himself that his actions were justified. His path takes him through the woods, where he comes upon a soldier's corpse. The sight of this dead soldier, covered in ants and decaying, has a dramatic impact on Henry. This dead soldier's anonymity deprived him of any glory for his courage, whether or not he deserved it. The encounter makes Henry question his most fundamental beliefs and values.

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