The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871–1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound, a "red badge of courage", to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as flag-bearer, carrying the regimental colors.
First book edition cover of The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
Stephen Crane in 1894; print of a portrait by artist and friend Corwin K. Linson
Historical marker in Port Jervis, New York, commemorating Crane
A war novel or military fiction is a novel about war. It is a novel in which the primary action takes place on a battlefield, or in a civilian setting, where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, suffering the effects of, or recovering from war. Many war novels are historical novels.
Battle of Waterloo 1815
Battle of Britain (1941), Paul Nash
Bomb damage in London, England during World War II
South Korean refugees mid-1950