Bored with farm life and anxious for excitement, Henry Fleming joins the Union troops fighting the Civil War to prove his patriotism and courage; but when suddenly thrust into the slaughter, he is overcome with blind fear and runs from battle. In an effort to redeem himself, he later begins to fight and, in the heat of battle, seizes the regiment's colors in a daring charge that proves him truly courageous.

This book traces the process and influences behind the writing of Stephen Crane's novel, The Red Badge of Courage, which was published in 1893 when the Civil War was still fresh in the public mind.