The Red Badge of Courage Chapter 16 Summary

  • Henry’s regiment starts marching toward the front to relieve the men who have been fighting there.
  • On the way they blab with Henry doing his share of the jawing.
  • He blames the generals for how poorly the Union side is doing (because of course, Henry is the real authority on all things war-related).
  • Another soldier ask Henry if he thinks he, Henry, fought the whole battle single-handedly, yesterday.
  • This makes Henry choke for a minute; he’s nervous that the men know his secret (that he ran away from battle). But he realizes this fear is unfounded and goes back to worrying about the next battle, which the lieutenant informs the men is coming shortly.