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Plot summary

The story is set during an unnamed battle of the American Civil War which bears numerous parallels to the historical Battle of Chancellorsville.^[6] 18-year-old Henry Fleming joins the Union Army despite discouragement from his mother (he has no father mentioned in the book, save that his mother says his father never drank alcohol), and becomes a private in the 304th Regiment. In the weeks and days leading up to the conflict, Henry muses about whether he'll be brave, or will turn and run. During his first battle, Confederate soldiers charge his regiment, but are repelled. A few minutes later, they regroup and attack again. This time, when Henry sees some other people running and has his own fears that the battle is a lost cause, he deserts his battalion. However, when he gets to the rear of the army, he overhears a general saying that the army won anyway, and realizes he ran for nothing, and ashamed, he spends the rest of the day away from his regiment.

Escaping into a nearby forest, he finds a dead man decaying, alone in a clearing of the woods, and so comes face to face with the horror of death. He flees the forest, and finds a group of injured men returning from battle. One member of the group, the "Tattered Soldier", asks Henry (who is often referred to as "The Youth") where he is wounded, but Henry dodges the question. He also meets one of his friends, Jim Conklin, who has been shot in the side and is suffering dementia from bloodloss. He dies, and Henry runs away from the wounded soldiers.

Next Henry sees a retreating column, and grabs one of the men to try to ask for news. The panicked man hits Henry on the head with his rifle, bruising him. By the point, Henry is tired, hungry, thirsty, and has a head wound, and decides to return to his regiment regardless of his shame. When Henry returns to camp, the other soldiers believe his head injury to be caused by a bullet grazing him in battle, and care for him.

The next morning Henry goes into battle for the third time. They meet a small group of Confederates and in the fight Henry proves to be one of the best fighters in the regiment. Afterward, while looking for a stream from which to get water with his friend, he discovers from the commanding officer that his regiment has a lackluster reputation. The officer speaks casually about sacrificing Henry's regiment because they are nothing more than "mule drivers" and "mud diggers". With no other regiments to spare, the general orders his men forward.

In the final battle, Henry acts as the flag carrier. A line of Confederates is hidden behind a fence beyond a clearing, and are able to shoot Henry's regiment with impunity, which is ill-covered in the tree-line. So, facing certain death if they stay, and disgrace if they retreat, the officers order a charge. Henry, unarmed, leads the charge, but doesn't take a single bullet injury. Most of the Confederates at the fence run before the regiment gets there, and of the surviving soldiers, four Confederates are taken prisoner. The overall battle ends, and Henry and his regiment march back to camp.