Skip over navigation  The Red Badge of Courage  Stephen Crane
Chapters XX–XXII  Chapters XVIII–XIX   Summary: Chapter XX
After seizing the flag from the fallen color bearer, Henry and
Wilson see the regiment slinking back toward them, the enemy
having broken their charge. The lieutenant cries out angrily,
but the men fall back to a row of trees, relatively safe from
the deadly hail of gunfire. After a scuffle, Henry succeeds in
pulling the flag away from Wilson, and bears it himself. As the
men march across the battlefield, they are pelted with bullets,
and surrounded by fortified groups of enemy soldiers. Henry, who
entertains the notion of a victory as “a fine revenge upon the
officer who had referred to him and his fellows as mule
drivers,” mulls with shame and rage that victory is not to be.
Still, he holds the flag proudly and urges the men to fight,
even though the regiment is in tatters and men are beginning to
scatter.  Soon, the enemy is upon Henry’s regiment, which, at
the last minute, mounts a re