He was so convinced that a wound received in war would make him into a hero and he would be honored forever for it. He didn't think of the pain, of the possible long term side-effects, or even the possibility of dying from it until he was smack dab in the middle of a battle. Then, after he deserts his regiment, when he runs across his friend, Jim Conklin, he gets an up close look at how inglorious the "red badge" he wants so badly really is.
What he wanted wasn't a red badge of courage; what he wanted was a red badge of honor and glory. Instead what he received was a red badge of courage. Henry's bravery didn't develop until he got his wound, ironically from a fellow Union soldier hitting him with the butt of his gun. At that point Henry was able to set aside his desire for that red badge and become a real soldier.
This view was fairly common back in that time. Some men were fighting wars for glory instead of fighting them because they truly believed in the cause they were fighting for. I would say that the majority of them fought just out of a sense of duty, some out of a true belief for what they were fighting for, and the remainder were the glory-seekers, but one man who goes to war just so he will be praised and honored is one too many.
I believe that this quote by Robert E. Lee best sums up my point:
"There is a terrible war coming, and these young men who have never seen war cannot wait for it to happen, but I tell you, I wish that I owned every slave in the South, for I would free them all to avoid this war."
Henry was a young man who had never seen war. He was one of those young men who wanted war to happen. He didn't understand like Lee did, that war was not glorious or something to be desired. War was, and continues to be, a terrible, deadly, brutal thing and we should not seek it out.
Links to sources:
Quote: http://www.quotes.net/authors/Robert+E.+Lee
Picture: www.quotessays.com
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