“The Red Badge of Courage” was written by Stephen Crane in 1985 as a fictional account of a Civil War soldier. With his accurate portrayals, readers were led to believe that Crane had once been a soldier. However, this was not the case. Crane has a unique way of using themes and symbols in "The Red Badge of Courage" to convey a very realistic depiction of war. “The Red Badge of Courage” is often said to be based on the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville. This battle took place from April 30 to May 6, 1863 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia (Civilwar.org). An interesting fact I discovered about this battle is that Stonewall Jackson was wounded on May 2, 1863 by his own men (Civilwar.org). This is interesting information because, as will be discussed later, the main character of the story, Henry, is also injured by one of his fellow soldiers. There are four main themes for me in “The Red Badge of Courage”. These themes are courage, personal growth and maturity, self-preservation, and nature. The theme of courage is what this story is really about. What is courage? Who has courage? I want courage. How do you gain courage? This is what Henry wonders and finally understands after having a misunderstanding about what courage and courage were at first. “His personal pride was now fully restored. In the shadow of his luxuriant growth he stood with firm and self-confident legs, and since nothing could now be discovered, he did not shy away from meeting the eyes of the judges, and did not allow his thoughts to distract him from an attitude of virility. He had made his mistakes in the dark, so he was still a man” (Crane 78). Henry feels that since other men praise him, then he is right in his behavior. But is this courage? Absolutely not. As Henry marches from battle, the reader is led to believe this