Henry fears being ridiculed by his comrades on his return, but when he enters his camp, two soldiers, Wilson and Simpson, see his injury and immediately begin ministering to him. They assume that Henry was hurt in battle; however, Simpson asks Henry about his whereabouts, and Henry can't answer.
As the regiment prepares to move out, Wilson asks Henry to return a packet of letters that he gave Henry before the first battle. (Wilson feared that he was going to die in battle, and he wanted Henry to give the letters to his family.) Henry realizes that Wilson was also afraid of battle, and Henry is overjoyed to think that he now has power, and a weapon, to use to hold over somebody else's head. This knowledge gives Henry courage and restores his confidence.
Henry converts his fear of the enemy into anger and becomes a leader, fighting boldly at the side of his lieutenant. Henry becomes such a confident, assertive, aggressive soldier that, ironically, he becomes a fighting machine himself. Henry resolves his guilt over abandoning the tattered soldier by deciding to use the memory of this selfish, uncaring act to keep himself humble — to control any egotism he feels because of his now strong fighting ability.
When Henry's regiment is chosen to charge the enemy, Henry leads the charge with the lieutenant, and, eventually, he even assumes the role of color bearer for the regiment after the color sergeant is killed.
Henry's transformation from a fearful, lost, doubting youth, to a courageous, confident, duty-bound soldier is the essence of the novel. It is the story of the growth of a young man from innocence to maturity.
