On being returned to his regiment, Henry is welcomed by Wilson, a soldier friend, and given treatment for his injury. In this way, Crane shows that Henry is not totally isolated; his fellow soldiers are prepared to accept him as an important and valued member of their team. Henry, however, can’t face Wilson to answer any questions because he is ashamed of what he has done. Henry sleeps that night as a boy waiting to be scolded—and forgiven, if possible.
The next morning, in Chapters 14 and 15, the day after he runs from the enemy, Henry realizes that he may not be the worst soldier in the regiment. Wilson asks him to return several letters which he had given to him. (The letters were given to Henry by Wilson because Wilson thought that he was going to die in battle.) Henry realizes that Wilson could also show weakness and fear (in this case even before the regiment had engaged in battle.) As a result, Henry regains some of his lost confidence. Henry’s reaction to Wilson’s letters—building strength on someone else’s weakness—may show some immaturity on Henry’s part, but it does move him from boy to youth because he is, at least, trying to find something to reestablish his confidence.
From this point on in the novel, the second day of Henry’s combat experience, he develops rapidly into a man, into a courageous duty-bound soldier. Indeed, he reaches his full, soldierly manhood in Chapter 17 when he participates in a battle and fights like a “wild cat.” Crane shows Henry’s transition as he awakens to the realization that he is, in fact, a soldier who must kill. This is Henry, the new Henry, the soldier hero. Henry is a changed person; he is now a soldier and a man.
In the remainder of the novel, Chapters 19 to 24, Henry becomes a model soldier, showing courage and bravery and allegiance to duty. Henry also determines that he will use his poor treatment of the tattered soldier as a reminder that he must balance humility with confidence, a sentiment that marks Henry as a mature person.
Crane structures the novel to show Henry’s quick growth from boy to man by the evening of the second day of combat. Crane speaks to a universal truth about war: that boys must quickly become men in order to survive.
