The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel that was written by Stephen Crane. The book is set during the American Civil War and tells the story of Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army who flees from a battle. Overcome by his shame, Henry hopes to get wounded to counter his prior cowardice. The Red Badge of Courage is especially notable for its use of realism and for the fact that Crane had no military experience at the time he wrote this book. Stephen Crane was a prominent American author during the late 19th century. Crane was very prolific and he was considered to be one of the most innovative writers in American history. Crane's war novel The Red Badge of Courage is considered a classic and it earned him international fame.