Blood, Fear, Courage, War

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Dear Annie: I am writing to you from the front lines of a war. It is a terrible war with much blood and violence. That is what I think now, but until a few days a ago I had never never actually been in battle. I am a soldier in the Union Army, the army of Lincoln, a "Yankee." I volunteered to go to war, and along with my unit, I am supposed to fight the Rebels, and show the courage to stand-up to them in battle. But, that is where my problem is.

Before I had ever gone into battle, I wondered if I would ever be able to muster the courage to stay and fight. I did not just want to runaway in the middle of a battle. That is exactly what happened though. My first battle, the Rebels charged and I helped my unit beat them back. When they charged a second time, I lost my courage and fled believing that my unit could not beat back the attack (my unit did beat the charge back). I kept running, deeper and deeper into a wooded area, until I saw a rotting corpse in-front of my. This sight stopped me dead in my tracks (no pun intended) and then I turned around.

After leaving the wooded area, I joined a procession of wounded soldiers making their way away from the battlefield. This was in spite of the fact I was uninjured. In this procession a, "tattered soldier," kept asking me about my wound, and my friend died in-front of my eyes. What makes me feel worse however is when the tattered soldier continued to ask about my wound, I left him behind. He was truly wounded, and his physical condition was deteriorating. Without help he was going to die, and yet I left him, left him to die on the God forsaken road.

I will spare you the details, but after leaving the tattered soldier I was hit in the head with the butt end of a musket. This left a gaping slash across my head, bleeding and bruised. I was left for dead until a soldier, who's face I have never seen, helped me find my unit. When asked about my wound, I told my unit I had been shot.

This all happened yesterday. Here I am the next day, feeling guilty for my actions. Annie, was I right to be scared? Should I have runaway during battle, in order to preserve my own life? Was it wrong to get into the procession of the wounded soldiers? And the tattered soldier, would he have died even if I had helped him? I am very conflicted, scared, I feel guilty, and I feel more like a boy than like a man. Any advise you have would be gladly welcomed.

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-- Yankee Without Courage


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Dear Yankee: War is as terrible, brutal, bloody, and tragic event perpetrated by mankind. Wars have made men famous, but have also destroyed countless lives.

It is only natural that we as humans would be afraid of going to war. We are biologically designed with a sense of self preservation, so anything we can do to preserve ourselves we will most likely do. With that said though, we are also the most cognitively developed species on the planet, meaning we can understand our emotions and control them. Remember that you volunteered to join the Union Army, you were not drafted. You volunteered to put yourself into a situation you knew would be dangerous, where you knew you would eventually have to fight. I find it morally wrong that you fled the battle rather than to staying and fighting with the men of your unit, many of which did stay. You have a responsibility to protect their lives just a they have the responsibility to protect your's. You should never abandon your friends if they would never abandon you, especially if it is just for self preservation.

Getting into the line with the wounded soldiers was also not a wise choice. Those men were leaving the battle with real wounds and physical aliments. The only wound you appeared to have was a wounded pride. When you were clubbed in the head by a rifle, there is no reason for someone to just do that. Where you doing something that may have provoked that? Joining this line of wounded soldiers seems like a way for you to run from your fears and never face them; a cop-out.

Perhaps the tattered soldier would have died even if you had helped him, but there is no way of knowing. You should not have left this man to die alone on the side of the dirt road. You let the lie of you being "wounded," and your wounded pride get between you and doing the right thing, helping that soldier. Just because you have done wrong and are trying to conceal it does not mean that man should have suffered the repercussions. At the end of the day, who was right and who was wrong? Both of you where fighting for the same team, the same cause. It has been said, never leave a man behind.

You have the opportunity to be one of the greatest soldiers your country has. You have the chance to change the lives of those around you, and of those you have never met. However, you must be honest to yourself and others; and you must never let your fear get the better of you. There are great times ahead for you, but you have to find the courage to run out and grab those opportunities. When you do this you will no longer be a boy, you will be a man.

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Notes

• The U.S. Civil War, or the War Between the States, was the deadliest war in American history. Including both Union and Confederate deaths, the death toll exceeded 600,000, with millions more injured. 

• The Red Badge of Courage was made into a move in 1951. The main actor who played Henry was Audie Murphy. You can read more about this movie by going to the link I am providing below this point.
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043961/

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Works Cited

"American Civil War." History. A+E Networks Digital, 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. 

"Annie's Mailbox." Arcamax Publishings. Arcamax.com, 2016. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. New York: Avenel Books, 1985. Print. 

"The Red Badge of Courage." IMDb. Amazon.com, 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2016.