On an early spring morning, in the foothills of Virginia, a Union regiment in the American Civil War wakes to rumors of an impending battle, the first of the season. The Southern enemy is near: “[...] one could see across it the red, eyelike gleam of hostile campfires set in the low brows of distant hills” (3). The camp is well established; throughout the winter, substantial barracks were built that have added to the comfort of the soldiers. News that the army may be moving as soon as tomorrow leads to an interruption in that inertia, and arguments break out.

A young private named Henry Fleming, whom the author refers to as “the youth,” listens to the rumors in a contrarian mood. As a youth, he imagined martial heroism as a thrilling but remote spectacle. Now, faced with the possibility of battle, he has difficulty relating war’s reality to his own role in the army. He remembers his debate with himself about enlisting in the army. His mother argued that he was far more valuable on their family farm, yet she reluctantly accepted his departure when he finally enlisted. She warned him against the company of bad men and alcohol but had already packed a bag of comfortable things for his departure.