Henry Fleming: Henry is the protagonist and, to an extent,
the antagonist of this novel who comes from a small farm and dreams of glorious
and heroic war battles. With the dreams in mind, Henry enlists in the Army
but is soon confronted by a dilemma of whether or not he will run from battle.
This internal conflict of Henry's remains basically unresolved until the end
of the novel.
Jim Conklin-The Tall Soldier: Jim is a lifelong companion Henry has
known his entire life. Not to mention, Jim serves as an advisor for Henry.
Jim's death after the first battle they fight in exhibits to Henry true courage
and, in effect, sets change about within Henry. Jim symbolizes Henry's youth
and goes through similar changes in maturity as Henry.
Wilson-The Loud Soldier: Wilson, unlike Jim, has not known Henry since
childhood but, nevertheless, becomes his companion. Wilson often acts in certain
ways or has certain opinions that precede similar behaviors in Henry. Wilson
also performs very daring in battle during the final stages of this novel
and receives the same awards as Henry. Wilson and Henry act so similar during
the novel that.
Henry’s mother: She shows up at the beginning of
the book and tells Henry that she does not want him joining the army, but
wishes him luck when he does anyway.
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