November 1: Stephen Crane
On this date in 1871, American novelist Stephen Crane was born.
Stephen Crane Banner
Use this banner on social media to share our collection of Stephen Crane teaching resources.
Stephen Crane Sketch
Portrait of Stephen Crane from the ClipArt ETC website.
Volusia County, Florida
Volusia County in 1895 from the Maps ETC website. Show are Mosquito Inlet near where Crane’s boat sank and Daytona where he landed his “open boat.”
Listen to The Red Badge of Courage on Lit2Go
The Red Badge of Courage is an impressionistic novel by Stephen Crane about the meaning of courage, as it is narrated by Henry Fleming, a recruit in the American Civil War. It is one of the most influential American war stories ever written even though the author was born after the war and had never seen battle himself. Crane met and spoke with a number of veterans as a student and he created what is widely regarded as an unusually realistic depiction of a young man in battle. Complete audiobook and PDFs on Lit2Go, 7 chapters, Reading level: 6.5.
Listen to The Open Boat on Lit2Go
Published in 1897, The Open Boat is based on an actual incident from Stephen Crane’s life. While on his way to Cuba, Crane’s ship sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and other survivors were stranded at sea for thirty hours. They eventually made their way to safety in a small boat, but one of the men drowned while trying to swim to shore. Crane wrote this story soon after the incident occurred. Complete audiobook and PDFs on Lit2Go, 24 chapters, Reading level: 5.9.
Civil War Illustrations and Maps
Background resources for The Red Badge of Courage.
Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville from the ClipArt ETC website. It is believed that Chancellorsville was the inspiration for Crane’s fictional battle in The Red Badge of Courage.
Land Battle Illustrations
Over 250 illustrations of land battles that were fought between the Union and the Confederacy from the ClipArt ETC website.
Camp Life Illustrations
Nineteenth century camp life illustrations from the ClipArt ETC website.
Important Events Illustrations
Over a hundred illustrations of other important Civil War events from the ClipArt ETC website.
Civil War Maps
Over 130 Civil War maps including regional seats of the war, battle and campaign maps, and territories held by Confederate and Union forces. From FCIT’s Maps ETC website.
Naval Battle Illustrations
Nineteenth century naval battle illustrations from the ClipArt ETC website.
Civil War Locations
Illustrations of places that are famous due to battles or other events during the Civil War, from the ClipArt ETC website.
Miscellaneous Civil War Illustrations
Miscellaneous illustrations of the American Civil War from the ClipArt ETC website.