What happens to make youth feel elated and self-confident?

Several men come running up to Wilson and Henry. One begins speaking in an excited voice about a conversation he heard between the young lieutenant and the colonel of the regiment. The colonel asked, according to this soldier, who was carrying the flag, to which the lieutenant replies that it was Fleming. Also, the soldier adds, the lieutenant mentioned Wilson as being at the head of the charge, howling loudly. The colonel saw them in the distance, apparently, and called them "babies" to which the lieutenant replied, "they should be major generals."

Henry and Wilson think the soldier is fooling them, but in their hearts they are proud and happy. They do not think of their old mistakes. The past no longer holds disappointment