The Red Badge of Courage - Chapter 20

Abstract -
When Henry and his friend turned back to the regiment with the flag, they noticed most of it had dissapeared. The regiment was heading back towards the woods and started marching again. When the regiment was put under fire again, many men "accepted the bullets" and allowed themselves to be shot. Henry wanted to get revenge on the man who had called his regiment mule drivers. Henry's friend came up to him and said, "Well Henry, I guess this is good-by-John" and Henry told him to shut up. They could see the enemy approaching, so close they could see their faces. After a while, the field was empty, and the men were happy. They were confident again, and even though they weren't the best fighters they had renewed their faith in themselves.

Response -
At the beginning, Henry and his friend were fighting over who should hold the flag. It said they both had faith in each other to have it, but they both wanted to be the one holding it. Was the man with the flag the first to charge, or why were they so intent on having it? Did they hold back the enemy, or had they run to a new camp when they saw the empty fields filled with smoke? It says they were joyous and had regained confidence in themselves, but it also commented that the men weren't any better at fighting.

Questions -
What does is meant by, "It had begun to seem to them that events were trying to prove that they were impotent. These little battles had evidently endeavored to demonstrate that the men could not fight well. When on the verge of submission to these opinions, the small duel had showed them that the proportions were not impossible, and by it they had revenged themselves upon their misgivings and upon the foe" ?