The story of "The Fighting Ground" is an account of two days in the life of Jonathan, a thirteen-year-old boy living in rural New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. He has an idealistic view about war and fighting. His father was badly injured in fighting and his older brother, who joined the battle a year before, has not been heard from since. He wants to become a soldier but his father will not give him permission to join the army. He sees fear in his father's eyes which he takes as a form of cowardice.

Jonathan is determined to join the battle and sneaks off to the nearby town when he hears the town bell peal, a signal for a call to arms. A gruff man, the Corporal who is organizing a band of soldiers, is disappointed with the small response for soldiers. He spots...