Courage is viewed as a very heroic trait, and can actually be found in characters that don't seem heroic or courageous. This is seen in a few (or a lot) of characters in the Lord of the Rings.
Boromir is an example. Boromir, though first coming off as strong, brave and fairly intelligent, doesn't always come off as a heroic character, especially when he attacks Frodo. But in the end, Boromir sees his faults, and ends up sacrificing himself to try and save Merry and Pippin, and even confesses what he's done to Aragorn before he dies. In my view, it was very courageous thing to do.
Speaking of Merry and Pippin, if there is one character who does not come off a heroic at all, it would be Pippin. And yet, despite his pessimistic attitude when he and Merry are captured by the Uruk-hai, Pippin mustered up enough courage to find a way to free his bound hands. He even pretended to escape, if only to leave a trail for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to find, which proved useful for Aragorn to follow.
In my view, another very courageous character is Treebeard. I don't think Treebeard is viewed as a very heroic character, and indeed he seems very down to earth most of the time. But when the time called for it, Treebeard and his Ents prepared to wage war against Saruman. Treebeard knew that it was very likely that he would never return, and yet he did it anyway, hoping to help the last peoples of middle earth before he and the Ents passed. And yes, the Ents' attack at Isengard certainly helped a lot.
So yes, courage really can be found in the most unlikely, most un-heroic characters, even the characters who weren't made to come off as heroes.
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