Did you know that in 1861 the Union forces required over 2,213,000 men to enlist during the Civil War? From these 2,213,000 men there were 422,000 who suffered fatal deaths and non-fatal wounds (McElroy, 1999). During the Civil War many civilians decided to volunteer, among one which was Walt Whitman, after witnessing such drastic measures taking place. Walt Whitman became emotionally and mentally involved with matters of the Civil War due to his brothers involvement. George Whitman, brother of Walt Whitman, served in an infantry regiment with many other volunteers (McElroy, 1999). Once Walt Whitman heard of his brother being wounded he then decided to leave Brooklyn to head to Virginia on December 19, 1862 in hopes of finding his brother as his initial goal, not knowing that he would end up volunteering for years to come at the camp grounds.
Initially Walt started off his duties by traveling with the men at war and would serve as a messenger for the men to communicate with their loved ones. One can tell how emotionally involved Walt was during this time based on how he described walking into a room of wounded solders for the first time… “ your heart would ache to go through the rows of wounded young men, as I did” (McElroy, 1999). Walt appeared to be a selfless man, after two years of volunteering he had only made $27 and contributed $10 from the $27 to the soldiers. Walt thought nothing of the money but more so of the experience he gained from his volunteering; he states “ I wouldn 't take a thousand dollars for the satisfaction it has been to me” (McElroy, 1999). Walt often wrote in his journal regarding the experiences he had from 1861-1866 in The Sacrificial Years edited and with introduction by John H. McElroy, with topics covering wounded and diseased men, what he saw and how he felt about the war, how he felt about the current president, Abraham Lincoln, and much more. Walt became inspired by President Lincoln based on how he interacted with people and how determined he was to preserve the Union (McElroy, 1999). Both Walt and Lincoln admired each other for different reasons which they express in their writing. Lincoln stated “ Walt has a face like a Hoosier Michael Angelo so awful ugly it becomes beautiful, with its strange mouth, it 's deep cut, criss-cross …show more content…
He encouraged many soldiers to write, as well as himself. He wrote many letters for the soldiers- including love letters, very tender ones- (McElroy, 1999). His poem Come Up from the Fields Father, reveals his take on how the loved ones would feel as they opened up these letters, “ Open the envelope quickly, O this is not our son’s handwriting, yet his name is sign’d, O a strange hand writes for our dear son, O stricken mother’s soul! All swims before her eyes, flashes with black, she catches the main words only, Sentences broken, gunshot wound in breast, cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital, At present low, but will soon be better” (Shoptaw, 2010). I can see through this passage that he often thought about how the loved one would react to the letters. Most of the families would have not even know what happened to their loved ones if it was not for
Initially Walt started off his duties by traveling with the men at war and would serve as a messenger for the men to communicate with their loved ones. One can tell how emotionally involved Walt was during this time based on how he described walking into a room of wounded solders for the first time… “ your heart would ache to go through the rows of wounded young men, as I did” (McElroy, 1999). Walt appeared to be a selfless man, after two years of volunteering he had only made $27 and contributed $10 from the $27 to the soldiers. Walt thought nothing of the money but more so of the experience he gained from his volunteering; he states “ I wouldn 't take a thousand dollars for the satisfaction it has been to me” (McElroy, 1999). Walt often wrote in his journal regarding the experiences he had from 1861-1866 in The Sacrificial Years edited and with introduction by John H. McElroy, with topics covering wounded and diseased men, what he saw and how he felt about the war, how he felt about the current president, Abraham Lincoln, and much more. Walt became inspired by President Lincoln based on how he interacted with people and how determined he was to preserve the Union (McElroy, 1999). Both Walt and Lincoln admired each other for different reasons which they express in their writing. Lincoln stated “ Walt has a face like a Hoosier Michael Angelo so awful ugly it becomes beautiful, with its strange mouth, it 's deep cut, criss-cross …show more content…
He encouraged many soldiers to write, as well as himself. He wrote many letters for the soldiers- including love letters, very tender ones- (McElroy, 1999). His poem Come Up from the Fields Father, reveals his take on how the loved ones would feel as they opened up these letters, “ Open the envelope quickly, O this is not our son’s handwriting, yet his name is sign’d, O a strange hand writes for our dear son, O stricken mother’s soul! All swims before her eyes, flashes with black, she catches the main words only, Sentences broken, gunshot wound in breast, cavalry skirmish, taken to hospital, At present low, but will soon be better” (Shoptaw, 2010). I can see through this passage that he often thought about how the loved one would react to the letters. Most of the families would have not even know what happened to their loved ones if it was not for