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 …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 …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