Walt Whitman and the Civil War. As a Transcendentalist poet, Walt Whitman focuses on the beauty and innate harmony

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1 Walt Whitman and the Civil War As a Transcendentalist poet, Walt Whitman focuses on the beauty and innate harmony between the self, society, and nature throughout his highly-esteemed collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. Whitman s Leaves of Grass underwent a series of edits and reprints, but throughout all six editions, his love and celebration of the body, soul, and greatness of America remain constant. However, at the outbreak of the Civil War, Whitman s perception of society and nature drastically changed. The calamity of the Civil War didn t fully impact Whitman until 1862 when he received the news that his brother, George, had been wounded during battle. (Folsom and Price). Whitman travelled to Virginia to visit his brother and upon his arrival to the hospital, he was deeply moved by the tragedies both of illness and death that consumed the ailing patients (Folsom & Price). Whitman chose to serve as an unofficial nurse to the wounded soldiers and visited numerous battlefields in an attempt to understand the magnitude of catastrophes that resulted from the Civil War. In 1865, Whitman published Drum-Taps, a collection of post-war poetry that preserves Whitman s accounts during the Civil War (Gutman). By examining a series of poems from both Leaves of Grass and Drum-Taps, I intend to demonstrate the way in which the Civil War lead Whitman to adopt a new understanding of the connection between the self, society, and nature. Whitman discovers that death possesses the power to unite men and that identity expands far beyond one s connection to nature and society. Prior to the Civil War, Whitman s works possessed all of the necessary characteristics to be recognized as Transcendental he felt deeply connected to nature and focused heavily on himself (suggested by his constant use of I ), yet still believed that he was just one of the many parts that contributed to society. Whitman believed that man and the natural world were

2 inherently united the environment and man were one of the same. Whitman s Poem of the Child That Went Forth, and Always Goes Forth, Forever and Forever demonstrates his belief in oneness by illustrating and celebrating how nature shapes a child over a series of days, seasons, and years. All of nature s elements become a part of the child: water-plants with their graceful flat heads all became part of him. The field sprouts of April and May became part of him ( , lines 18-21) The unity between this child and nature is achieved gradually over time and eventually the two are indistinguishable from one another; the child becomes nature and nature becomes the child. This innate sense of inseparability adopted a darker meaning during the Civil War, thus causing Whitman to alter his understanding of togetherness. Men became one with nature by soiling the land with their blood and decaying bodies. Whitman also realized that men bonded over the mourning of death, just as they had in the celebration of life. The monotony of war the constant marching, the endless battles, the mass of fatalities became the new normal; a normalcy that Whitman struggled to accept. Death was not a prominent focus in the way of life illustrated in Leaves of Grass, but Whitman realized that death played a large role in bringing men together. A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown is one poem from Drum-Taps that illustrates death s role in uniting men. The poem depicts the soldiers routine: marching through hospitals, mourning the demise of their fallen brothers with fellow nurses, doctors, and patients. Before leaving the dimly-light hospital that reeks of blood and life-preserving chemicals, the narrator says, But first I bend to the dying lad his eyes open a half-smile he gives me; / Then the eyes close, calmly close, and I speed forth

3 to the darkness (239, lines 22-23). The narrator and the dying lad share a brief moment of intimacy just seconds before death steals the ailing soldier. It is during their period of shared intimacy that the two men become one; they are forever connected by the final moments of the deceased soldier. The narrator does not fear death though, for he knows that death the inevitable, natural end of all living things will rescue him from the chaos of war and will once more unite him with his fallen brother. Although Whitman appreciated death s ability to create a bond between men, he criticized its destructive tendency, particularly with regards to the destruction of identity. Whitman constantly sought a connection with nature in order to establish his identity, as did the child in A Poem of the Child that Went Forth. He also relied heavily on his American heritage to create a respectable identity for himself. Whitman s praise of the great America is seen often throughout Leaves of Grass, especially in his Great are the Myths. He references the grandeur of America s foundational values when he exclaims, Great is Liberty! Great is Equality! (291, line 4). Whitman very much desired to be a part of the great; whether it be the boundless beauty and awe of nature or the magnificent America, he simply wanted to belong. The extraordinary image Whitman possessed of America was quickly shattered by the injustice of war. He watched as an abundance of young men perished and were left stranded on the battlefields. Death merely left them as wounded bodies, robbing them of their stories, thoughts, and feelings, and therefore stripping them of their identity. Identity, or the lack there of, is a common theme reflected throughout Drum-Taps. Drum- Taps serves as Whitman s attempt to identify those who served during the Civil War. He sought to record their stories, triumphs, and failures, so that they would exist forever and not just as soldiers who fought and fell, but as heroes. A Sight in Camp in Day-Break Grey and Dim is

4 one of Whitman s direct encounters with the struggle for identity. Whitman emerges from his tent and discovers three corpses covered by a dark and heavy blanket, Over each the blanket spread ample brownish woolen blankets, / Gray and heavy blanket, folding, covering all (46, lines 5-6). The symbolic blanket conveys the oppressiveness of war and its destruction of all. All encompasses a variety of meaning, but the two most important aspects of which the war annihilates are life and identity. The three corpses are left to rot, to remain covered and unseen, as if they were never there at all. Whitman, however, seeks to identify the three fallen men. He draws back the blanket to discover an elderly man, a young man, a man who possesses a striking similarity to Jesus Christ. Several times throughout the poem, Whitman raises the question, Who are you? (46, line 9). Whitman s question asks for more than just the name or rank of each corpse, rather it inquires about the lives of the three men. For the young soldier, Whitman may have wondered what his plans for life had been; for the older gentleman, he may have pondered what his life had entailed what he d seen and experienced. It is in this poem that we as readers can see Whitman s definition of identity expanding. He realizes that having an intimate relationship with the natural world and simply being American proves insufficient in establishing an identity. Identity is where you ve been, what you ve done, and how both experiences shape you. The Civil War was evidently one such experience that shaped Whitman for it lead to the creation of Drum-Taps and completely altered his perception of the inherent good of man and nature. Nevertheless, the Civil War did justify Whitman s belief that he was only one of the many parts the contributed to both society and the world around him. With this knowledge, Whitman did everything in his power to positively impact the lives of those in both the hospitals and on the battlefields. Drum-Taps

5 serves as Whitman s promise to his comrades to rediscover their stories and identities and to never let them be forgotten. Drum-Taps and Sequel to Drum-Taps, Whitman s second collection of post-war poetry, were integrated into the later editions of Leaves of Grass. This addition suggests that Whitman wants his readers to comprehend the realizations he made during his time at war not everything is harmonic and beautiful, disagreements and death are inevitable in nature. The addition also suggests that the war and its aftermath remains as important to Whitman as the content in his previous writings. The Artilleryman s Vision demonstrates the extent to which the war impacted those involved and indicates that the war will not be soon forgotten. The poem s narrator, a Civil War veteran, is aroused from sleep as a result of the haunting nightmares that force him to relive the utter pandemonium of war. Upon waking, he recognizes that he is home with his wife and child, but the memory of battles continues to invade on his attempt to regain normalcy: And my head on the pillow rests at home, and the vacant midnight passes, There in the room as I wake from sleep this vision pressesupon me; The engagement opens there and then in fantasy unreal, And ever the sound of the cannon, far or near, (rousing even in dreams a devilish exultation and all the old mad joy in the depths of my soul,) (248, lines 3-4, 7-8, 34-36).

6 Like the traumatized veteran, Whitman struggled to suppress the horror and trepidation he felt towards the Civil War. For Whitman, the soul represented life, for it contained all that was essential and of utmost importance to the individual. The fact that the memory and old mad joy (248, line 34) of war shook the narrator to his very soul implies that war has become a part of his identity; his combat experience is one that contributed to who his current sense of self. The sounds of war echo throughout the thoughts of the narrator, suggesting that the memories of combat will continue to pervade his every day life, forcing him to accept his new identity and to alter his understanding of normalcy. The Civil War forced Whitman to reevaluate the greatness and togetherness he previously assigned to America, society, the individual, and nature. While Whitman s transcendental beliefs were not entirely destroyed as a result of the war, the changes the war enacted lead to a permanent transformation in Whitman s writing and theories. In the latter half of his works, Whitman focused primarily on the aftermath of war death, separation, and the rebuilding of a nation. The destructive nature of war consumed him for a long period of time, but his love for man encouraged him to persevere through the grief and discover the beauty behind the combat. Whitman witnessed the indestructible bond between soldiers and the genuine care doctors and nurses exuded towards their patients. Drum-Taps represents Whitman s process of recognizing, accepting, and memorializing his journey in discovering the harmony between death, comradery, and identity.

7 Works Cited Folsom, Ed, and Kenneth M. Price. To the Battlefield. Walt Whitman. The Walt Whitman Archive, n.d. Web. 11 Nov Gutman, Huck. Drum-Taps. The Walt Whitman Encyclopedia. The Walt Whitman Archive, n.d. Web. 11 Nov Whitman, Walt. A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown. Leaves of Grass. Philadelphia: David McKay, Web. 11 Nov Whitman, Walt. A Sight in Camp in Day-Break Grey and Dim. Leaves of Grass. New York: W.E. Chapin & Co., Printers, Web. 11 Nov 2015 Whitman, Walt. Great are the Myths. Leaves of Grass. New York: W.E. Chapin & Co., Printers, Web. 11 Nov 2015 Whitman, Walt. Poem of the Child Who Went Forth, and Always Goes Forth, Forever and Forever. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn: Fowler & Wells, Web. 11 Nov Whitman, Walt. The Artilleryman s Vision. Leaves of Grass. Philadelphia: David McKay, Web. 11 Nov 2015.