Only a few months later, on February 3, 2016, a third letter inscribed by Whitman-this one on behalf of Robert Nelson Jabo-was discovered by Catherine C. Hubbard surfaced and was appraised in an episode of PBS's Antiques Roadshow. In October 2015, however, an additional letter Whitman wrote for Albion F. Only one such letter was known until recently: a letter penned by Whitman-from David Ferguson to his wife-was reproduced in facsimile in the first volume of Walt Whitman: The Correspondence, edited by Edwin Haviland Miller (1961). Yet it has been difficult to locate surviving evidence of these Whitman-inscribed letters. His Memoranda During the War (1875) suggests he did this frequently for those who could not write for themselves: "When eligible, I encourage the men to write, and myself, when call'd upon, write all sorts of letters for them, (including love letters, very tender ones.)" He supplied stationery and stamps, and at times he served as an amanuensis, writing on behalf of various soldiers.
(Courtesy of the Brooklyn College Library Archives and Special Collections)ĭuring Walt Whitman's hospital visits to thousands of Civil War soldiers, he cared for their wounded and ill bodies sustained their morale with small gifts, attentiveness, and affection and regularly urged them to communicate with their families.Īs a brother to two soldiers, Whitman knew how much families craved word of their loved ones. A few years later, Whitman was living in Washington, D.C., and visiting sick and wounded soldiers in Union hospitals. This 1860 painting of Walt Whitman-the poet's favorite-was done by Charles Hine when Whitman was 42.
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