A man of his times and beyond: Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in a farmhouse (now a part of a museum) built by his father in the town of Huntington, New York on Long Island. Whitman worked at various times as a printer, a schoolteacher, a journalist, a volunteer nurse during the Civil War, and a newspaper publisher. He eventually authored a book of poetry, “Leaves of Grass”, which sold poorly when first published, but has over time come to be considered a masterpiece of world literature.

It is said: “By the end of his life, Whitman had become the first American poet to achieve international acclaim. Today his poetry is available in every major language and inspires people world wide who find in Whitman the voice and vision of a truly international humanist.”

War changes everyone: On April 12, 1861, Confederate cannons fired upon Ft. Sumter signaling the opening of the American Civil War. Consequently, this would also mark the beginning of a very important time in the life of American poet Walt Whitman. Whitman’s style of writing drew from his attempts to better manage the psychological chaos he experienced. Now, with the Civil War, it was easy to see that all of society and the political structure had slipped into chaos. As the nation began to dramatically shift so did Whitman as his poetry during this time would begin to demonstrate his vision of democracy as people acting collectively and pragmatically to secure a meaningful political freedom.

Regarding many of the poems in “Drum-Taps,” little is known about when they were actually written. However, in the winter of 1862, Whitman traveled to Virginia in search of his brother, George, whom he heard had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. After witnessing the vast amount casualties of war at the hospital, Walt was profoundly moved. For the next three years, he would devote himself to helping the soldiers. Many considered him a nurse and he acted as one, dutifully dressing wounds, assisting in amputations and administering medications. Whitman, however, insisted he be referred to as something simpler, calling himself a mere “visitor & consolatory,” one who brought “soothing invigoration” to the sick and wounded.

This time in the hospital would have a major effect on his poetry with some of the poems in “Drum-Taps” being directly based on events transpired in these places. Whitman found great richness to being in the military camps. He was fascinated by the men and the ordinary objects they used. His experiences here would fill his notebook as rough-draft poems that constitute his 1865 publication. Years later, Whitman told Horace Traubel that “Drum-Taps” was “put together by fits and starts, on the field, in the hospitals as I worked with the soldier boys.”

A poet sees things that others are not yet ready to: When “Leaves of Grass” was first published, Whitman was fired from his job at the Department of the Interior after Secretary of the Interior James Harlan read it and said he found it offensive. Poet John Greenleaf Whittier was said to have thrown his 1855 edition into the fire. Thomas Wentworth Higginson wrote, “It is no discredit to Walt Whitman that he wrote ‘Leaves of Grass,’ only that he did not burn it afterwards.” Critic Rufus Wilmot Griswold reviewed Leaves of Grass in the November 10, 1855, issue of The Criterion, calling it “a mass of stupid filth” and categorized its author as a filthy free lover.