Camden
noon Nov: 19 '881
Dear Lou
I continue getting along pretty well considering—Eat my rations & sleep
fairly—(the Graham biscuits taste good—have them most every meal—I
only take two meals daily)—the publisher got an order for 250 copies Nov: Boughs yesterday from Scotland2—the enclosed (I send to George)3 was forwarded to me by Capt. Wright4—(I don't know what he wants George's address for—have not written
myself)—Coolish, dark, rainy here to-day—I am sitting here yet by the
stove in my sick room. The big book (all my writings collected complete)5 will be
done in ab't a fortnight—I shall send you one—
Walt Whitman
Correspondent:
Louisa Orr Haslam Whitman (1842–1892), called
"Loo" or "Lou," married Whitman's brother George Whitman on April 14, 1871. Their
son, Walter Orr Whitman, was born in 1875 but died the following year. A second
son was stillborn. Whitman lived in Camden, New Jersey, with George and Louisa from
1873 until 1884, when George and Louisa moved to a farm outside of Camden and
Whitman decided to stay in the city. Louisa and Whitman had a warm relationship
during the poet's final decades. For more, see Karen Wolfe, "Whitman, Louisa Orr Haslam (Mrs. George) (1842–1892)," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and
Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998).
Notes
- 1. This letter is addressed:
Mrs: Louisa Whitman | Burlington | New Jersey. It is postmarked: Camden (?) |
Nov 19 | 8 PM | 88. [back]
- 2. Alexander Gardner was the
publisher (see Horace Traubel, With Walt Whitman in
Camden, Saturday, November 17, 1888). See also Whitman's December, 3–4, 1888, letter to William Sloane
Kennedy, John Burroughs, William Douglas O'Connor, and Richard Maurice
Bucke. [back]
- 3. George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the
sixth child of Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and ten years Walt Whitman's junior.
George enlisted in 1861 and remained on active duty until the end of the Civil
War. He was wounded in the First Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862) and
was taken prisoner during the Battle of Poplar Grove (September 1864). As a
Civil War correspondent, Walt wrote warmly about George's service, such as in
"Our Brooklyn Boys in the War" (January 5,
1863); "A Brooklyn Soldier, and a Noble One"
(January 19, 1865); "Return of a Brooklyn Veteran"
(March 12, 1865); and "Our Veterans Mustering Out"
(August 5, 1865). After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and began building
houses on speculation, with partner Mr. Smith and later a mason named French.
George also took a position as inspector of pipes in Brooklyn and Camden. Walt
and George lived together for over a decade in Camden, but when Walt decided not
to move with George and his wife Louisa in 1884, a rift occurred that was
ultimately not mended before Walt's 1892 death. For more information on George
Washington Whitman, see Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," Walt Whitman: An
Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York:
Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
- 4. Possibly Colonel John
Gibson Wright, the commanding officer of George's regiment during the war. See
footnote 4 in Whitman's September 11, 1864, letter
to Ellen M. O'Connor. See also his May 25, 1865,
letter to Louisa Van Velsor Whitman. [back]
- 5. Whitman wanted to publish a "big
book" that included all of his writings, and, with the help of Horace Traubel,
Whitman made the presswork and binding decisions for the volume. Frederick
Oldach bound Whitman's Complete Poems & Prose (1888),
which included a profile photo of the poet on the title page. The book was
published in December 1888. For more information on the book, see Ed Folsom, Whitman Making Books/Books Making Whitman: A Catalog and
Commentary (University of Iowa: Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, 2005). [back]