Content:
Prose draft fragment decrying the lack of democratic sensibilities among commissioned officers. Edward F. Grier transcribes this manuscript under the title "[(Result of Year]" in
Notebooks and Unpublished Prose Manuscripts
(New York: New York University Press, 1984) 2: 675. Grier suggests that this manuscript is (at least thematically) linked to portions of
Democratic Vistas
(1871). However, these notes seem to be an early working of ideas that Whitman would later return to and incorporate into his prose. In this manuscript, Whitman mentions the of the role of "true Democracy" in forming a military structure "worthy of America," an idea which he further develops in "A New Army Organization Fit for America,"
Specimen Days & Collect
1882–1883.
Content:
On one side of these leaves is a fragmentary set of notes concerning Whitman's belief that the system whereby U.S. military officers are chosen should be reformed to reflect the nation's democratic spirit. This is an idea that Whitman introduced, although briefly, as early as the 1855 preface to
Leaves of Grass,
though the present manuscript is most likely related to one or more of Whitman's later, more extended expressions on this topic. The most likely possibility is that these notes represent draft material for the 21 October 1863 letter that Whitman sent to James Redpath, pitching a book idea for his newly established publishing house. On the reverse of the second leaf is a title page mock-up for the proposed book,
Memoranda of a Year
(1863). Unable to get a publisher for his book at that time, Whitman waited for over a decade to publish
Memoranda During the War
(1875–76), in which appears a short essay on the topic of military reform, "A New Army Organization Fit for America Needed." Subsequently shortened to a single paragraph when republished in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–83), it was given the slightly altered title "A New Army Organization Fit for America." The present manuscript may also represent draft material that eventuated in a note on the topic that Whitman added to
Democratic Vistas
(1871) when he created that book-length essay from several earlier pieces.
Content:
Draft of letter, heavily revised, to publisher James Redpath. Included with the letter, which pitches Whitman's idea for a book about his firsthand experiences among Civil War soldiers, are a title page mock-up, a draft publisher's announcement, the label that Whitman created for these items, and a blank envelope. The letter is written on the reverse of proofs of a circular for the United States Christian Commission, and the label, which dates the letter to October 21, 1863, is written on the clipped front of a United States Christian Commission envelope. Whitman was unable to get such a book published for over a decade.
Memoranda During the War
(1875–76) includes the short essay "A New Army Organization Fit for America Needed," which echoes specifically the ideas and language about military reform from the draft letter. This essay was later shortened to a single paragraph and republished in
Specimen Days & Collect
(1882–83), given the slightly altered title "A New Army Organization Fit for America." The same language from the letter draft might also have contributed to a note on the topic of military reform that Whitman added to
Democratic Vistas
(1871) when he created that book-length essay from several earlier pieces.
