Robert G. Ingersoll to Walt Whitman, 9 February 1892

About This Item

Title: Robert G. Ingersoll to Walt Whitman, 9 February 1892
Date: February 9, 1892
Creator(s): Robert G. Ingersoll
Whitman Archive ID: loc.02355
Source: The Charles E. Feinberg Collection of the Papers of Walt Whitman, 1839–1919, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Transcribed from digital images or a microfilm reproduction of the original item. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the correspondence, see our statement of editorial policy.
Contributors to digital file: Cristin Noonan Amanda J. Axley Stephanie Blalock
Cite this page: Ingersoll, Robert G.. "Robert G. Ingersoll to Walt Whitman, 9 February 1892." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 25 April 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
Source File: loc.02355.xml (TEI)

loc.02355.001_large.jpg 400 Fifth Avenue.1 Feby 9th 92 My dear Whitman—

I am going away to-day—first to Buffalo—then Cleveland—then Chicago—Cincinnati—and Indianapolis. Hope to be back by the 22 D inst—

Of course Traubel2 loc.02355.002_large.jpg will keep me informed as to your condition.3

I think of you hundreds of times a day and you are in my heart always. I have not given up hope by any means—You have a wonderful constitution—amazing loc.02355.003_large.jpg recuperative powers—

But there is one thing that ought to give you great comfort. You have done great good—You have delivered your message to the world. You have helped to emancipate the world. This is enough. The Republic will hold your memory dear—

Yours with hope & love R G Ingersoll

All the family unite with me and they all send hope & love

loc.02355.004_large.jpg

loc.02355.005_large.jpg see notes Feb 10 1892

Correspondent:
Robert "Bob" Green Ingersoll (1833–1899) was a Civil War veteran and an orator of the post-Civil War era, known for his support of agnosticism. Ingersoll was a friend of Whitman, who considered Ingersoll the greatest orator of his time. Whitman said to Horace Traubel, "It should not be surprising that I am drawn to Ingersoll, for he is Leaves of Grass. He lives, embodies, the individuality I preach. I see in Bob the noblest specimen—American-flavored—pure out of the soil, spreading, giving, demanding light" (Traubel, With Walt Whitman in Camden, Wednesday, March 25, 1891). The feeling was mutual. Upon Whitman's death in 1892, Ingersoll delivered the eulogy at the poet's funeral. The eulogy was published to great acclaim and is considered a classic panegyric (see Phyllis Theroux, The Book of Eulogies [New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997], 30).

Notes

1. This letter is addressed: Walt Whitman | Camden | New Jersey. It is postmarked: NEW YORK | FEB 9 | [illegible]PM | 92; NY | 2-9-92 | 11PM; CAMDEN, NJ | FEB10 | 6AM | 92 | REC'D. [back]
2. Horace L. Traubel (1858–1919) was an American essayist, poet, and magazine publisher. He is best remembered as the literary executor, biographer, and self-fashioned "spirit child" of Walt Whitman. During the late 1880s and until Whitman's death in 1892, Traubel visited the poet virtually every day and took thorough notes of their conversations, which he later transcribed and published in three large volumes entitled With Walt Whitman in Camden (1906, 1908, & 1914). After his death, Traubel left behind enough manuscripts for six more volumes of the series, the final two of which were published in 1996. For more on Traubel, see Ed Folsom, "Traubel, Horace L. [1858–1919]," Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland Publishing, 1998). [back]
3. On December 17, 1891, Whitman had come down with a chill and was suffering from congestion in his right lung. Although the poet's condition did improve in January 1892, he would never recover. He was confined to his bed, and his physicians, Dr. Daniel Longaker of Philadelphia and Dr. Alexander McAlister of Camden, provided care during his final illness. Whitman died on March 26, 1892. [back]