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sitting by him, and soothing him, and he liked to have me—liked to put his arm out and lay his hand on my

were hurt by being blamed by his officers for something he was entirely innocent of—said, "I never in my

Washington, Feb 3, 1865 My dear friend, From the deep distress of my mother whose health is getting affected

, & of my sister—& thinking it worth the trial myself, I write this hastily to ask you to do, or rather

one of the special exchanges (of which they are now making quite a number) shall be made, in favor of my

(both the above officers have been promoted from the ranks for conduct on the field)— Walt Whitman My

C. as I go to post office for my letters. Walt Whitman to John Swinton, 3 February 1865

Washington, March 13, 1865 My dear Sir: Would you do me the favor, if convenient, immediately on receiving

Captain Samuel H. Sims, a member of George's regiment, was killed on July 30, 1864, at Petersburg.

My Dear Comrade: . . .

me whenever you feel like it—tell me all about things & people down there in Kentucky—God bless you, my

My dear friend, The Homer has come & is now lying before me. I thank you deeply.

I enjoy my visits with a sad but profound joy & satisfaction—especially at night, when the light is nearly

you since I rec'd your last letter or not—but it came safe, & was glad to hear from you—write soon, my

the perfect copies soon—we had a fine long pouring rain here all last night—I am writing this home at my

I hope your parents are well—I wish you to give them my love—tho' I don't know them, I hope to one of

I am writing this by my window in the office—the breeze is blowing moderate, and the view down the river

Well, my dear comrade, I believe I have told you all the news—of Eicholtz, the German sergeant with the

Brooklyn December 4 1864 My dear friend Your letter of November 30 came safe, & was truly welcome—if

shall come, almost certainly—Then Charles Eldridge is to be transferred to Boston—I am indeed sorry, on my

Mother remains well, & in pretty good spirits, better than I would have expected—My brother George still

remains a prisoner—as near as we can judge he is at Columbia, S C—we have had no word from him About my

book nothing particular to tell—I shall print it myself—also my new edition of Leaves of Grass—Most

Brooklyn September 11 1864 My dear friend Well I am still home & no event of importance to write you

My illness has passed over, & I go around the same as formerly, only a lingering suspicion of weakness

their having any visitors—So you see I am still in business—Some of the cases are very interesting— My

mother is very well, & the rest the same—We have heard from my brother up to the beginning of this month

is well —We felt pretty gloomy some little time since, as two young men of the 51st N Y, friends of my

John Gibson Wright, captain of the Fifty-first Regiment, reported on August 8, 1864 that, when he had

to relinquish command of the regiment, George "discharged the duties of the responsible position to my

(Wright rose from captain to colonel in the Fifty-first Regiment; he was appointed to the latter position

Captain Samuel H.

all, as there is confusion in the opposition camp—the result of course I do not pretend to foretell— My

to Coney Island—& occasionally a tour through New York life, as of old—last night I was with some of my

I got a letter from Charley Eldridge yesterday—I suppose he is now in Boston—My dear friend, I often

count on our being together again, may be quite soon—meantime good bye & God bless you & I send you my

—O how the rain is pouring down as I write—at the other window sits my mother reading the Sunday Herald—quiet

I have written & sent my application to Mr Otto, & also a few lines to Mr Ashton, with a copy of it.

I am most desirous to get the appointment, as enclosing, with the rest of the points, my attentions to

the soldiers & to my poems, as you intimate.

Still Leaves of Grass is dear to me, always dearest to me, as my first born, as daughter of my life's

Not a word for over three months from my brother George —the probabilities are most gloomy.

Then I feel sure it tells the meaning better than any of the former editions—My enemies, & those who

agents before I return—I shall probably return about the 12th of September— When I arrived here, I found my

I doubt whether the article will be accepted in the Galaxy —don't know who edits it—I send my love to

same to Charles Eldridge —I hope to be able to write to Nelly —I wish you when you write to say I send my

And now for a while, my dear friend, Farewell. Walt. Walt Whitman to William D.

be careful of yourselves—it is very healthy here this summer—I havn't been troubled by the heat yet—my

have half a dozen—so you see I am coming out—had quite a clearing out the other day, collected all my

duds & socks, & boots & slippers &c &c. into a great heap—and when Sally, our black girl, brought up my

em all off home—there was nothing but what was all give out, though— There is nothing new with me in my

much—I think he would find it pleasant to come here for a few days, even this season—Well, dear mother, my

Give my love to George, & Jeff & Mat. Walt.

I had provided a big molasses pound cake for supper—but the snow was too hard, & the wind right in my

I spend quite a good deal of time, evenings & Sundays, in the office at my desk, as I can get in the

of law, mostly—but we have five or six hundred miscellaneous works—I have described to you before, my

quite bright & pleasant—I am feeling well as usual—It looks like winter at the far north as I look from my

Mason, who "used to be in my party on the Water Works."

Brooklyn January 20 1865 My dear friend I suppose you must have heard from Ashton that I received Mr.

We got word yesterday by means of an exchanged prisoner, from my brother George, but only up to November

I suppose you got my letter of some ten days since.

Nelly, I send you my love, & hope you are well & [in] good spirits. Farewell.

Of the O'Connors, Thomas Jefferson Whitman wrote on June 13, 1863: "I am real glad, my dear Walt, that

My dear William & Nelly O'Connor, I write a few lines to tell you how I find the folks at home—Both my

My brother would be in what I would almost call fair condition, if it were not that his legs are affected—it

I find myself perplexed about printing my book.

My brother Jeff wishes me to give you his sincerest thanks for your good will &c in the matter of the

My sister at Burlington Vt. is not well, & mother will probably pay a long visit there this summer.

brought down here to the front basement, & has in every respect improved much since last Saturday—Then my

will next week be put in the hands of a New York publisher & launched on the market—at least that's my

design at present — When you write tell me all about William—My mother returns bringing cheerful intelligence

whole—& is herself in splendid condition—havn't seen her look & apparently feel better in many years—My

My dear Nelly, I sit down home here in the front basement alone to write you a few lines.

I find it makes a mighty difference in my visit—(What is home without—&c)— My dear little California

worse—the fourteen days are up next Sunday—meanwhile she grows weaker & weaker— I am middling well—My

I send my love to Charles Eldridge—same to Ashton—when you write tell me the latest from the baby & Mrs

The reason is that my book, which is a little more than half done, does not get along as fast as the

Andy, dear boy, I hope my delay of a few days will not put you out—Write to me, & tell me about the office

, & my friends there.

Don't forward any letters that come after Friday next, but put them in my drawer.

Once more—I send my love to you & all. Walt Walt Whitman to Andrew Kerr, 10 September 1866

Brooklyn Nov 17, 1863 Dear friend I suppose Nelly has received a letter from me posting you up of my

last night, Trovatore —very, very good singing & acting— I feel to devote myself more to the work of my

I shall range along the high plateau of my life & capacity for a few years now, & then swiftly descend

, & the objects, &c of most, seem to me very flippant & shallow somehow since I returned this time— My

Dear comrade, I send you my love, & to William & Nelly, & remember me to Major [Hapgood] — Walt Walt

Every thing here with me remains the same—I am free from the distress in my head—Mrs.

Grayson is very sick—she sent my old washerwoman, old Aunt Kitty, around this morning to see if I had

any of "that bread my mother used to send me"—I suppose she meant the sweet Dyer bread—I gave her a

My hospitals are dwindled down to a small force—but there are plenty of cases to occupy me a couple of

yet—Jeff, I wish I could now & then be home & see you all, even if was only a couple of hours— Give my

Lane, and the Doctor —I send my love to Mat & the little girls.

O'Connor related in a letter on November 24, 1863, that the Count had said to her recently: "My Gott,

Mason, who "used to be in my party on the Water Works."

According to his letter to Jeff on January 30, 1865, Whitman wrote to "Captain" Mason the same day; on

I wrote in my last letter that I had met her son Willy in the street, Monday Jan. 7, & he told me she

Well good bye, dear mother—& give my love to George, & Jeff, & Matty, & all. Walt.

is covered with snow here, looks wintry enough—cold weather, but somehow I like it—I have no fire in my

Botta: My dear Madam: I sent you by mail about three weeks ago, (in compliance with your request of April

13,) the MS. of one of my poems, "O Star of France"—also a photographic portrait.

Thanks for your letter, statement of acc't. account , of my books Leaves of Grass &c. which have just

Forty One Dollars, fifty-four cents, on acc't of sales of my books, in 1873.

nerves) they say it must not be applied, for it will do more harm than good, might cause convulsions—My

I wrote to Jeff yesterday—I send you Harper's Weekly , mother, it is quite interesting—I still hold my

mind about getting a house here & shall certainly do so —At present my great hope is to get well, to

get so I can walk, & have some use of my limbs—I can write, pretty well, and my mind is clear, but I

cannot walk a block, & have no power to do any thing, in lifting or moving any thing in my room, or

Later a board of inquiry attributed the disaster to dereliction of duty on the part of the captain.

o'clock Dearest mother , I am writing this over at the office—I have made a sort of commencement of my

name—is it Sarah Pintard ) —when you next write tell me—I am feeling quite well—(only easily put out with my

Later a board of inquiry attributed the disaster to dereliction of duty on the part of the captain.

Singing Thrush" (later titled "Wandering at Morn") on March 15, 1873; "Spain" on March 24, 1873; "Sea Captains

—No letter has yet reached me, specifying an order for my books, new edition—but if one does not come

.; Leeds | 162 | 10 My | 76."

Whitman: "Because you have, as it were, given me a ground for the love of men I thank you continually in my

Whitman referred to Rossetti's edition as a "horrible dismemberment of my book" in his August 12, 1871

My dear Mr.

spirits—not well enough to go out in the world & go to work—but not sick enough to give up either, or lose my

till I read it, how much eligibility to passion, character and art arousings was still left to me in my

The delay of the last two months in getting ready my second instalment of the 1876 Edition, has annoyed

Whitman referred to Rossetti's edition as a "horrible dismemberment of my book" in his August 12, 1871

I send you, same mail with this, a copy of my book, as requested—Also a copy of Mr.

I send you my thanks & good will.

must be pretty tough up there on that bleak hill—It has been very cold here, but I have not minded it—My

is out of this world of sin & trouble—& I don't know as we have any cause to mourn for him— Mother, my

for somehow I feel as if I wanted to throw off everything like work or thought, for a while—& be with my

is pretty well over—they say the folks are coming home from the country, &c—I am glad I didn't take my

fine day—I am feeling well— Well, I have a long job of copying to do for Ashton, so I will wind up my

For the last two days I have felt a good deal better—My head is much better, & I feel more like myself

One of my fellow clerks has taken a seat for me, & made me a present of it—the play is "Queen Elisabeth

I am writing this by my big window, where I can look out on the water—the sun is shining bright as silver

Wednesday—I am better than I was last week—not as well as I would like to be, but well enough to keep on with my

It is beautiful weather here to-day—I have got my new trowsers—$20!!—only think of that!

—it is lucky I wear my clothes a long while— Walt.

Dearest mother, I suppose you got two letters from me last week, Wednesday & Saturday—My cold still troubles

neuralgia—but I guess I shall get over it—I have good meals, I do not cook for myself, at present—but get my

forming on one of his eyes, & will have to undergo a surgical operation—Mother, I told you all about my

Dearest Mother, I have grown better the last four or five days, & don't have that pain in my head now

It has got pretty cold here the last two days—I wear my big old overcoat.

Sir In a letter from John Swinton as he speaks of your kind desire to subscribe for some copies of my

I could convey no idea to you of how it affects my soul.

I got it, looked into it with wonder, and felt that here was something that touched on depths of my humanity

get the two big vols: (Complete Works 900 pp) I sent for you in a bundle by International Express to my

same constitutional good spirits (a great factor) holding on, but grip & bladder bother—I enclose you my

Whitman occasionally referred to Stafford as "My (adopted) son" (as in a December 13, 1876, letter to

Camden P M Jan: 8 '91 Personal | My dear J M S If we are going into this thing my notion is to do it

My suggestion w'd be (if you feel to give space enough) to print after that "personal memoranda" of mine

signed by its author's name (now that O'Connor and Mrs: Gilchrist are dead those three are perhaps my

I still hold the fort, (after a fashion)—send you my latest & doubtless concluding chirps of L of G.

spree —I sit up most of the time—but am a fearful wreck f'm grippe, gastric & bladder malady &c &c—my

Whitman occasionally referred to Stafford as "My (adopted) son" (as in a December 13, 1876, letter to

Camden New Jersey Nov: 30 1890 My dear D L Y'rs of 21st rec'd & welcomed—the Cal[ifornia] papers rec'd

as I get it—Warren Fritzinger is still with me—Mrs: Davis is well—Have had a depressed gloomy week—my

Jeff (T J Whitman) died last Tuesday in St Louis, Mo: was a civil engineer—Hear often f'm Dr Bucke my

I suppose you got my last I sent.

and his brother Harry were the sons of Henry Whireman Fritzinger (about 1828–1881), a former sea captain

Davis, Whitman's housekeeper, who had also taken care of the sea captain and who inherited part of his

Whitman's book Good-Bye My Fancy (1891) was his last miscellany, and it included both poetry and short

Thirty-one poems from the book were later printed as "Good-Bye my Fancy" in Leaves of Grass (1891–1892

For more information see, Donald Barlow Stauffer, "'Good-Bye my Fancy' (Second Annex) (1891)," Walt Whitman

& shall probably make a sort of rally—This is the 6th or 7th whack thro' the last fourteen years of my

memories to you—for I have them always for you—Was prostrated down with ab't the sixth recurrent attack of my

paralysis again and iron-bound constipation early last June & have been kept ever since in my sick room

Boughs" wh' I send a copy to you same mail with this—Also am finishing a big Vol. comprehending all my

ready for binder—I am still at 328 Mickle Street—have not been out doors for over six months—hardly out my

here & see me Friday noon, Dec: 7 I am up, had a partial bath, a bit of breakfast & am now sitting my