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—So you see my official life, with all its monotony, is not without a little fun, now & then, for a change

Two of her pictures I have seen, are real good—Well she wants to make a portrait of my beautiful countenance

& came to ask me to sit for her—Well I consented—but don't think I shall begin until I return from my

& melting here for two or three days—but there is a cool fresh breeze blowing in here, as I finish my

feel in health these days, dear mother—I hope you are well & in good heart yet—I remain pretty well, my

saw him this morning—I am still around among wounded same, but will not make you feel blue by filling my

neglected again to send him word—I have not heard from home now in some days—I am going to put up a lot of my

have not had a word from George yet—Mother, I have had quite an attack of sore throat & distress in my

a great effect upon him, & although I told the truth this time it did not have as good a result as my

The equipage is rather shabby, horses indeed almost what my friends the Broadway drivers would call old

here, sat in his carriage while Stanton came out & had a 15 minutes interview with him (I can see from my

sixteen, (about ten bugles, the rest cymbals & drums)—I tell you, mother, it made every thing ring—made my

letter Tuesday—I am about the same—I have not gone over to the office to-day, & am writing this in my

room—mother, I send only $15 in this—will send the other 5 in my next—Write and send me word, soon as

ups and downs—but steadily advance, quite certain, though very slowly—I seem to have a bad cold in my

hear—But, Mother, you must not worry about it—it will be arranged some way— There is nothing new in my

I write this at my desk—spring is quite advanced here—it is a damp, misty, cloudy forenoon—but pleasant—I

know one bit more on what they are writing about than Ed does— Mother, you say in your letter you got my

I hear from him, before sending them— I remain well as usual—the poor fellow I mentioned in one of my

I send my love to you & Jeff & all—we are having a very pleasant coolish day here—I am going down to

post office to leave this, & then up to my old friends O'Connors, to dinner, & then down to hospital—Well

by, dear Mother, for present— Walt Tuesday afternoon 3 o'clock—Mother, just as I was going to seal my

his "head feels disagreeable"; In a letter dated May 30, 1864 also to Louisa Whitman, he wrote that "my

Baldwin entered the army at age twenty-nine, became a captain on October 1, 1862, was wounded at Laurel

come home, (if nothing happens more than at present known) and stay two months, & then return here to my

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

Dear mother , I have come over this afternoon to the office, & am now writing this at my desk.

good spirits—am pleased to feel as well as I do, & get along as well as I do—Mother, I do not show my

sickness in my looks, in flesh or face, except very little perhaps— I will finish to–morrow or next

door, & am brought back there again—It has been a beautiful day—I am now sitting in my room, by the

to-day—I have not sent the Graphics containing my pieces as I have not had but one copy, & sometimes

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

by the window in Major Hapgood's office—all the Potomac & Maryland & Virginia hills in sight—writing my

shall send him some papers to-day—I send papers quite often—(why hasn't Jeff sent me the Union with my

are well—I have rec'd another letter from Mrs Price, she has not good health, I am sorry for her from my

Mary's mother-in-law, wrote to Whitman from Farmingdale, Long Island, on September 25: "I have raiced my

soldiers], down at the depot—[It w]as one of the same [old] sights, I could not keep the tears out of my

lately as though I must have some intermission, I feel well & hearty enough, & was never better, but my

—I] wish you would write very so[on again] too—I feel uneasy about [you]—I send my love to Jeff & Mat

fight—I carry an umbrella, and if the sun gets to fall on me good & strong, any of the real hot days, my

are both very helpful to me—one comes day time, & one evening—I had a good night's sleep last night—My

mind is just as clear as ever—& has been all the time—(I have not been at all down hearted either)—(My

it—I shall be getting well soon—am on a fair way to it now— latest ½ past 4 I have just set up & had my

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

want more than two or three days)—I want to see George, (I have his photograph on the wall, right over my

probably George will come out & see her, & that if he does you will send her word beforehand— Jeff, my

best way to enjoy a visit home, after all—When I come home again, I shall not go off gallivanting with my

& more shaky—how they can make any headway against our new, large & fresh armies next season passes my

it was made to me only as there was no one else in hearing at the moment—(he is quite an admirer of my

As to me, I know I put in about three days of the greatest suffering I ever experienced in my life.

I wrote to Jeff how I had my pocket picked in a jam and hurry, changing cars, at Philadelphia, so that

I told you that George had been promoted to Captain —his commission arrived while I was there.

Dear mother, my love, Walt.

I send my love to dear sister Mat, and little sis—and to Andrew and all my brothers.

Moses Lane (see Whitman's letter from January 16, 1863) on the same day asked Captain James J.

Virginia.: "We have had another battle and I have come out safe and sound, although I had the side of my

jaw slightly scraped with a peice of shell which burst at my feet" (Trent Collection of Whitmaniana,

During the battle at Antietam, George commanded his company, "as the Captain was not well although he

near Antietam, that Francis had left on a twenty-day furlough, and on November 10, 1862, he wrote: "Captain

of Justice Washington . 187 Thursday night—½ past 8 Dearest mama, I will write you a line, to begin my

myself, nobody in the building besides me, but the watchman—Mama dear, I suppose you got the order in my

'73 Friday morning—9 o'clock Dearest mother, The sun shines out bright & cheerful this morning—& in my

first sick) —I think I am feeling better to-day, & more like myself—I have been in the habit of soaking my

cold—so I have stopt stopped it, & I have a notion I feel better from stopping it— —I have just had my

here, rooms enough to live in for you & Ed and me —I realize it more, far more now, than ever—even for my

with a shed kichen with no fireplace in the house except in the kichen. . . . what do you think of my

About four days ago, I told Doctor he would in my opinion lose the boy without doubt—but F. again laugh'd

Conway is very friendly—but my friend Col.

I have received another paper from England to-day, with a tremendous big favorable notice of my book,

The English publisher of my book, Mr Hotten, sends them to me— Saturday, noon —I am going off for the

Stanbery is to speak on the trial, & I may go in & hear him a few minutes, but I guess I shall spend my

am determined to make you out a letter—I have been sitting here in the office all alone, fixing up my

wrote yesterday to Han, & sent one of George's last letters from Annapolis—Mother, I suppose you got my

blessing on him, he says, I am no scholar & you are—poor dying man, I told him I hoped from the bottom of my

—dear sister Mat, I quite want to see you & California, not forgetting my little Hattie too— Walt 2 o'clock

can know the men so well as I do, I sometimes think— Mother, I am writing this in Willard's hotel, on my

would take 10 cts I send in this letter & get me ten copies of the Eagle with it in—put in 5 more of my

Give my respects to Mr. & Mrs. Brown. Tell Jeff I am going to write to Mr.

If my letters home don't show it, you don't get 'em.

Matty, I send you my best love, dear sister—how I wish I could be with you one or two good days.

Give him my love—& tell Mannahatta her Uncle Walt is living now among the sick soldiers.

Lane promised to "make an effort among my friends here to keep you supplied with funds all summer."

soldier boys should ever call upon you, (as they are often anxious to have my address in Brooklyn,)

I was with him a good deal, & the old man & his wife have written me, & asked me my address in Brooklyn

They will make you cry—There is nothing new with my hospital doings—I was there yesterday afternoon &

, & the house smells clean, & the room too—my old room they just left every thing lay where it was, &

singers are so good—when I come home we'll all try to go — Mother, I am very well—have some cold in my

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.

now—I should like first rate to just drop in on you all— I continue to get letters &c from abroad about my

He is preparing a review & partial translation of my writings— Mama dear, I hope you will have a pleasant

John Burroughs to–day— Mother dear, as soon as I hear from you, I will write more particular about my

Mother, I shall probably send the order in my next.

had it here, as I must have a trunk—but do not wish you to send it, until I send you word—I suppose my

Mother, all the news I have to write about my affairs, is the same old thing—we have had another long

this week—they have carried all their measures successfully over the President—I am writing this at my

hear from Han, but I suppose she is getting along in the same old way—As I am writing this letter at my

how funny the world is governed—& lots of queer doings that outsiders never dream of— Well, mother, my

I have had a slight stroke of paralysis, on my left side, and especially the leg—occurred Thursday night

last, & I have been laid up since—I am writing this in my room, 535 15th st as I am not able to get

out at present—but the Doctor gives me good hopes of being out and at my work in a few days—He says it

days, but am to-day eating better—I wrote to Mat early last week— Later —I have been sitting up eating my

lecture last Friday night —I was very much pleased— I pass the time very quietly—some evenings I spend in my

along real well, upon the whole—I went out and over to the office yesterday— went in & sat down at my

desk a few minutes—It was my greatest effort yet, and I was afraid I had overshot the mark again, as

getting along all right—I am going out a little to-day, but not much— I feel now over the worst of my

bit of sickness, & comparatively comfortable— Poor Martha—the thoughts of her still come up in my mind

Price— Mother, I shall try to get out, & get my Feb. pay, I have to get it from the old office, & then

It is pleasant here this forenoon—as I look out of my window, the river looks fine—there is a slight

it, are very serious about it—Mother, it is serious times—I do not feel to fret or whimper, but in my

—& how the dear little girls—Jeff, I believe the devil is in it about my writing you, I have laid out

Mother, I have just had my breakfast, I had it in my room, some hard biscuits warmed on stove, & a first

John Gibson Wright rose from captain to colonel in the Fifty-first Regiment; he was appointed to the

According to Jeff's letter of May 14, 1865, George wanted an appointment in the regular army as captain

like to hear about the poor young men, after I have once begun to mention them—Mother, I have changed my

house was sold & the old lady I hired the room from had to move out & give the owner possession—I like my

new quarters pretty well—I have a room to myself, 3d story hall bedroom, I have my meals in the house

all—I will surely have to come home as soon as this Richmond campaign is decided—then I want to print my

clever people, & have invited me to Newport next summer— I am writing this in the office, (alone in my

& Lou are with you—(I hope you will all take a glass of the Spanish wine)— I believe I told you in my

Mother, I will send the order in my next—The bells are all ringing for 7 oclock church—there is a chime

some of those battles—I get thinking about it sometimes, & it works upon me so I have to stop & turn my

get them—I sent them & another paper to George—Mother, you none of you ever mention whether you get my

would take away your appetite I know—Mother, I have some idea Han is getting some better, it is only my

idea somehow—I hope it is so from the bottom of my heart—did you hear from Mary's Fanny since?

them, for grandmother will perhaps leave them to you in her will, if you behave like a lady—Matty, my

Nov. 24, 18 68 Dearest Mother, I suppose you got my letter last Saturday, 21st—All goes along at present

last—To-day it is very fine—I should like to be with you on Thanksgiving, Thursday—I shall take dinner at my

Benedict told me yesterday to bring any of my friends to dinner I wanted to—I still have the same room—I

the office that keep me hard at it— Love to you, dearest mother—& to all— I have had to scratch off my

letter in a hurry, but I wanted you to have something, according to promise in my last.

good of them all —I have not had any trouble myself, worth mentioning—the dinner has been got up at my

The puppy thought I suppose that he could get his letter printed, & injure me & my book.

in Atlantic street, on some accounts, but there is always something—I have not been satisfied with my

several weeks ago, I tried another place & room for a couple of days & nights on trial, without giving up my

old room—Well, I was glad enough to go back to my old place & stay there—I was glad enough I hadn't

Tuesday evening—Jan 23— Mother, I wrote yesterday in my letter that I had a bad cold—I felt quite disagreeable

Bruce to give you Gracie's address in Iowa—I have just got some nice copies of my Am.

to-night & finish it to-morrow— Wednesday afternoon Jan. 24 Mother, I am feeling well to-day—I think my

mostly young men, & a good deal of noise & moving about—but I don't mind it, as it is only from 9 to 3—& my

rocking chair by the stove— I have just eat some dinner, a little piece of fowl & some toast & tea— my

The doctor comes every day—(I must tell you again I have a first-rate doctor— I think he understands my

thinking all the time it was the day of Matty's funeral— Every few minutes all day it would come up in my

she had moved to Camden, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman complained to Helen Price: "i would rather have my

own shanty and my good friends come to see me" (Pierpont Morgan Library).

, 1873: "i wouldentwouldn't mind living here if i had a place of my own but this living with and not

Mother, every thing is the same with me, I am feeling very well indeed, the old trouble of my head stopt

& my ears affected, has not troubled me any since I came back here from Brooklyn—I am writing this in

Major Hapgood's old office, cor 15th & F st., where I have my old table & window—it is dusty & chilly

seen, the arrival of the wounded after a battle, & the scenes on the field too, & I can hardly believe my

Mother, I have nothing particular to write about—I see & hear nothing but new & old cases of my poor

would literally sink & give up, if I did not pass a portion of the time with them—I have quite made up my

the way I shall put it in operation—you know, mother, it is to raise funds to enable me to continue my

everywhere & receive no pay — Dear, dear mother, I want much to see you & dear Matty too, I send you both [my

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."

days—I walk very clumsily yet, & do not try to get around by walking—but I think I am stronger now, & my

writing this over at the office—It is pleasant here, but cloudy & coolish—Mother, I suppose you got my

envelopes & I will send them—write whenever you can—I think I shall be able to soon give a good account of my

Washington: "walt if you think you cant get a house for us to live in dontdon't worry about me. i shall live my

I send George papers now & then—Mother, one of your letters contains part of my letter to the Union,

It seems to be mostly as I intended it, barring a few slight misprints—was my last name signed at the

or think too deeply—So I go giving you all good advice— O Mother, I must tell you how I get along in my

of you & Hat right away)—one thing is I am quite by myself, there is no passage up there except to my

room, & right off against my side of the house is a great old yard with grass & some trees back, & the

Sims, a captain in George Washington Whitman's Fifty-first New York Volunteer Regiment, had been the

letter to his mother on December 16, 1862: "I have come out safe and sound, although I had the side of my

jaw slightly scraped with a peice of shell which burst at my feet."

On September 22, 1863, George informed Jeff that Captain Sims was in Brooklyn to recruit for the regiment

Jeff explained the situation on October 22, 1863: "It is not like you think in regard to cutting down my

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