Memoranda During the War

Memoranda During the War is Whitman's testament to the anguish, heroism, and terror of the Civil War. The book consists of journal entries detailing his encounters with soldiers and doctors, his thoughts on particular battles and on the meanings of the war for the nation, and his public exchanges with President Lincoln. Throughout, we find Whitman laboring with heroic determination to sustain and nourish his once-ardent faith in America and American life, even as the nation unleashed unprecedented violence upon itself. The book also includes Whitman's famous speech "The Death of Abraham Lincoln," selected poems, and a letter to the parents of a deceased soldier. Edited and introduced by Peter Coviello, it is a powerful portrait of a nation at war written by one of our greatest poets.