Walt Whitman Timeline

Whitman self-published the first edition of Leaves of Grass, containing twelve untitled poems, including 'Song of Myself.' He set some of the type himself and famously wrote an anonymous review praising himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote to Whitman: 'I greet you at the beginning of a great career.' Whitman later printed the letter without permission, using it to promote subsequent editions of his book.

The second edition expanded the book with twenty new poems, including 'Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,' and prominently featured Emerson's letter of praise on its spine and cover.

Published by Thayer and Eldridge in Boston, the third edition included the 'Calamus' poems exploring love between men and the 'Enfans d'Adam' poems, marking a major expansion of the work.

The fourth edition incorporated the Civil War poems of Drum-Taps and Sequel into the main body of Leaves of Grass, reflecting how the war transformed Whitman's poetry.

Boston officials declared Leaves of Grass obscene literature, forcing publisher Osgood & Co. to drop the book. Whitman found a new Philadelphia publisher, and publicity from the controversy boosted sales.

Image source: Leaves of Grass

Whitman prepared the final version of Leaves of Grass, often called the deathbed edition, which contained nearly 400 poems and represented four decades of revision and expansion.

While working in Washington, D.C., Whitman observed Lincoln's first inauguration, later recalling the president-elect's solemn demeanor as the nation stood on the brink of civil war.

Image source: First inauguration of Abraham Lincoln

Seeing his brother George listed as wounded, Whitman rushed to the front in Virginia. Finding George only lightly wounded, he was nevertheless moved by the suffering of wounded soldiers and decided to stay.

To support himself while nursing soldiers, Whitman worked as a clerk in the Army Paymaster's Office in Washington, D.C., and later at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Interior Department.

Whitman volunteered as a nurse in Washington military hospitals, comforting thousands of sick and wounded Union soldiers, writing letters home for them, and bringing small gifts and cheer.

Following Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote 'O Captain! My Captain!', his most famous poem, an elegy comparing Lincoln to a fallen ship captain. It appeared in Sequel to Drum-Taps in late 1865.

Image source: O Captain! My Captain!

Whitman published Drum-Taps, a collection of Civil War poems including 'Beat! Beat! Drums!' and 'Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night,' capturing the war's human cost with unflinching realism.

Image source: Drum-Taps

Interior Secretary James Harlan dismissed Whitman after finding Leaves of Grass morally offensive. His friend William O'Connor defended him in the pamphlet 'The Good Gray Poet' and helped him obtain a post at the Attorney General's office.

William Michael Rossetti published a selection of Whitman's poems in England, launching a devoted British following that included Anne Gilchrist, who corresponded warmly with Whitman and championed his work.

Image source: William Michael Rossetti

Whitman suffered a serious stroke that left him partially paralyzed. That same year his mother died, devastating him, and he moved to Camden, New Jersey, near his brother George.

After his stroke and his mother's death, Whitman settled in Camden, New Jersey, living with his brother before purchasing his own modest rowhouse on Mickle Street, where he spent his final years.

Whitman formed a deep friendship with Harry Stafford, a young working-class man in Camden, sustained by affectionate letters and gifts throughout the 1870s and early 1880s.

With help from friends, Whitman purchased the modest three-room house at 330 Mickle Street, Camden — the only home he ever owned — where he received visitors and literary admirers.

Image source: Walt Whitman House

Walt Whitman died of pleurisy at his Mickle Street home in Camden at age 72. An open-casket funeral attended by more than a thousand mourners was held at his home, and he was buried in Harleigh Cemetery.