Walt Whitman's Extraordinary Service
in the American Civil War
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Calkins Creek
(Astra Books for Young Readers)
(pub. 9.17.2024)
40 pages
Ages 7 -10
Author: Gary Golio
Illustrator: E. B. Lewis
Character: Walt Whitman
Overview:
" In December of 1862, Walt Whitman left Brooklyn, New York, for the war-torn South after seeing his brother's name on a list of wounded Union soldiers. What he found on the battlefields completely changed his life, as he came face to face with not only the wounded, but the dying.
Whitman spent the next three years working part-time in Washington, DC, visiting and ministering to soldiers in the city’s many military hospitals. Caring for the sick and dying was not easy, but Whitman was committed to his chosen service. He became known as 'the soldiers’ friend,' and was bound—in his own way—to save and heal the America he wrote about and loved so deeply."
Tantalizing taste:
"On nights like those, Walt walked slowly home.
The moon above - a beacon of golden light - shone bright on both the North and South.
On all soldiers, all people.
And on the America that Walt would believe in for the rest of his life.
'The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music.
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,
My heart gives you love.'-
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass"
And something more: The section titled The Best of Friends explains: "Walt's example of service during the Civil war is a story of what one person can do. He believed completely in the ideals that America stood for - friendship, equality, freedom, unity - and felt torn apart as his country was overcome by hatred and fear... he had the personal gifts - patience, compassion, an easygoing way with pepole - that wouold prove useful in heping the wounded... Walt felt that he receive much more than he ever gave, and called his service 'the greatest privilege and satisfaction ... and, of course, the most profound lesson of my life.'"
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