Drum-Taps

Drum-Taps

Cover to Drum-Taps.
Author	Walt Whitman
Country	United States
Language	English
Subject	American Civil War
Genre	Poetry
Publisher	Peter Eckler
Publication date	October 1865
Media type	Book
Pages	72
Preceded by	Leaves of Grass

Drum-Taps is a collection of poetry by American poet Walt Whitman. The book, which was written during the American Civil War, was first published in 1865.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate cannons fired upon Fort Sumter signaling the opening of the American Civil War. Consequently, this would also mark the beginning of a very important time in the life of American poet Walt Whitman. Whitman's style of writing drew from his attempts to better manage the psychological chaos he experienced. Now, with the Civil War, it was easy to see that all of society and the political structure had slipped into chaos. As the nation began to dramatically shift so did Whitman as his poetry during this time would begin to demonstrate his vision of democracy as people acting collectively and pragmatically to secure a meaningful political freedom. Regarding many of the poems in Drum-Taps, little is known about when they were actually written. However, in the winter of 1862, Whitman traveled to Virginia in search of his brother, George, whom he heard had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg. After witnessing the vast amount casualties of war at the hospital, Walt was profoundly moved. For the next three years, he would devote himself to helping the soldiers. Many considered him a nurse and he acted as one, dutifully dressing wounds, assisting in amputations and administering medications. Whitman, however, insisted he be referred to as something simpler, calling himself a mere “visitor & consolatory,” one who brought “soothing invigoration” to the sick and wounded. This time in the hospital would have a major effect on his poetry with some of the poems in “Drum-Taps” being directly based on events transpired in these places. Whitman found great richness to being in the military camps. He was fascinated by the men and the ordinary objects they used. His experiences here would fill his notebook as rough-draft poems that constitute his 1865 publication. Years later, Whitman told Horace Traubel that Drum-Taps was "put together by fits and starts, on the field, in the hospitals as I worked with the soldier boys."

How to go about getting this work published would prove to be a tedious affair. By June 23, of 1864, Whitman was on the verge of a mental breakdown and grew to be so terribly ill from all the work he had been doing in the hospitals that he was forced to retire to his home in Brooklyn. He managed to declare himself "gradually alleviated, until now I go about pretty much the same as usual" on July 24 and dedicated himself to, at last, publishing his collection of poems. "I intend to move heaven & earth to publish my Drum-Taps as soon as I am able to go around", Whitman told his friend and associate William O'Connor. He was excessively motivated to get his work out there but an obstacle had developed. Ironically, it was the perception that his past works had been so highly controversial that had now scared off any legitimate publishers from wanting to buy his fresh compilation of poetry. If this were to be the case, Whitman explained to O’Connor, “I shall probably try to bring it out myself, stereotype it, & print an edition of 500 – I could sell that number by my own exertions in Brooklyn and New York in three weeks." O'Connor was not as confident. He was justifiably concerned that a privately published book would not be available to a large-scale. It was his desire to have this book cement Whitman’s fame. He was going to have to wait for this however. Whitman's dedication to the hospital remained true as well for he would return to Washington as soon as he was physically fit to. Months later, on March 6, of 1865, he received a letter from his mother explaining that George, who had survived the poor conditions experienced at many prisoner of war camps, had been released and was now going home to Brooklyn on medical leave. Walt now desperately wanted to be home. Not only so he could see his brother but he also felt with the way the war was progressing so well now for the Federals, this was the perfect time to publish his book. He was only able to gain minimal momentum however after receiving some money from the government. On this date, Whitman signed a contract with printer Peter Eckler to produce five hundred copies of Drum-Taps. Things began to proceed smoothly until the morning of April 15, 1865 when the newspapers told the story of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Like the rest of the country, Whitman was deeply saddened by his passing. Over the following months he would split time between Brooklyn and the Capitol while also adding several additions to his compilation of poems. His poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" was extremely popular. It was this success (Roy Morris Jr. later wrote that this would be the final success of his career) that finally lead to the publication of Drum-Taps, along with a twenty-four page insert called Sequel to Drum-Taps, on October 28, 1865.