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The Walt Whitman Archive

Camp of 51st Regt.  N. Y. Vols
near Alexandria Va  July 14th/65

I returned to the Regt last night (I have been away on Court Martial you know) and found your letter of July 5th and Mothers, and Hannahs, that you sent me at the same time. Poor Hann I feel quite worried about her and have just written to her saying that Mother and I will come on to see her in the cours of three of four weeks. ²   Walt I suppose you know that we are going to be Mustered out of service,  we are making out the Muster Rolls now, and we expect to be in New York in about 10 days. ³   I have been over to Washington two or three times since I saw you, but it was always in the afternoon (after C.M. hours) so that I could not get up to your place in time to see you.

Walt come over and see us,  the stage leaves Willards twice every day, and brings you right to Camp, so jump in and come over. ⁴   I have written to Mother to day to let her know that I am coming home, and telling her to get ready for a trip to Vermont. I am sleepy so good night Walt.

G. W. W.

The trouble about the informality of Muster is all right

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About the Text

The text presented here is derived from Jerome M. Loving, ed., The Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman (Durham, North Carolina: Duke State University Press, 1975). For a detailed description of discrepancies between this electronic edition and the print source, see our statement of editorial policy .

The manuscript of this letter, dated July 14, 1865, is held in the Trent Collection of Walt Whitman Manuscripts, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library .

For more information on the letters of George Washington Whitman, see Jerome M. Loving's introduction to the print edition.

Notes

1.  George Whitman was promoted to the rank of major on May 18, 1865. During his final months in the army, he requested to remain in military service as a career officer but was unsuccessful in his petition. See Jerome M. Loving's Introduction, p. 26.  (Back)

2.  Louisa Whitman planned to visit Hannah Whitman Heyde in Burlington, Vermont. In a letter to Walt, [September 5, 1865], she wrote: "i have arrived at last to Burlington and found hanna quite as well and better than i expected. george came with me to troy and went back by the boat from albany" (Trent Collection of Walt Whitman, Duke University). Mrs. Whitman returned to Brooklyn on October 17, 1865.  (Back)

3.  The Fifty-First Regiment of New York Volunteers was discharged from military duty at Alexandria, Virginia, on July 25, 1865. Two days later the regiment departed by train from Baltimore for Brooklyn.  (Back)

4.  In his diary notes, dated simply July 1865, Walt Whitman recorded that he had been over to Alexandria twice to have dinner with George (Manuscripts of Walt Whitman in the Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University).  (Back)

Whitman Archive ID

duk.00367