Walt Whitman and his Brothers in the Civil War

By Robert Roper, Published by Walker & Co., New York, 2008, hard cover with dust jacket, 421 pages, index, illustrated, notes, and bibliography. Excellent condition.

The Civil War is seen anew, and a great American family is brought to life, in Robert Roper's brilliant evocation of the Whitman family.

Walt Whitman's work as a nurse to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War had a profound effect on the way he saw the world. Much less well known is the extraordinary record of his younger brother, George Washington Whitman, who led his men in twenty-one major battles- from Antietam to Fredericksburg, Vicksburg to the Wilderness- and almost died in a Confederate prison camp as the fighting ended. Drawing on the vivid letters that Walt, George, their mother Louisa, and their other brothers wrote to each other during the conflict, this is a powerful narrative of the compelling history of our bravest soldiers.

WBTS Trivia: George Washington Whitman, served as a captain in the 51st New York Infantry, 1861-65. He was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., on December 13, 1862, and was captured at Poplar Grove Church, Va., on September 30, 1864.