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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

A rare Walt Whitman [whitmanarchive.org] letter, written on Jan. 21, 1866 on behalf of a dying soldier, has been discovered in the National Archives [washingtonpost.com] by a team digitizing the pension files of Civil War widows:

Pvt. Robert N. Jabo, of the 8th New Hampshire infantry, was dying of tuberculosis in Washington's Harewood Hospital and needed to write to his family. The Civil War had been over for months. Most soldiers had gone home. And Jabo's wife and six children were no doubt wondering where he was. But he was sick and illiterate. So a cheerful, bearded man who regularly visited hospitalized soldiers offered to write a letter for him.

"My dear wife," it began, "you must excuse me for not having written. . . . have not been very well." The letter explained that it was penned by "a friend who is now sitting by my side." And in a postscript, the friend identified himself: "Walt Whitman." The rare Whitman "soldier letter," one of only three known to exist, was discovered last month by a National Archives volunteer who is part of a team preparing Civil War widows' pension files to be digitized and placed online.

[...] Whitman, the American poet, journalist and essayist, was known for making the rounds of the local hospitals, where he would dispense snacks and money. He would also sit with wounded and dying soldiers and write letters for them. "I do a good deal of this, of course, writing all kinds, including love letters," Whitman wrote in a dispatch for the New York Times in 1864. "Many sick and wounded soldiers have not written home to parents, brothers, sisters, and even wives . . . for a long, long time," he wrote. "Some are poor writers, some cannot get paper . . . many . . . dread to worry the folks at home — the facts about them are so sad to tell."

The soldier died 11 months later, and the letter was inserted into his pension file to prove that his illness was related to his military service. The soldier's wife ended up receiving her $12/month war widow's pension seven years after she applied. The full letter [archives.gov], from the National Archives:

Washington, Jan. 21, 1866

My Dear Wife,

You must excuse me for not having written to you before. I have not been very well + did not feel much like writing – but I feel considerably better now – my complaint is an affection of the lungs. I am mustered out of service, but am not at present well enough to come home. I hope you will try to write back as soon as you receive this + let me know how you all are, how things are going on – let me know how it is with mother. I write this by means of a friend who is now sitting by my side + I hope it will be God's will that we shall yet meet again. Well I send you all my love + must now close.

Your affectionate husband,
Nelson Jabo

Written by Walt Whitman
a friend.

Original Submission