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The Letters of Reuben Farwell & Walt Whitman





During the Civil War noted poet Walt Whitman visited battlefield
hospitals to give comfort to the maimed, including his own brother. He
wrote about many of them in his poetry and prose and eventually wrote in
his official capacity for the U. S. government on behalf of veterans
receiving pensions.



One such recipient was a Nankin farmer named
Reuben Farwell (or "little Mitch" as he referred to him in his book
"Specimen Days".). Several references refer to both Plymouth and Nankin, of which Plymouth was a part of said township, as his home but Nankin is the preferred location. 



They met in 1864 while Farwell was suffering from a crippling foot
injury at Armory Square Hospital in Washington D. C. After spending
several months there Farwell was released back to the 1st Michigan
Calvary where he finished out his enlistment. The men exchanged letters
for a short time afterwards and then rekindled their correspondence in
1875 when Whitman began recollecting on his past friendships.



Farwell gushed in response, "Walt my dear old Friend how I would like to
grasp your hand and give you a kiss as I did in the days of yore. what a
satisfaction it would be to me." Which, considering Whitman's supposed
openly private homosexuality, might cause one to enjoin prurient
thoughts--and I admit to thinking as such when I first came across the
letter--we won't venture down that avenue here.



In his last letter to Whitman in
August of 1875 he states that he was planning a move to California but
being partially disabled as he was that seemingly never occurred. After
his death in 1883 and upon Farwell's wife Ann's request, Whitman wrote a
letter to the pension board which spoke of his service and injuries
sustained during the war. The letter, which can be read at the link
below procured a pension for Ann Farwell and their daughter Nettie. He
is buried in Newburg Cemetery in Livonia, Michigan.









Since I'm fairly OCD about things and mentioned the letters between
Walt Whitman and Nankin farmer and Civil War soldier Reuben Farwell, I
might as well compile said correspondence.



While searching for
them I noticed a pattern of subject matter that I touched upon in the
original post concerning Whitman's supposed homosexuality. That being
this source note for a letter dated June 8, 1864:

"The
transcription presented here is derived from Drum Beats: Walt Whitman's
Civil War Boy Lovers, ed. Charley Shively (San Francisco, California:
Gay Sunshine Press, 1989), 138."



Wow. That's a
stunning revelation to place upon a married man who considered Whitman
his uncle. Since I haven't seen the book I can't really comment on the
matter with any sort of definitive bias for either argument. Nor do I
really want to, for that matter, since it's way outside of my original
purview and life experiences but let the available information take us
where it may.



The aforementioned letter and footnotes are as follows (all grammatical errors being the author's):



Dear Friend



I once promised to write you & as often as convient




So far I have fullfulled my part. Since my joineing My Regiment It has
been nothing but marching & fighting the Johnnys. I can say that we
are enough for them if not too much



There has not been a fight but what they have been worsted



Our Cavalry forces have started on an other raid of 10 days rations




I left the Regiment last Monday. The reason of my leaveing was because I
could not see to ride or walk. I was poisioned how or in what manner I
can not tell.



I will write to you as often as possible Even if it is pencil marks



I hope that this may find you enjoying good health Give my respects to
the inmates of Ward. A, of Armory Square Hospital & tell Thom.
Woodwurth that I would be very glad to hear from him. I will close by
hopeing to see you before long

 

Notes:



1. "Little Mitch,"
or Reuben Farwell, served with the Michigan Cavalry during the War and
met Walt Whitman in Armory Square Hospital early in 1864, and upon his
release from the hospital he corresponded with Whitman. After Farwell
received his discharge on August 24, 1864, he returned to his home in
Plymouth, Michigan. Evidently the correspondence was renewed when
Whitman sent a post card on February 5, 1875. On March 5, 1875, Farwell,
who owned a farm in Michigan, wrote: "Walt my dear old Friend how I
would like to grasp your hand and give you a kiss as I did in the days
of yore. what a satisfaction it would be to me." In Farwell's last
letter, on August 16, 1875, he said that he was planning to leave
shortly for California. Eleven letters from Farwell are in the Trent
Collection. He is mentioned in Memoranda During the War (see The
Complete Writings of Walt Whitman, 10 vols. [New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons, 1902], 4:134). When Bucke wrote to Farwell after Walt Whitman's
death, apparently only this one note, written "on the back of a
circular," was extant (Miller).



Some of the other letters can be found here.
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