Hannah Whitman Heyde to George Washington Whitman [August 1865]
Edited by Maire Mullins
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Friday night, pretty late [1]XThis letter is not dated. From the comments in the letter, however, it appears that George has returned home from his Civil War military service. He was mustered out of the Union Army on July 27, 1865, and returned to Brooklyn "to resume his life as a civilian," according to Jerome M. Loving. See The Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman, ed. Jerome M. Loving (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1975), 27. This letter can tentatively be dated as August 1865. Dear brother George [2]X
George Washington Whitman (1829–1901) was the seventh child of Walter and Louisa Whitman, and ten years younger than Walt. George worked as a carpenter prior to his military service during the Civil War. When the war ended, he became a pipe inspector for the City of Camden and the New York Metropolitan Water Board. See Martin G. Murray, "Whitman, George Washington," in Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia, ed. J.R. LeMaster and Donald D. Kummings (New York: Garland, 1998), 777-78
I am glad you are home again, I cant bear to think of not seeing you this time. so if you can you must come out
here: — if you are well;
I cant tempt you with any thing, only we want to see you
I expect George you would like to rest home. —I hear of your having work
writing [3]X
In her letter to Walt Whitman dated August 8, 1865, Mother Whitman notes that George "has had much writing to do," probably related to paperwork that he had to fill out as he left military service (Walt Whitman Archive).. I dont want you to overwork to make yourself ill, but come if you can. I hope next time you come home to be able to come to see you I will write a line to you again— if I dont hear from you I am tired to night our place is pretty plaine here George [4]X
Hannah is referring to the house that she and Heyde owned on 21 Pearl Street in Burlington. They purchased the house in May 1864. but I dont think of that. I should like to have you come so much
Good night
Han
In her letter to Walt Whitman dated August 8, 1865, Mother Whitman notes that George "has had much writing to do," probably related to paperwork that he had to fill out as he left military service (Walt Whitman Archive).. I dont want you to overwork to make yourself ill, but come if you can. I hope next time you come home to be able to come to see you I will write a line to you again— if I dont hear from you I am tired to night our place is pretty plaine here George [4]X
Hannah is referring to the house that she and Heyde owned on 21 Pearl Street in Burlington. They purchased the house in May 1864. but I dont think of that. I should like to have you come so much
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George W. Whitman [5]XGeorge's name is written in Hannah's handwriting, which suggests that this letter was tucked into another letter that Hannah had sent home. Thus, this letter to George is a good example of the embedded letters that the Whitman family sent to each other.
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