O Captain My Captain: Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, and the Civil War

Whitman and Lincoln shared the national stage in Washington, DC, during the Civil War. Though the two men never met, Whitman would often see Lincoln’s carriage on the road. The president was never far from the poet’s mind, and Lincoln’s “grace under pressure” was something Whitman returned to again and again in his poetry. Whitman witnessed Lincoln’s second inauguration and mourned along with America as Lincoln’s funeral train wound its way across the landscape to his final resting place. This book tells the story of one of America’s greatest poets and how he was inspired by one of America’s greatest presidents.

Brief overviews of Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln. Important Civil War dates. Two of Whitman’s “Lincoln poems.” Author’s note. Illustrator’s note. Source notes. Bibliography. Index. Full-color mixed media illustrations.