Which American poet served as a Union nurse during the Civil War?
Edgar Allan Poe
Walt Whitman
Emily Dickinson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Walt Whitman, one of America’s most influential poets, volunteered in Washington, D.C., military hospitals during the Civil War, caring for thousands of wounded Union soldiers. After traveling to Virginia in 1862 to find his injured brother, Whitman was deeply moved by the suffering he witnessed. He spent much of the next three years comforting soldiers, writing letters to their families, and distributing supplies. These experiences profoundly shaped his poetry, particularly his 1865 collection Drum-Taps, which explored the human cost of war.
Correct Answer: Walt Whitman