Why did Walt Whitman visit both Union and Confederate soldiers in Washington hospitals?

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“Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos” — Walt Whitman American poet Walt Whitman, photograph by Mathew Brady.

Walt Whitman visited both Union and Confederate soldiers in Washington hospitals during the Civil War to provide comfort and support to those suffering from the conflict.

Driven by a deep sense of compassion, Whitman spent his spare time in the hospital wards to alleviate the mental depression and physical agony he witnessed among the wounded and dying. He frequently used his own limited salary to purchase small gifts for the soldiers, offering them his "cheer and magnetism" regardless of which side they had fought for. His actions reflected a profound humanistic response to the widespread suffering caused by the war, transcending the political divisions of the era.12