Walt Whitman experienced first-hand the ravages of the Civil War as a volunteer nurse in the hospitals of Washington D.C. During that time, he filled notebooks with "impromptu jottings" that became the basis of two works: Drum-Taps, a collection of 71 poems including When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd and O' Captain My Captain.
Noted American poet Walt Whitman has created a masterpiece. Whitman loves writing about material things and the human mind and body. Whitman shows a true love of nature and man's role in it. One of the best known poems in the work is "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", which is a beautiful poem written about the assassination of President Lincoln.