Examines the literary and social significance of Walt Whitman's career as a nurse during the American Civil War. The text shows how the concept of "convalescence" in 19th-century medicine and philosophy - along with Whitman's personal war experiences - provide a crucial point of convergence for Whitman's work as a gay and democratic writer. In his analysis of Whitman's writings during this period, along with journalistic works and correspondance, the author argues against the standard interpretation that Whitman's earliest work was his best; he argues instead that Whitman's hospital writings are his most persuasive account of the democratic experience.