Claim: Walt Whitman volunteered during a war.

Walter `` Walt '' Whitman -LRB- -LSB- ˈhwɪtmən -RSB- May 31 , 1819 -- March 26 , 1892 -RRB- was an American poet , essayist , and journalist . A humanist , he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism , incorporating both views in his works . Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon , often called the father of free verse . His work was very controversial in its time , particularly his poetry collection Leaves of Grass , which was described as obscene for its overt sexuality .   Born in Huntington on Long Island , Whitman worked as a journalist , a teacher , a government clerk , and -- in addition to publishing his poetry -- was a volunteer nurse during the American Civil War . Early in his career , he also produced a temperance novel , Franklin Evans -LRB- 1842 -RRB- . Whitman 's major work , Leaves of Grass , was first published in 1855 with his own money . The work was an attempt at reaching out to the common person with an American epic . He continued expanding and revising it until his death in 1892 . After a stroke towards the end of his life , he moved to Camden , New Jersey , where his health further declined . When he died at age 72 , his funeral became a public spectacle .