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'My Dear Comrade Frederickus': Walt Whitman and Fred Gray

Blalock, Stephanie M. "'My Dear Comrade Frederickus': Walt Whitman and Fred Gray." Walt Whitman Quarterly Review. 27.1 (2009): 49-65.
Type: 
journal
Genre: 
literary criticism, biography, history
Abstract: 

An exploration of Whitman's relationship with Fred Gray, who served admirably in the Union Army during the Civil War and went on to family life and a career in medicine. Blalock claims that Gray's biography sheds light on Whitman's connections with the crowd at Pfaff's as well as the broader New York medical community. Whitman held a nostalgic affection for Gray long after Gray had moved away from New York and started a family. Blalock suggests that Whitman's interests in Gray indicate Whitman's more literate and polished tastes above his associations with Pfaff's Bohemian crowd. Over the years, deaths in Gray's immediate family led to further disassociation from Whitman and Pfaff's, but Blalock contends that Whitman's role in the Fred Gray Association can be linked to his broader interests in American literary and medical practices.

People Mentioned in this Work

The Fred Gray Association

Blalock claims that Gray's biography sheds light on Whitman's connections with the crowd at Pfaff's as well as the broader New York medical community. Blalock suggests that Whitman's interests in Gray indicate Whitman's more literate and polished tastes above his associations with Pfaff's Bohemian crowd. Whitman's role in the Fred Gray Association can be linked to his broader interests in American literary and medical practices.

Fritsch, Hugo [pages:49]

In a letter to Fritsch dated October 8, 1863, Whitman expressed his desire "to be within hand's reach" of Fritsch and fellow Pfaffian Fred Gray so that they might all "talk, drink, and carouse together."

Gray, John Frederick

Whitman held a nostalgic affection for Gray long after Gray had moved away from New York and started a family. Blalock suggests that Whitman's interests in Gray indicate Whitman's more literate and polished tastes above his associations with Pfaff's Bohemian crowd. Over the years, deaths in Gray's immediate family led to further disassociation from Whitman and Pfaff's.

Kingsley, Charles [pages:54-55]

In a letter to Whitman from March 21, 1863, Kingsley discussed the military travels of Fred Gray.