In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Whitman established his reputation as a poet with the release of Leaves of Grass.
Whitman intended to write a distinctly American epic and developed a free verse style inspired by the cadences of the King James Bible.
The small volume, first released in 1855, was considered controversial by some, with critics attacking Whitman's verse as "obscene."
However, it attracted praise from American Transcendentalist essayist, lecturer, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, which contributed to fostering significant interest in Whitman's work.

At the start of the American Civil War, Whitman moved from New York to Washington, D.C., where he obtained work in a series of government offices, first with the Army Paymaster's Office and later with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
He volunteered in the army hospitals as a "hospital missionary."
His wartime experiences informed his poetry which matured into reflections on death and youth, the brutality of war, patriotism, and offered stark images and vignettes of the war.
Whitman's brother, George Washington Whitman, had been taken prisoner in Virginia on September 30, 1864 and was held for five months in Libby Prison, a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp near Richmond, Virginia.
On February 24, 1865, George was granted a furlough to return home because of his poor health, and Whitman had travelled to his mother's home in New York to visit his brother.
While visiting Brooklyn, Whitman contracted to have his collection of Civil War poems, Drum-Taps, published.

The Civil War had ended and a few days later, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the performance of a play at Ford's Theatre.
Lincoln died the following morning.
Whitman was at his mother's home when he heard the news of the president's death; in his grief he stepped outside the door to the yard, where the lilacs were blooming.
Many years later, Whitman recalled the weather and conditions on the day that Lincoln died in Specimen Days where he wrote:
I remember where I was stopping at the time, the season being advanced, there were many lilacs in full bloom.
By one of those caprices that enter and give tinge to events without being at all a part of them, I find myself always reminded of great tragedy of that day by the sight and odor of these blossoms.
It never fails.

Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated and his death had a long-lasting emotional impact upon the United States.
Over the three weeks after his death, millions of Americans participated in a nationwide public pageant of grief, including a state funeral, and the 1,700-mile (2,700 km) westward journey of the funeral train from Washington, through New York, to Springfield, Illinois.

Lincoln's public funeral in Washington was held on April 19, 1865.
Some biographies indicate that Whitman journeyed to Washington to attend the funeral and possibly observed Lincoln's body during the viewing held in the East Room of the White House.
Whitman biographer Jerome Loving believes that Whitman did not attend the public ceremonies for Lincoln in Washington as he did not leave Brooklyn for the nation's capital until April 21.
 Likewise, Whitman could not have attended ceremonies held in New York after the arrival of the funeral train, as they were observed on April 24.
Loving thus suggests that Whitman's descriptions of the funeral procession, public events and the long train journey may have been "based on second-hand information".
He does accede that Whitman in his journey from New York to Washington may have passed the Lincoln funeral train on its way to New York—possibly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Whitman may have recalled the imagery of lilacs from his earliest home, now the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site, which still boasts lilacs blooming in the farmhouse dooryard.
In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Whitman established his reputation as a poet with the release of Leaves of Grass. Whitman intended to write a distinctly American epic and developed a free verse style inspired by the cadences of the King James Bible. The small volume, first released in 1855, was considered controversial by some, with critics attacking Whitman's verse as "obscene." However, it attracted praise from American Transcendentalist essayist, lecturer, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, which contributed to fostering significant interest in Whitman's work.
At the start of the American Civil War, Whitman moved from New York to Washington, D.C., where he obtained work in a series of government offices, first with the Army Paymaster's Office and later with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He volunteered in the army hospitals as a "hospital missionary." His wartime experiences informed his poetry which matured into reflections on death and youth, the brutality of war, patriotism, and offered stark images and vignettes of the war. Whitman's brother, George Washington Whitman, had been taken prisoner in Virginia on September 30, 1864 and was held for five months in Libby Prison, a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp near Richmond, Virginia. On February 24, 1865, George was granted a furlough to return home because of his poor health, and Whitman had travelled to his mother's home in New York to visit his brother. While visiting Brooklyn, Whitman contracted to have his collection of Civil War poems, Drum-Taps, published.
The Civil War had ended and a few days later, on April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the performance of a play at Ford's Theatre. Lincoln died the following morning. Whitman was at his mother's home when he heard the news of the president's death; in his grief he stepped outside the door to the yard, where the lilacs were blooming. Many years later, Whitman recalled the weather and conditions on the day that Lincoln died in Specimen Days where he wrote:
I remember where I was stopping at the time, the season being advanced, there were many lilacs in full bloom. By one of those caprices that enter and give tinge to events without being at all a part of them, I find myself always reminded of great tragedy of that day by the sight and odor of these blossoms. It never fails.
Lincoln was the first American president to be assassinated and his death had a long-lasting emotional impact upon the United States. Over the three weeks after his death, millions of Americans participated in a nationwide public pageant of grief, including a state funeral, and the 1,700-mile (2,700 km) westward journey of the funeral train from Washington, through New York, to Springfield, Illinois.
Lincoln's public funeral in Washington was held on April 19, 1865. Some biographies indicate that Whitman journeyed to Washington to attend the funeral and possibly observed Lincoln's body during the viewing held in the East Room of the White House. Whitman biographer Jerome Loving believes that Whitman did not attend the public ceremonies for Lincoln in Washington as he did not leave Brooklyn for the nation's capital until April 21.  Likewise, Whitman could not have attended ceremonies held in New York after the arrival of the funeral train, as they were observed on April 24. Loving thus suggests that Whitman's descriptions of the funeral procession, public events and the long train journey may have been "based on second-hand information". He does accede that Whitman in his journey from New York to Washington may have passed the Lincoln funeral train on its way to New York—possibly in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Whitman may have recalled the imagery of lilacs from his earliest home, now the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site, which still boasts lilacs blooming in the farmhouse dooryard.
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd