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Walt Whitman’s poem “Cavalry Crossing a Ford” was written in 1865 during the time of the Civil War. This poem describes a group of soldiers as they cross a ford, or a river. Walt Whitman may have written this poem from experience because he was a nurse for wounded soldiers during the Civil War so it is definitely possible that he wrote this poem after witnessing some soldiers crossing  over a ford (Constantakis).  

When Whitman is describing the scene, he makes it sound very calm and to me  it sounds like the soldiers are not in a hurry at all. They seem like they are just chilling right now and not really worried about anything. “Behold the silvery river--in it the splashing horses, loitering, stop
to drink” (Whitman). The soldiers are letting their horses splash around in the water and cool down and stop and get some water. Whitman describes the horses as “loitering” which means that they are just standing around so I do not think that they are in a hurry.

“Some emerge on the opposite bank--others are just entering the ford--
while, Scarlet, and blue, and snowy white, The guidon flags flutter gaily in the wind.” (Whitman). In this passage, Whitman makes the scene sound very calm, especially when he describes the flags as fluttering “gaily in the wind”. I think Whitman includes this part to show how peaceful the scene is.

According to Randall Huff’s literary analysis of the poem, the flag described in this poem is the union flag. This flag represented the states that were opposed to slavery at the time. Since Whitman describes this flag and writes about these soldiers, I think that he was a supporter of the Union and that he was against slavery. Ralph Waldo Emerson was also against slavery. He believed that morals were very important and that everyone should use good morals and slavery was against his morals. Emerson believed that “slavery could only be gotten rid of by raising the moral standard, and by a larger appreciation of the human soul.” (Cooke).

 Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman both shared very good morals and they shared the same philosophies.

Bibliography

Cooke, George Willis. Ralph Waldo Emerson His Life, Writings, and Philosophy. Boston: J.R. Osgood and, 1881. Print.

Constantakis, Sara. "Cavalry Crossing a Ford Copyright Notice." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Gale Publishing, 2004. Web. 09 Feb. 2012.

Huff, Randall. "'Cavalry Crossing a Ford'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007.

Whitman, Walt. "Cavalry Crossing A Ford by Walt Whitman." PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of Poems and Poets.. Poetry Search Engine. 31 Dec. 2002. Web. 09 Feb. 2012.