One night, in a dream, General Burnside appears at the end of Walt Whitman's bed and notifies him that his brother, George Washington Whitman has died. Sure enough, the next morning when the young man checks the paper, Walt finds his brother's name in the list of the wounded. He travels to Washington, then to Falmouth, where he finally finds his brother George, with a hole in his cheek. Walt makes himself useful in the hospital, so useful that they send him to Washington to help out there. Making his rounds, Walt goes to Union Square hospital and meets Hank Smith, a soldier who was supposed to have his leg amputated but threatened the doctor with a gun if he were to wake up without a leg. Walt meets Canning Woodhull, the drunk in charge of Union Square, but whose policies on cleanliness are unmatched. They drink and gossip together at night. During the summer, Walt sees President Lincoln on his way to the hospital most days. In the summer heat, Hank requests a bird. Walt and Hank set up a trap and the two catch a cardinal who they name Olivia, for Hank's sister. Woodhull finds the bird, throws her outside, and even though Walt takes her home, his landlady's cat kills Olivia three days later. At Christmastime, Hank and Walt discuss religion as Hank's fevers persist. By May, the doctors are fairly sure the leg has to go. An influx of the wounded fill the remaining beds, and they scheduled Hank's amputation two days out. Walt sneaks Hank out for the night, but they return in the morning for the surgery. After the surgery, Hank wakes up only for a moment to tell Walt he doesn't want to die, and then dies shortly thereafter. Walt writes to Hank's parents, as an obituary of sorts. Walt dreams of Hank that night.