Even before Whitman traveled South to find his brother George, who had been wounded at the Battle of Fredricksburg, his notebooks record intersections between soldiering, nursing, and his affectionate relationships with men.

Consider this excerpt from page 24 of one of Whitman's early notebooks which he used both before and after heading South in December, 1862:

joined 2d NY artillery--
                       William Robinson Brooklyn lad (socratic nose)
                                        Aug 16 -- driving on 23d st -- is going to enlist --
                                said he would enlist with me in two minutes
                    - -- has enlisted in 2d N. Y. artillery

What precisely is the meaning of "enlist" in this entry? The account records something that sounds like a "marriage proposal"--the gist of which seems to be "I would love to have the chance to serve with you in the army." The passage marks the bond that instantaneously ("in two minutes") materialized between Whitman and Robinson.