Cavalry Crossing a Ford
A LINE in long array, where they wind betwixt green islands; They take a serpentine course—their arms flash in the sun—Hark to the musical clank; Behold the silvery river—in it the splashing horses, loitering, stop to drink; Behold the brown-faced men—each group, each person, a picture—the negligent rest on the saddles; 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.
Cavalry Crossing a Ford - context Summary
Published in Drum-taps, 1867
Published in 1867 within Drum-Taps, Whitman’s "Cavalry Crossing a Ford" springs from his experience of the American Civil War. The poem records a brief field observation: a long line of cavalry winding through river islands, horses splashing, men resting on saddles, and bright guidon flags. Its imagery compresses movement, color, and ordinary soldierly detail into a single public moment that registers both spectacle and calm reportage.
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