American Artifacts Preview: Clara Barton National Historic Site

Each week, American Artifacts takes you to museums and historic places to learn what artifacts reveal about American history. Clara Barton, called the Angel of the Battlefield during the Civil War, founded the American Red Cross in 1881. She moved the Red Cross headquarters in 1897 to a house in Glen Echo, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Stockpiled with supplies, volunteers and ready cash, workers could begin relief efforts immediately in the event of a crisis. We learn about her life on a tour of the house with park ranger Kevin Patty. Welcome to Clara Barton National Historic Site. My name is Kevin Patty and we're going to see a big house of 38 rooms and 14,000 square feet. And as we walk through this house, we'll get to know a lady who lived here a little more than 100 years ago. This was Clara Barton's home for the last 15 years of her long life. She lived to be 90 years old. We'll see that this was more than Clara Barton's home. That this was the first permanent home of the organization she founded and led for 23 years, the American Red Cross. Under one roof, in this house, they had the people ready to go. The volunteers lived here. They had the supplies on hand. They had the money. There's a walk-in vault in the corner of this building where they had $3,000 ready to start a relief effort with. So if they learned of a hurricane on a Sunday and the bank was closed on that Sunday, they didn't have to wait for the bank. They could open the doors, load wagons, go to trains, and to wherever it was that they were going. We're standing in the room that was Miss Barton's office. She sat right here on this chair. On one side of her desk, there's a stapler. And then next to it, a fragment of a cannonball that she's using as a paperweight. Something she could have picked up on the Civil War battlefield. All sorts of other useful and interesting things are here on this desk. Red Cross windows are here. People on the streetcar could see those windows. People on the road would know what this house was about by the windows and the Red Cross flag that ordinarily flies above the windows. Clara Barton died in her bedroom in this house three days before the Titanic sank. April 12, 1912. You can watch this and other American Artifacts programs anytime by visiting our website at cspan.org slash history.