Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office was the headquarters for the search for missing soldiers after the Civil War
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office was the headquarters for the search for missing soldiers after the Civil War
Clara Barton was well-known for being the “angel of the battlefield” during the Civil War by providing supplies and support to the men wounded in battle. Due to her notoriety, families began contacting Clara Barton after the war to ask about their loved ones who hadn’t returned home. The military at the time did not provide families with notification when soldiers were killed in battle or captured as prisoners of war, and desperate families hoped Clara Barton had encountered their men during her time as a battlefield nurse. She began making inquiries and corresponding with families with what she could find out. Clara started her search for missing soldiers from her small room in a boarding house, but she eventually expanded the operation to take up most of the third floor in the building and established the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office.
Although she began this work on her own, Clara Barton eventually received an official commission and funding from the federal government. Barton and a handful of staff responded to more than 63,000 letters from families and loved ones searching for missing men. She published a Roll of Missing Soldiers with their state and military company around the country to try to locate these missing men for their families. Anyone who had information about the men listed in these rolls would contact Clara Barton to share what they knew, and the Missing Soldiers Office passed that information on to the families. Due to their efforts, more than 22,000 missing soldiers were found. Many died in battle, but some were found alive and were reunited with their families.
After years of hard work organizing supplies for soldiers on the front lines of the Civil War, a grueling speaking circuit, and leading the search for missing soldiers, Clara Barton was exhausted. At the recommendation of her doctors, she decided to take a trip to Europe to rest. The Missing Soldiers Office was packed up and put into the attic for storage during her trip. While there, she met members of the International Red Cross, who inspired her to start a similar organization in the United States upon her return. While Clara Barton was busy founding the American Red Cross, the remnants of the Missing Soldiers Office were forgotten.
More than a century later, historians knew the address of Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office (488 1/2 7th Street), but the street had since been renumbered (it is now 437 7th Street), so the original location could not be determined. In 1996, the building that had housed the Missing Soldiers Office was scheduled for demolition. A worker was inspecting the building when he heard a noise in what we now know was Clara Barton’s former bedroom. He went to investigate, and while he was looking out the window, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, no one was there (spooky!), but a yellow envelope sticking out from the ceiling caught his eye. He grabbed a ladder and looked into the attic, where he found more than 1,000 artifacts from the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office. Did Clara Barton’s ghost lead him to the attic? It’s impossible to say, but the more I learn about her, I wouldn’t put it past Clara to be taking charge and leading the way even after death.
One of the items found in the attic was the original sign for the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office, listing the location as room 9 on the third floor. This find did not immediately result in the preservation of the building. Take a tour to learn more about the other obstacles that had to be overcome before the building opened as a museum 20 years later. This amazing discovery story is one of the reasons the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office is one of my favorite adventures in DC.
Although the first two floors of the building continued to be used for boarders and various shops over the years, the third floor remained largely unused. The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office has been restored using clues from the vacant space as well historic documents. Clara Barton did not describe the Missing Soldiers Office in detail, but she was known to create cozy work spaces with a preference for brightly patterned wallpaper. I appreciate that her competence and drive didn’t stop her from appreciating the value of a beautiful space.
Clara was an inspiring woman, and this museum fills in the gap of her work between her time as a Civil War nurse and the founding of the American Red Cross. The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office is a fun, off-the-beaten-path adventure that is definitely worth checking out.
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Address
437 7th St NW
Metro Station
- Gallery Place-Chinatown (RD, GR, YL)
- Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (GR, YL)
Cost
$9.50
Hours
Thursday to Saturday from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Length of Adventure
1 hour
Website
http://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/
