A question that has come up in our tours and amongst our staff as of late has been one of location, location, location: How did Clara Barton, a native of Massachusetts and a schoolteacher in New Jersey, become a U.S. Patent Office clerk in Washington D.C.? It seemed like a bit of […]

The Mad Hatter by Lewis Carroll(Wikimedia Commons) Most of us are familiar with the often nonsensical, flamboyantly dressed Mad Hatter from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Most of us are also, no doubt familiar with the expression “mad as a hatter.” Now this expression is not based upon Lewis’s tea drinking, top […]

At the intersection of 7th and E, you’ll find a number of stores, museums, and restaurants. Just this intersection alone boasts a coffee shop, a museum, several restaurants, a liquor store, a frozen yogurt joint, and much more. The nature of the area hasn’t changed in the last 150 years, even if […]

A question that we always hear at the CBMSO is this: Where are the letters that all of these mothers, sisters, brothers, and friends of missing soldiers sent to Clara Barton? The answer is both simple and frustrating: everywhere! You can find them in museums, in the Library of Congress, in university […]

Cover of A List of the Union Soldiers Buried at AndersonvilleAndersonville National Historic Site It is 1867. Dorence Atwater is entering the 22ndyear of his life, and he has already had enough hardship for an entire lifetime. He served in the 2ndNew York Cavalry as a scout during the American Civil War, […]

I know I said this would be a two part blog post, but I’m finding so much to write about that it’ll have to be a three part one! This one will finish out the Civil War, Andersonville, and the Missing Soldiers Office, and the next one will complete the story with […]

Dorence Atwater in 1865Property of the Connecticut State Library I just read a biography on the life of Dorence Atwater (From Andersonville to Tahiti: The Dorence Atwater Story by Thomas Lowry), one of Clara Barton’s friends and allies after the end of the Civil War, and it inspired me to do some […]

Antimony Potassium Tartrate, aka Tartar EmeticProperty of U.S. General Services Administration This glass bottle of Antimony was found among Clara Barton’s possessions in the attic of the Missing Soldiers Office. What is Antimony, and why did Clara or one of the other tenants have a bottle of it? Antimony, also known as […]

When Clara Barton left 488 7th Street NW (now 437 7th Street NW) for Europe in 1869, she left many of her possessions behind in the care of her friend and landlord, Mr. Edward Shaw. Some items are intriguing, others commonplace, and still more just plain odd. Socks found in the attic […]

Bayonet found in the attic of the CBMSOProperty of U.S. General Services Administration This is a bayonet from an 1853 Enfield rifle, one of the most common rifles used during the American Civil War. A bayonet, though designed to act as a spear blade, had many uses outside of combat. Soldiers during […]