Clara Barton Museum

Clara Barton Book Panel Discussion
2023-08-12 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Join us for a discussion of Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on August 12 from 2PM-3PM for a panel discussion of the latest book from the NMCWM Press: Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian. The book is a compiled edition that includes articles by museum staff and colleagues with details on Barton’s relief work during the Civil War and her groundbreaking efforts in the Missing Soldier’s Office.
Several of the contributing authors will be discussing their research for the book and answering questions concerning their findings.
The presentation is included with admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and FREE for NMCWM members.
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th St. NW, Washington D.C.

Clara Barton Book Panel Discussion
2023-07-08 14:00 - 15:00
Join us for a discussion of Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on July 8 from 2PM-3PM for a panel discussion of the latest book from the NMCWM Press: Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian. The book is a compiled edition that includes articles by museum staff and colleagues with details on Barton’s relief work during the Civil War and her groundbreaking efforts in the Missing Soldier’s Office.
Several of the contributing authors will be discussing their research for the book and answering questions concerning their findings.
The presentation is included with admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and FREE for NMCWM members.
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th St. NW, Washington D.C.

Without Concealment, Without Compromise: The Courageous Lives of Black Civil War Surgeons
2023-06-17 14:00 - 15:00
A lecture by author Jill Newmark

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on June 17 at 2:00 PM as author and historian Jill Newmark discusses her book Without Concealment, Without Compromise: The Courageous Lives of Black Civil War Surgeons.This book is the first-ever comprehensive exploration of Black Civil War surgeons and their unique experiences fighting racism and discrimination to attend medical school and serve with the U.S. military.

The presentation is included with admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and FREE for NMCWM members.

The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th St. NW, Washington D.C.

Jill Newmark is an independent historian and former curator and exhibition specialist at the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Her exhibits include “Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine,” “Within These Walls: Contraband Hospitals and the African Americans Who Served There,” and “Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons.” She has published articles in Prologue and Traces magazines, as well as online in Circulating Now and blackpast.org.

Clara Barton's Civil War Washington Walking Tour
2023-06-03 14:00 - 15:00
Join us on Saturday, June 3 @ 2:00 PM for our very first Clara Barton’s Civil War Washington Walking Tour

On Saturday, June 3, @ 2:00 PM the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum will be offering its very own walking tour in Downtown Washington D.C. Join us as we take a walk to various locations with a connection to one of America’s greatest humanitarians. Destinations for the tour include the former Patent Office, now the National Portrait Gallery, Ford’s Theatre and Petersen House, and Mathew Brady’s photography studio.
Walking Tour Tickets are $15 each and FREE for NMCWM members. Tickets for the walking tour also include admission to the exhibits at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.
Tickets can be purchased by clicking the link here.
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th Street NW, Washington D.C.

Clara Barton's Civil War and the Creation of the Missing Soldiers Office
2023-04-29 14:00 - 15:00
Carolyn Ivanhoff presents a first-person look at Barton and her work

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on April 29 at 2:00 PM as educator, author, and independent historian Carolyn Ivanhoff presents her first-person interpretation of Clara Barton, telling of her relief work during the Civil War and her founding of the Missing Soldiers Office.

The presentation is included with admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and FREE for NMCWM members.

The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th St. NW, Washington D.C.
Carolyn Ivanoff is a retired high school administrator and educator. She writes and speaks frequently on American history at local, state, and national venues. In 2003 Carolyn was named Civil War Trust’s Teacher of the Year. In 2010, 2011 and 2013 her education programs received Awards of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations. In 2016 Carolyn was honored by the Connecticut Council of Social Studies with the Bruce Fraser Friend of the Social Studies Award. In 2018-19 Carolyn served as project coordinator for the 17th Connecticut Flagpole preservation and re-dedication ceremony on Barlow’s Knoll at Gettysburg National Military Park. This project was honored with a 2019 Award of Merit from the Connecticut League of History Organizations for preservation.

Clara Barton Book Reception: Meet the Authors
2023-04-15 14:00 - 15:00
Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian release party at the Missing Soldiers Office

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on April 15 from 2PM-3PM for a reception to celebrate the release of the latest book from the NMCWM Press: Clara Barton: Civil War Humanitarian. This compiled edition includes articles by museum staff and colleagues with details on Barton’s relief work during the Civil War and her groundbreaking efforts in the Missing Soldier’s Office.
Mix and mingle with the authors, discuss Clara Barton’s legacy, sip a drink and grab some refreshments! And don’t forget to pick up a copy of the book as well. RSVP to Chris Reed at Chris.Reed@civilwarmed.org is encouraged.
The reception is free to the public and will be held at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th St., NW, Washington, D.C.

Clara Barton and the Pratt Street Riots
2023-04-08 14:00 - 15:00
Join us for a special presentation on Clara Barton and the Pratt Street Riots

Join us on April 8th from 2 PM – 3 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office for a presentation on the Pratt Street Riots
One week after the attack on Fort Sumter, people from across the country started to arrive in Washington City. On April 19th, 1861, The 6th Massachusetts became involved in an incident that became known as The Pratt Street Riots. Shortly thereafter, the regiment arrived in Washington where they were met by their former schoolteacher, Clara Barton. She would tend to their wounds, write letters home to families, and comfort the men while they were recovering.
The presentation is included with admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and FREE for NMCWM members.
The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is located at 437 7th St. NW, Washington D.C.
Join Education Specialist Michael Mahr as he presents the story of Clara Barton and the Pratt Street Riots.

Between Home and the Front: Civil War Letters of the Walters Family
2022-09-24 14:00 - 15:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Hear the story of the Walters family and how the Missing Soldiers Office helped them find closure.
Book cover of the forthcoming “Between Home and the Front,” and a letter from Clara Barton to the Walters Family from the collection of the National Postal Museum
On September 24 at 2:00 PM come to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office in Washington, DC to hear the story of the Walters family during and after the Civil War as told through their previously unpublished letters. In addition to the book talk, the Missing Soldiers Office will be open for walk-in visitation from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM on September 24.
Between Home and the Front by Lynn Heidelbaugh and Thomas Paone (Indiana University Press, 2022), presents previously unpublished letters from the Walters family’s collection held by the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. This collection includes the exchange of correspondence between the home front and frontline, a perspective not often seen in historical records. The publication provides a glimpse into the emotions and news that Private David Walters of the 5th Indiana Cavalry and his wife Rachel shared in their letters. Rachel became the hub of communication for the family, often receiving missives from David’s brothers, Isaac and John Wesley, both of whom served with Indiana units, and relaying the information to friends and family.
This book talk will highlight Rachel Walters’s post-war correspondence with the Missing Soldiers Office. With the assistance of the office’s staff and correspondence with veterans, Rachel Walters was able to verify information about her husband’s death at a prisoner-of-war camp and secure a widow’s pension three years after the war’s end.
In addition to the book talk, the Missing Soldiers Office will be open for walk-in visitation from 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM on September 24. The event will begin at 2:00 PM on September 24 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. The program is included with admission and free for Museum members. The Missing Soldiers Office is located at 437 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004.
Lynn Heidelbaugh, curator at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, specializes in the history of the US Postal Service. She has published essays and created several exhibitions about military mail, including “Letters Home” in Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection, and the exhibition My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I, for which she received a Smithsonian Secretary’s Award for Research in 2018.
Thomas Paone curates the lighter-than-air collection, including balloons, blimps, and airships, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Paone’s research focuses on ballooning in the Civil War, as well as the use of airships and blimps in America. He is coauthor of Milestones of Flight: The Epic of Aviation with the National Air and Space Museum.

“Your name will be handed down": Clara Barton at the Library of Congress
2020-09-24 18:00 - 19:00
Michelle Krowl, from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress, will highlight some of the documents available online at the LOC about Clara Barton’s life and work in this virtual program.
Clara Barton (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
Join us on Thursday, September 24 at 4:00 PM EST on Facebook Live for a virtual program hosted by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. You can tune in live by visiting facebook.com/civilwarmed/live at the scheduled time.
Join Michelle Krowl, from the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, on Thursday, September 24 at 6:00 PM for a Facebook Live program as she discusses the resources available online at the Library of Congress for the study of Clara Barton. During the program, she will pay particular attention to the materials that document Clara Barton’s Civil War experiences and her work on behalf of missing soldiers and their families – many of which were authored in the Missing Soldiers Office itself.
Michelle A. Krowl is the Civil War and Reconstruction specialist in the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress. She received a B.A. in History from the University of California, Riverside, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of several articles and books on topics relating to the Civil War, as well as Quantico, Virginia and the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. She has worked as a library assistant at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., an assistant professor at Northern Virginia Community College, and as a research assistant for historian Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Like these programs? Consider supporting our efforts by becoming a member or donating to the Museum! Your efforts ensure that we can continue sharing the story of Civil War medicine in this crucial time. In history, we can find hope amid our struggle against COVID-19.

Commemoration of the Sinking of the Black Diamond
2020-04-25 - 2020-04-26 | St. Clements Island Museum, 38370 Point Breeze Road, Coltons Point, MD, 20626, United States
Head to St. Clement’s Island for a weekend of activities commemorating a forgotten tragedy of the American Civil War, the Black Diamond Disaster.
Photo from previous year commemorating the sinking of the Black Diamond
On Saturday and Sunday April 25 – 26, visitors to the St. Clements Island Museum will be able to enjoy a range of free programs focused on the commemoration 1865 Black Diamond disaster. National Museum of Civil War Medicine Executive Director David Price will speak at a commemorative ceremony on Sunday April 26 at 2:00 PM, and NMCWM staff will be present throughout the weekend.
In April 1865, following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the Quartermaster Corps sent the barge Black Diamond to the lower Potomac to stand on picket duty off St. Clement’s Island. Her main job was to keep John Wilkes Booth from crossing the Potomac River. During the same time, the steamer Massachusetts headed for Fortress Monroe out of Alexandria, Virginia. In a tragic turn of events, the Massachusetts struck the Black Diamond on the port side near the boiler, sinking her in under three minutes. 87 lives were lost off the shores of St. Clement’s Island that night.
Don’t miss what promises to be a special and moving weekend of free activities in St. Mary’s county, Maryland.

Sinking of the Black Diamond - A Forgotten Tragedy
2020-04-09 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Learn about the legacy of the Black Diamond disaster from Museum Director Karen Stone a few weeks before its anniversary
Camp Parole – where many passengers aboard the Black Diamond originated from. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Join Museum Director Karen Stone at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office on Thursday April 9 at 6:00 PM to learn about a forgotten maritime tragedy of the American Civil War – the sinking of the Black Diamond.
On April 22, 1865, after the war had essentially come to a close, approximately 300 soldiers got on board a steamer in Alexandria to return to their various regiments. They had survived Andersonville Prison and been nursed back to health at Camp Parole, MD and other hospitals in the area, and were just waiting to be mustered out. But fate was not kind, and a number of them died early the next morning in a forgotten tragedy on the Lower Potomac River. Come learn the tragic story of these men and the all but forgotten accident between the Massachusetts and the Black Diamond during the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.
Just a few weeks later, on April 26, NMCWM Executive Director David Price will speak at the commemoration of the sinking of the Black Diamond on the anniversary at St. Clements Island Museum.
The program begins at 6:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and will be a pay-what-you-please presentation.
Karen E. Stone is the Director of the Museums Division of St. Mary’s County Government. She oversees three distinct sites in the county, and is responsible for strategic planning, fundraising, creating partnerships, overseeing museum operations, and more. She recently published an article about the Black Diamond disaster in America’s Civil War Magazine entitled Peril on the Potomac.

Virtual Q&A on Facebook Live – Women Nurses and the Civil War
2020-04-01 13:00 - 14:00
COVID-19 and closures won’t stop us from sharing the incredible lessons we can learn from studying medical care during the Civil War!

Join us on Wednesday, April 1 at 1:00 PM on Facebook Live for a virtual program hosted by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.
Education Coordinator John Lustrea will discuss Women Nurses of the Civil War. Send us your questions in advance on Facebook or by email (john.lustrea@civilwarmed.org) and tune in to the Museum’s Facebook page for what is sure to be a fascinating conversation. During this FREE program, you’ll hear about different aspects of healthcare on the front lines and hospitals in the most destructive conflict in our nation’s history that continues impact us today. We are here to answer your questions about Civil War medical care!

Like these programs? Consider supporting our efforts by becoming a member or donating to the Museum! Your efforts ensure that we can continue sharing the story of Civil War medicine in this crucial time. In history, we can find hope amid our struggle against COVID-19.

Virtual Tour - Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum
2020-03-27 13:00 - 14:00
COVID-19 and closures won’t stop us from sharing the incredible lessons we can learn from studying medical care during the Civil War!
The Missing Soldiers Office sign out front of the building
(Virtually) tour the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum with Jake Wynn on Friday, March 27, 2020.
Join us on Facebook Live for a tour of the historic boardinghouse where Clara Barton lived and worked during the Civil War era. In this building on 7th Street in Washington, DC, Barton spearheaded relief and nursing efforts during the Civil War. As the conflict drew to a close in 1865, she opened the Missing Soldiers Office in her boardinghouse room to identify those who disappeared during the war. Her team discovered the fate of more than 22,000 missing Union soldiers.
Jake Wynn is the Director of Interpretation at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.
Like these programs? Consider supporting our efforts by becoming a member or donating to the Museum! Your efforts ensure that we can continue sharing the story of Civil War medicine in this crucial time. In history, we can find hope amid our struggle against COVID-19.

Postponed - Tents and Tenements: The Civil War's Impact on Urban Health
2020-03-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
This event has been postponed due to restrictions on official travel from Virginia Tech.
Federal camp Courtesy of the Library of Congress

This event has been postponed due to restrictions on official travel from Virginia Tech.
On Thursday March 19, 2020 at 6:00 PM join historian Dr. Melanie A. Kiechle at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum as she discusses the way Civil War camps influenced urban and public health in the decades after the Civil War.
Why did soldiers compare their tents to tenements? Why did physicians compare camps to major cities? In this talk, Dr. Kiechle will explore the connections between wartime experiences and the public health movement in nineteenth-century cities. Because miasma theory made Americans worry that bad smells caused illness, smelly spaces were health threats. Concentrated odors were a frequent concern in antebellum cities, but the disruption of war exposed rural Americans to powerful stenches and too physicians. Few would forget these encounters, or the visceral lessons about fresh air and good health.
The pay-what-you-please presentation begins at 6:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.
Melanie Kiechle is a historian of the nineteenth-century United States. Her interests include culture, environments, cities, health, science, and smells. Her book, Smell Detectives: An Olfactory History of Nineteenth-Century Urban America, uncovers how city residents used their noses to understand, adjust to, and fight against the environmental changes created by rapid urban growth and industrialization. She is an associate professor of history at Virginia Tech, where she teaches courses on United States history, environmental history, and the history of science and medicine.

History Lover's Tour of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum
2020-02-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Fall in love with the story of Clara Barton this Valentine’s Day!
Unidentified Civil War couple Courtesy of the Library of Congress
On February 14, at 6:00 PM, tour the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum beneath the glow of 19th century gaslights. This special evening tour will explore the incredible history of the restored boardinghouse where Clara Barton once lived and worked. Learn the incredible story of how the building was saved from destruction, Clara Barton’s heroic humanitarian efforts during and after the Civil War, as well as some of Clara’s romantic adventures.
The History Lover’s tour begins at 6:00 PM. It is included with admission price, and FREE for museum members. Pre-registration required.
Click here for Member tickets
click here for general public tickets

Members Only - Tour the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office
2020-01-26 13:30 - 14:30 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Join us for an exclusive tour of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum available only to members of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine!
Clara Barton c 1865 Courtesy of the Library of Congress
On Sunday, January 26 at 1:30 PM, visit the 19th century boardinghouse where Clara Barton lived and worked during the Civil War era. This tour will be led by Director of Interpretation Jake Wynn and will dive deeply into the stories of Barton’s wartime efforts and the remarkable story of how the building was saved from destruction in the 1990s.
Members can RSVP for this tour by calling 202-824-0613 or by emailing jake.wynn@civilwarmed.org. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by Friday, January 24th.
Want to become a member of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine? You’ll have access to this tour and more exclusive programs! You will also be supporting our efforts to tell the remarkable history of Civil War medical care and the people who saved lives in our nation’s bloodiest war.
Click here to Become a member

The Battle of Dranesville
2019-12-14 16:00 - 17:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Hear about the first combat many Civil War soldiers experienced at the little known Battle of Dranesville in Fairfax County, Virginia.
The Battle of Dranesville Courtesy of Wiki Commons
On Saturday December 14 at 4:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum learn about one of the first early forgotten battles of the Civil War fought just a few miles from Clara Barton’s residence in Washington DC.
The Battle of Dranesville, fought on Dec. 20, 1861 does not have the name recognition of Gettysburg, or Antietam. It involved about 2,500 Confederate soldiers led by J.E.B. Stuart, fighting a numerically superior Federal force commanded by Brig. Gen. Edward Ord. The two-hour battle that occurred in northern Virginia was the end result of a hectic fall and winter of 1861. As both sides scrambled to recover from the battles of First Manassas (Bull Run) and Ball’s Bluff, they sought food in the No Man’s Land of Fairfax County, Virginia. The opposing forces routinely sent out foraging parties, and it was only a matter of time before they would run into each other. The Battle of Dranesville followed and proved to be many soldiers’ first experience of fighting. Historian Ryan Quint recounts the actions that led to this little-known battle.
The presentations begins at 4:00 PM on Saturday December 14 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office. It will be a pay-what-you-please presentation.
Ryan Quint graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Mary Washington in 2015. From 2015-2018 he was a Park Guide for the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. He writes for the Emerging Civil War, and his first book, Determined to Stand and Fight: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864 was published by Savas Beatie in 2017. He is now working on the first book-length treatment of the Battle of Dranesville and works for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Christmas and the Civil War
2019-12-12 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Learn about the surprising connection between the Civil War and our modern Christmas season.
Thomas Nast’s Civil War Santa which appeared in Harpers Weekly

Join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum on December 12 at 6:00 PM as Museum Docent Brad Stone details the history behind the celebration of Christmas during the Civil War and its surprising connections to the present day.

The Civil War shaped the way we celebrate the holiday season in the United States in surprising ways. One of the most surprising is the depiction of Santa Claus, as Civil War era illustrator Thomas Nast toyed with images of the jolly elf during the conflict that evolved into the Santa we know today in the United States.
The presentation begins at 6:00 PM and will be pay-what-you-please.

Discovering Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office
2019-11-23 12:30 - 16:30 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Tour Clara Barton’s boardinghouse home and office with the man who saved it from destruction.
Richard Lyons in the Missing Soldiers Office during the renovation
More than 20 years ago, Richard Lyons was on a routine inspection when he discovered a trove of 19th century artifacts tucked away in the attic of an old boardinghouse on 7th Street in Washington. Many of those artifacts belonged to Clara Barton.
The discovery led to a decades-long project to preserve the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office and turn it into a museum.
On November 23, 2019, you have the opportunity to tour the museum with the man who saved the Missing Soldiers Office. Richard Lyons will be leading tours and detailing how he made the discovery of the space where Clara Barton lived and worked during and immediately after the Civil War.
The tours are included with admission to the museum and museum members get in free. As there are a limited number of spots advance registration is highly recommended. Lyons will lead tours at 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM.
12:30 Tour Member Tickets 12:30 Tour General Public Tickets
3:30 Tour Member Tickets 3:30 Tour General Public Tickets

READ MORE ABOUT THE DISCOVERY
BARTON TREASURES UNEARTHED IN D.C. DUST (Washington Post, 1997)
A Sentinel in the Preservation of a Clara Barton Home (Washington Post, 2006)
How a Government Worker Discovered Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office (Washingtonian Magazine, 2016)

Continuing Clara Barton's Work - The Defense Personnel Accounting Agency (DPAA)
2019-11-07 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Discover the ways Clara Barton’s work of searching for missing soldiers is carried on today
DPAA Logo
On November 7 at 6:00 PM, join us at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office as we welcome Lieutenant Colonel Joseph M. Ladymon to discuss the work of the Defense Personnel Accounting Agency (DPAA)
DPAA’s mission “is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel, their families and our nation” from conflicts dating back to the Second World War. In fulfilling this mission, DPAA carries on the legacy of Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office. Lt. Col. Ladymon will discuss DPAA’s work today – connecting the past with the present.
This will be a “pay-what-you-please” program.
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph M. Ladymon is currently the Chief of the Research Support Division at the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Lieutenant Colonel Ladymon was commissioned through Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama in April 2002. Upon completion of the Intelligence Officers Course, he was assigned as Chief, Target Production, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. Lieutenant Colonel Ladymon graduated the Intelligence Weapons Instructor Course (IWIC) December 2006 at Nellis Air Force Base Nevada. Upon completion of IWIC, Lieutenant Colonel Ladymon became the Chief of Intelligence Operations for the 18th Operations Support Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan, where he oversaw all intelligence training and intelligence support for six operational squadrons. Additionally, during this time, he was deployed as the Wing Intelligence Weapons Officer in support of Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM. In April 2012, he was made the Director of Staff for the Commandant of the United States Air Force Weapons School. In July 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Ladymon was assigned at the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Intelligence Advisor providing support and guidance to the RSAF/A2, and was Chief of the United States Air Force Division Operations Branch.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day - Free Admission All Weekend
2019-09-19 11:00 - 2019-09-21 17:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
In honor of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum is offering FREE admission on September 19 – September 21.

The third Friday in September has been set aside to remember those who were prisoners of war and those who remain missing in action. The observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day takes place on military installations around the country.
Clara Barton devoted her time and energy in search of Union soldiers who went missing during the Civil War. From 1865-1868, the Missing Soldiers Office discovered the fate of more than 22,000 missing soldiers and provided information to grieving Northern families.
Her work also sent her to Andersonville Prison in August 1865, when she accompanied a U.S. Army expedition to the notorious prisoner of war camp in Georgia. She advocated on behalf of the survivors of that Confederate prison and testified about the conditions they experienced in front of Congress in February 1866.
Admission to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum will be FREE all weekend (September 19-21).
Read more about Clara Barton’s work with the Missing Soldiers Office

More resources about POW/MIA Recognition Day
4 Things to Know about POW/MIA Recognition Day
The Story Behind the POW/MIA Flag

Reconstruction in the West
2019-07-18 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Hear the rarely told story of Reconstruction in the American west and learn about its impact on the present day
American Progress, an 1872 painting by John Gast detailing how Americans envisioned westward expansion. The reality was more complex.
On July 18 at 6:00 PM, come to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office to hear from historian Maureen Lavelle about the process of Reconstruction in the western United States. While it is a story told with less frequency, its impact is still felt in the region today.
Historians and history buffs alike tend to focus on the efforts of Reconstruction in the South, where the Civil War was hardest felt. However, this era of transformative social and political change was not merely wrought in the South, but all over the United States. Though largely untouched by battle, Unionists and Confederates alike vied for resources from the fledgling states and territories in the American West, and continued their struggle for control long after the Civil War ended. Hear the stories of Civil War veterans who joined the crowds of pioneers moving west, and how their ideological clashes and the changes brought by Reconstruction shaped the West.
Maureen Lavelle hails from Boise, Idaho and is a recent graduate of West Virginia University. Her studies focused on Public History and women’s memorialization efforts in the postwar South. She studied U.S. History at Willamette University, and spends her summers working as a seasonal employee with the National Park Service.

How Civil War Medicine Killed President James Garfield
2019-06-29 13:00 - 14:00 | James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 8095 Mentor Ave, Mentor, OH, 44060, United States
Sixteen years after the end of our nation’s bloodiest conflict, antiquated Civil War medical techniques led to the death of President James Garfield.

When an assassin’s bullet struck James Garfield in July 1881, the battle to save the president’s life began. In the weeks that followed, doctors argued over how to treat the stricken executive. In the end, Dr. D. Willard Bliss took control of Garfield’s recovery and controversy has surrounded his role ever since. Jake Wynn of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine will discuss the history of Garfield’s recovery and how antiquated techniques learned by Dr. Bliss during his Civil War experience played a role in James Garfield’s death in September 1881.
The presentation will take place on June 29 at 1:00 PM at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio.
Jake Wynn is the Director of Interpretation at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. He also writes independently at the Wynning History blog.

The Wound Dresser - Walt Whitman and the Civil War
2019-06-13 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Learn about the man behind the poetry
Walt Whitman Courtesy of the National Archives
“Oh Captain, my Captain”–Walt Whitman’s words about President Lincoln and the Civil War continue to echo in our ears and in our pop culture. On Thursday June 13 at 6:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office, discover the man behind the poetry, as Garrett Peck introduces us to Walt Whitman the poet, the nurse, the brother, the lover, the clerk, the myth, and the man.
Garrett Peck is the author of Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.: The Civil War and America’s Great Poet. He is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and earned his M.A. at the George Washington University. He leads local tours, including the Walt Whitman Tour and Alexandria’s Historic Breweries Tours.
The pay-what-you-please program begins on June 13 at 6:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.

Civil War Medicine in Washington
2019-05-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Washington’s Civil War hospitals played host to a wide range of characters from President Abraham Lincoln to Walt Whitman.
Buildings of Armory Square Hospital with the Capitol in the background. Courtesy of the Library of Congress
As the Civil War roared to life in April 1861, Washington was a city completely unprepared for war. With thousands of soldiers descending on the Union capital, minimal defensive fortifications, housing, and other vital military amenities became a major problem. But by the summer of 1861, the lack of large hospitals pushed Washington into near crisis. With battles and campaigns occurring nearby on an almost daily basis, the city needed its first hospital system.
On Thursday, May 30 at 6 PM, public historian Jake Wynn will discuss the fascinating role played by Washington’s military hospitals in the Civil War. Tens of thousands of wounded and sick soldiers were cared for in hospitals established across the District of Columbia. From the National Mall, to Georgetown, and dotting the hills north of the city, these medical facilities became an integral part of war-time Washington and played host to a wide range of characters from President Abraham Lincoln to Walt Whitman, from Louisa May Alcott to Clara Barton.
The medicine practiced in these hospitals was not the butchery often credited to Civil War medicine. Instead, Washington’s hospitals hosted some of the most skilled surgeons in the world, utilizing new techniques and ensuring that countless lives were saved. This talk will explore the establishment of the hospitals, the men and women who worked in them, the patients treated within their walls, and the hospital system’s impact on Washington.
This is a pay-what-you-please presentation. This event is part of the Walt Whitman 200 Festival, sponsored by HumanitiesDC. The festival runs from May 23 – June 3, 2019.
Jake Wynn is the Director of Interpretation at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office.

James A. Garfield and the First Decoration Day - May 30, 1868
2019-05-18 11:00 - 12:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Discover the origin of Memorial Day in the United States and the role played by future president James Garfield
James Garfield during the Civil War
On Saturday May 18 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, join the Site Manager of James A. Garfield National Historic Site Todd Arrington as he discusses the first Memorial Day.
The holiday we now call Memorial Day was founded after the Civil War and known initially as Decoration Day. The first national Decoration Day ceremony took place in Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868. The keynote speaker that day was a young Ohio congressman and former Union general named James A. Garfield. In the shadow of the home once inhabited by Robert E. Lee, Garfield memorialized the Northern war dead but also reminded everyone what the war had truly been about, discussing slavery, freedom, civil rights, and more. This presentation will explore the origins of Decoration Day but also the themes on which future President James A. Garfield spoke on that first Decoration Day and their lasting importance.
The presentation begins at 11 AM on May 18 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. The presentation will be pay-what-you-please.
Todd Arrington is the Site Manager of James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio. As a career National Park Service historian and park ranger, he has also worked at Homestead National Monument of America in Nebraska and Gettysburg National Historic Site & Eisenhower National Historic Site, both in Pennsylvania. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Arrington has been published many times on subjects related to the American Civil War and westward expansion. His essay “Industry and Economy during the Civil War” was published in The Civil War Remembered, the National Park Service’s official handbook commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. He writes and edits for the popular history blogs We’re History and Emerging Civil War, and his book ‘The Triumphs of Liberty and Law’: The Presidential Election of 1880 will be published later this year by the University Press of Kansas. In discussing relevant history and National Park Service news and events, he has spoken at dozens of academic conferences and appeared on PBS, C-SPAN, numerous television and radio news programs, Radio Free Europe, and National Public Radio. He appeared in the PBS American Experience documentary Murder of a President about James A. Garfield in 2016.
Arrington has taught history and humanities courses at several northeast Ohio colleges, including Lake Erie College, John Carroll University, Lorain County Community College, and Lakeland Community College. He is a member of the Organization of American Historians and the Northeast Ohio Civil War Round Table.

The Golden Age of Magic - Spiritualism and 19th Century Illusions
2019-05-04 17:00 - 19:30 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Join professional illusionist and magic historian Michael Cantori for a deep dive into spiritualism, seances, and 19th-century illusions.
Magician Michael Cantori
Travel back in time with illusionist Michael Cantori for a lecture, demonstration, and performance that will leave you amazed, enlightened, and attempting to communicate with your ancestors long since departed.
We will wind our way through tales of magic and spiritualism in the late 19th-century, long thought of as the “Golden Age of Magic.” There will be talk of the Fox Sisters’ mysterious rappings, Houdini’s own complicated relationship with spiritualism, and how to experiment on your own with friends and family—departed or otherwise.
Locally-raised, Cantori is a full-time illusionist who crafts and designs his own magical apparatuses that he also provides to some of the finest craftspeople in the world. He’s written books and taught graduate level courses on the history of magic. As a performer, he’s showcased his skills for senators, royalty, and rock stars.
This event takes place at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office, the one-time home and office of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton. Barton was herself a believer in spiritualism and often spoke of communicating with deceased loved ones while living in this boardinghouse on 7th Street.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

There are two performance times for this event, 5:00 pm & 6:30 pm. Your ticket grants you entry only to the performance time that you’ve selected.
This event is interactive! There will be chances for the audience to help Cantori demonstrate effects and tricks.
This event is easily accessible via public transportation. It’s a three-minute walk from the Archives/Navy Memorial station on Metro’s yellow line and a nine-minute walk from Metro Center station on the red, orange, blue, and silver lines.
For those choosing to drive, metered street parking is available but can be extremely difficult to find. If you plan to drive, please give yourself ample time to locate parking in the area around Capital One Arena.

Tickets are sold out for this event
QUESTIONS?
Email Matt Blitz at matt@atlasobscura.com
Advance tickets only. All sales final. No refunds or exchanges.

Within These Walls: Contraband Hospital and the African Americans Who Served There
2019-04-11 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Discover the incredible story of those who worked to save lives at Contraband Hospital in Washington DC during the Civil War
School at a contraband camp near Washington. Courtesy of the National Archives
On April 11 at 6:00 PM at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, join exhibition specialist and curator Jill Newmark as she discusses her research on Contraband Hospital.
The story of African American medical personnel who served during the Civil War is an often overlooked and neglected part of Civil War history. This presentation will explore one hospital in Washington, D.C. that treated black soldiers and civilians and reveal the stories of the African American nurses and surgeons who served there.
The presentation begins at 6 PM on April 11 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. The presentation will be pay-what-you-please.
Jill L. Newmark is an exhibition specialist and curator at the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health. She has worked in the History of Medicine Division of NLM for the past 15 years where she is conducting research on African American medical personnel that served during the American Civil War. She has curated several exhibitions including Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine and has authored several articles that have appeared in Prologue magazine, the quarterly publication of the National Archives, Traces, a publication of the Indiana Historical Society, and several online publications and blogs. She is currently working on a book on African American Civil War Surgeons.

"Healthcare on the Frontlines" - Maryland International Film Festival
2019-03-31 11:00 - 12:00 | Maryland Theater, 21 S Potomac St, Hagerstown, MD, 21740, United States
See the premier of “Healthcare on the Frontlines” – a documentary film connecting the response to the healthcare crisis of the Civil War to today.
“Heathcare on the Frontlines” documentary cover image
How are individuals to respond in the face of overwhelming moments of crisis? That’s one of the many questions examined by “Healthcare on the Frontlines,” a documentary by Coronation Media making its debut at the Maryland International Film Festival in Hagerstown, MD on March 31 at 11 AM. The film compares the work of “Mission of Mercy,” an organization based in Frederick that provides free healthcare to the community, with the work of Clara Barton during and after the Civil War.
The film was made in partnership with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, and the Delaplaine Foundation. It extensively compares the actions of Clara Barton with the work of Mission of Mercy and finds surprising parallels between them. Despite a century and a half in time, the needs of vulnerable Americans have not changed significantly. By looking to the past, the film offers some unexpected lessons for the present.
The film will begin playing at 11:00 AM at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown. Tickets are $8 per person. In addition to single movie tickets, day passes and weekend passes are available.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS TO HEALTHCARE ON THE FRONTLINES
CLICK HERE TO SEE WEEKEND PASS DEALS

Clara Barton at Andersonville
2019-03-28 18:00 - 19:00 | Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, 437 7th Street NW, Washington, 20004, United States
Clara Barton played an important role in one of the most infamous prison camps of the American Civil War – Andersonville.
Clara Barton and Andersonville
Historian Mary Kate Robbett will discuss Clara Barton and her relationship with the infamous Confederate prison in Georgia at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office on Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
The current historiography on Civil War prisons discusses Andersonville’s uses and meanings during Reconstruction, but offers only passing mention of Barton. Robbett’s presentation will look at the ways Barton’s public work fits into the larger story of Americans’ memories of Andersonville as well as Barton’s contributions to the postwar conversation and rhetoric about the treatment of POWs.
Mary Kate Robbett is a PhD student at Northwestern University. Her studies focus on nineteenth-century U.S. history, with a particular interest the intersections of sociocultural and military history. Prior to attending Northwestern, she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and received her master’s degree in Museum Studies at George Washington University.
