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 After
this tour, I really felt I'd time-travelled! Gary Scott gave
me this feeling when he took us to the Washington sites associated
with Clara Barton. These included the Patent Office where
she was a clerk, a newly discovered office where she set
up the Missing Soldiers Bureau, a stop at the American Red
Cross building, and her final office and home in Glen Echo,
Maryland. Between stops, Gary told us about her activities.
These ranged from when she was a Civil War nurse; getting
funding to find missing men after the war; identifying the
dead and dedicating the cemetery at Andersonville; visiting
Switzerland where she was inspired to create the American
Red Cross; and, her adventures during the Johnstown Flood,
the Franco-Prussian War, and even tending to Teddy Roosevelt's
Rough Riders after the Battle of San Juan Hill.
But, feeling we
were part of an historical drama came at the end of the tour.
Richard Lyons, another member of the tour group, told us
that he was the government employee who found Clara Barton's
things in an abandoned building scheduled for demolition.
Among the items he found were dresses, shoes, wallpaper (which
also hangs at the Glen Echo house), and an original Roll
Call list of missing men. She had lists such as this one
printed and sent to every post office in the country. Civil
War veterans would then look at the list and contact her
if they knew the whereabouts of anyone named.
 Although
Richard told his supervisor what he had found, the man did
not want the work to be stopped and warned Richard not to
interfere. Luckily for history, Richard is a Civil War buff,
and was brave enough to do what was necessary to stop the
demolition. Eventually, he was able to contact Gary Scott,
who had the building assessed by the National Park Service
and the District of Columbia Historical Society. Thanks to
their efforts, the building will be preserved.
It was a fascinating
story and a great treat to be able to talk to Richard about
his experiences in saving the building and the artifacts.
I feel part of history because I now understand the importance
of historical preservation, and I know somebody who saved
an important part of history from being destroyed.
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