BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Penn Qtr -- Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office (437 7th St NW)

DC -- Penn Qtr -- Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office (437 7th St NW):

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[1] CBMSO_221021_001.JPG	[2] CBMSO_221021_006.JPG	[3] CBMSO_221021_013.JPG
[4] CBMSO_221021_019.JPG	[5] CBMSO_221021_023.JPG	[6] CBMSO_221021_031.JPG
[7] CBMSO_221021_033.JPG	[8] CBMSO_221021_035.JPG	[9] CBMSO_221021_038.JPG
[10] CBMSO_221021_044.JPG	[11] CBMSO_221021_048.JPG	[12] CBMSO_221021_050.JPG
[13] CBMSO_221021_054.JPG	[14] CBMSO_221021_059.JPG	[15] CBMSO_221021_062.JPG
[16] CBMSO_221021_065.JPG	[17] CBMSO_221021_068.JPG	[18] CBMSO_221021_071.JPG
[19] CBMSO_221021_074.JPG	[20] CBMSO_221021_075.JPG	[21] CBMSO_221021_077.JPG
[22] CBMSO_221021_080.JPG	[23] CBMSO_221021_082.JPG	[24] CBMSO_221021_085.JPG
[25] CBMSO_221021_088.JPG	[26] CBMSO_221021_090.JPG	[27] CBMSO_221021_093.JPG
[28] CBMSO_221021_095.JPG	[29] CBMSO_221021_097.JPG	[30] CBMSO_221021_100.JPG
[31] CBMSO_221021_102.JPG	[32] CBMSO_221021_105.JPG	[33] CBMSO_221021_108.JPG
[34] CBMSO_221021_112.JPG	[35] CBMSO_221021_116.JPG	[36] CBMSO_221021_118.JPG
[37] CBMSO_221021_122.JPG	[38] CBMSO_221021_124.JPG	[39] CBMSO_221021_126.JPG
[40] CBMSO_221021_132.JPG	[41] CBMSO_221021_138.JPG	[42] CBMSO_221021_142.JPG
[43] CBMSO_221021_144.JPG	[44] CBMSO_221021_146.JPG	[45] CBMSO_221021_154.JPG
[46] CBMSO_221021_157.JPG	[47] CBMSO_221021_159.JPG	[48] CBMSO_221021_165.JPG
[49] CBMSO_221021_168.JPG	[50] CBMSO_221021_174.JPG	[51] CBMSO_221021_176.JPG
[52] CBMSO_221021_182.JPG	[53] CBMSO_221021_188.JPG	[54] CBMSO_221021_192.JPG
[55] CBMSO_221021_195.JPG	[56] CBMSO_221021_198.JPG	[57] CBMSO_221021_199.JPG
[58] CBMSO_221021_202.JPG	[59] CBMSO_221021_206.JPG	[60] CBMSO_221021_214.JPG
[61] CBMSO_221021_219.JPG	[62] CBMSO_221021_223.JPG	[63] CBMSO_221021_228.JPG
[64] CBMSO_221021_230.JPG	[65] CBMSO_221021_235.JPG	[66] CBMSO_221021_241.JPG
[67] CBMSO_221021_243.JPG	[68] CBMSO_221021_245.JPG	[69] CBMSO_221021_251.JPG
[70] CBMSO_221021_254.JPG	[71] CBMSO_221021_257.JPG	[72] CBMSO_221021_259.JPG
[73] CBMSO_221021_262.JPG	[74] CBMSO_221021_264.JPG	[75] CBMSO_221021_268.JPG
[76] CBMSO_221021_270.JPG	[77] CBMSO_221021_273.JPG	[78] CBMSO_221021_278.JPG
[79] CBMSO_221021_279.JPG	[80] CBMSO_221021_283.JPG	[81] CBMSO_221021_288.JPG
[82] CBMSO_221021_301.JPG	[83] CBMSO_221021_306.JPG	[84] CBMSO_221021_311.JPG
[85] CBMSO_221021_318.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CBMSO_221021_031.JPG: Bayonet Barton brought back a collection of "relics" from Andersonville prison in Georgia to serve as a reminder of the human suffering that took place. There was at least one bayonet in that collection. While research is ongoing to see if that is the origin of this bayonet, it was found in the attic and meant enough to Barton that she kept it.
2. CBMSO_221021_033.JPG: Roll of Missing Men This list of missing soldiers, published in January 1867, was among the documents found in the attic of this building in the 1990s. Clara Barton published five editions of the Rolls of Missing Men between 1867 and 1867, this roll being the last.
3. CBMSO_221021_035.JPG: Payntar Letters The Missing Soldiers Office used the mail to communicate with the families and friends of missing Union soldiers. Between 1865 and 1868, the office received more than 63,000 letters from people searching for their missing loved ones.
4. CBMSO_221021_044.JPG: Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office
5. CBMSO_221021_054.JPG: Missing Soldiers Office Restoring the Lost Decorative Designs
6. CBMSO_221021_126.JPG: Missing Soldiers Office Sign Clara Barton would have placed this Missing Soldiers Office sign at the 7th Street entrance to this building. It signified to passersby and callers that Barton's operation could be found at this location. General Services Administration (GSA) employee Richard Lyons discovered the now iconic sign in the attic in the 1990s, connecting this building to the incredible Civil War story of Clara Barton.
7. CBMSO_221021_144.JPG: Office Items The work of the Missing Soldiers Office was not glamorous. Those working here performed common office work. Clerks answered letters from grieving family members, communicated with various government bureaus, and prepared the "Rolls of Missing Men" for distribution to the Northern public. These items illustrate that this was once a bustling 19th century office.
8. CBMSO_221021_159.JPG: Large fragment of the 1913 striped wallpaper This un-papered section of wall represents the possible original location of the hallway between the back bedrooms and the dining area. Research continues to add new details to our understanding of the space and how it evolved over time.
9. CBMSO_221021_168.JPG: Gaslight Fixture This light fixture is original to the building. In the Civil War-era, this building was attached to an illuminating gas system in downtown Washington, giving residents some meager light during the evening hours. The recreated gaslights throughout the museum were created with this as a model.
10. CBMSO_221021_176.JPG: Train Schedule This colorful train timetable dates from May 1862. Clara Barton regularly used the rapidly growing railroad network in America before the Civil War. In a time when unaccompanied women were restricted from traveling, Barton became a trendsetter and regularly traveled on her own.
11. CBMSO_221021_182.JPG: Boardinghouse Life These artifacts reflect daily life in this boardinghouse in the Civil War era. The third floor of the building served primarily as a residence for tenants. These items give us a sense of what life was like in Washington during the mid-19th century.
12. CBMSO_221021_192.JPG: Original signature of a wallpaper hanger: "Papered by Andrew Frye April 29 1898"
13. CBMSO_221021_202.JPG: Men's Nightshirt This shirt is believed to have once belonged to Edward Shaw -- the landlord of the building during Clara Barton's time in the boardinghouse. Many items found in the attic had his name written on them, others did not.
14. CBMSO_221021_206.JPG: Slippers These two slippers may have belonged to Edward Shaw. Although several items found in the attic of this building were connected to Clara Barton, others belonged to Shaw and other boardinghouse tenants. They reveal the intimate details of lives of the residents here.
15. CBMSO_221021_214.JPG: Personal Items Personal items belonging to Edward Shaw. He was Clara Barton's landlord, friend, and occasional volunteer in the Missing Soldiers Office. Shaw worked as a clerk at the Patent Office and had great interest in new developments in science and technology.
16. CBMSO_221021_230.JPG: The Shaw Envelope This envelope likely saved this building from destruction. General Services Administration (GSA) employee Richard Lyons found this envelope, addressed to landlord Edward Shaw, in a broken piece of plaster in the ceiling. The letter inspired Lyons to retrieve an old ladder and search the attic. Lyons's curiosity about this letter sparked a 20 years long chain of events that led to the founding of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.
17. CBMSO_221021_235.JPG: Personal Items These items -- hair brushes, a tooth brush, and tooth powder -- may have been part of Clara Barton's daily life while living in this room (1861-1868). These artifacts provide an intimate connection to life during the Civil War years.
18. CBMSO_221021_243.JPG: Cloth wall covering fragments
19. CBMSO_221021_259.JPG: Original signature of wallpaper hanger: E (illegible) Hoffman Aug. 28, 1913
Description of Subject Matter: "I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent." -Clara Barton (1821 to 1912)

Clara Barton's life of service has been a role model for generations of nurses, teachers, social workers, doctors, and allied health professionals. A new generation of executives and public servants value the leadership and strong work ethic she exhibited with profound dedication to her cause. She cared little for personal comforts, instead choosing to comfort others.

In her time, Barton was called a philanthropist. Although that term today often connotes someone who has money and gives some of it to help others, in the 19th century it had a more direct meaning: one who for love of his fellow men exerts himself for their well-being. Her work during the Civil War is a striking example of true philanthropy: how one individual can make a difference in the lives of others.

"What she did in nursing is incredibly important and we don’t want to diminish that at all. But to say that Clara Barton is a nurse is a gross understatement of her importance. The fact is that she was a relief organizer at a time when women didn’t do that. At a time when women found that they had to get men involved in order to be taken seriously, Clara Barton bucked that system." George Wunderlich, Executive Director, NMCWM

Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office was originally rediscovered by Richard Lyons of the General Services Administration (GSA) in 1996, when the building was scheduled for demolition. Located on 7th street, NW, Washington D.C., the site is the location where Clara Barton lived during and immediately after the Civil War. She used this property not only as a place to live, but also to store the supplies she received for her work on the battlefield, and later as an office to handle correspondence concerning missing soldiers.

In 1865 Barton hired a staff and opened the "Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army" in this building. At the end of the war, Barton took up the cause of grieving parents, family and friends whose sons, brothers, neighbors were missing. She responded to over 63,000 letters, most of which required some kind of research that eventually lead to published lists of the names of the missing so that anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts or death could contact her. By the time the office closed in 1867, she had identified the fate of over 22,000 men.

The story of the rediscovery of the building as well as the story of Barton’s life while she lived there will be the essence of the visitor experience at the museum. The overarching theme for the visitor experience will be the sensation of discovering a place, and through the place a remarkable person, and through the person the values that shaped her life and work. The theme of discovery will be stated and recapitulated throughout the visit, using the physical environment of the place itself, enhanced by artifacts, images, sounds, activities and information. Whenever possible, Barton’s own words will be used in audio scripts and exhibit labels.

"This is the place where the Red Cross in many ways was born because this is where she first saw the need. You’re literally touring the place where Clara Barton was made into the Clara Barton we now know as the founder of the Red Cross." George Wunderlich, Executive Director, NMCWM

Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office is a part of The National Museum of Civil War Medicine, a non-profit membership based organization dedicated to the preservation and research of the legacy of Civil War Medicine, with nineteen years of experience sharing the story of Civil War Medicine and its relevance in our current lives. Clara Barton’s Missing Soldier’s Office is scheduled to open in 2011.

The above was from http://www.civilwarmed.org/clara-barton-missing-soldiers-office/
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