Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia Gains Nearly 4 Acres

Petersburg National Battlefield Gains Nearly 4 Acres
By NPT Staff on March 2nd, 2018
From National Parks Traveler

A nearly 4-acre tract of land has been added to Petersburg National Battlefield in Virginia thanks to a donation to the National Park Foundation made back in 1991.

The Foundation received the 3.7-acre tract from the late Roberta Odom, who passed away in 1993. However, it did not receive permission to actually donate the land to the battlefield until Congress passed requisite legislation in 2016.

The land lies in the heart of the Petersburg Civil War landscape. It saw fighting during the August 1864 Battle of Weldon Railroad and then served as the camp for the 50th New York Engineers during the latter part of the 1864-65 Siege of Petersburg. After the war, it was used as a camp for the Freedmen’s Bureau.

Today, the national cemetery at nearby Poplar Grove is the resting place for more than 6,000 American soldiers. One of 14 national cemeteries administered by the NPS, Poplar Grove is open daily and visitors are welcome to walk its grounds.

“Private philanthropy is making it possible for more people to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country,” said Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation. “The 3.7-acre inholding donation provides access and parking so visitors can more easily explore historic Poplar Grove National Cemetery.” 

“Petersburg National Battlefield is grateful for the dedication and hard work of the National Park Foundation and the generosity of those who contribute to the preservation of this nation’s historic sites,” said Lewis Rogers, Superintendent of Petersburg National Battlefield. “This donation of land will further assist us tell the story of the Siege of Petersburg and the soldiers buried within the brick walls of the cemetery to ensure that their sacrifice on behalf of their nation will never be forgotten.”

In 2016, with the support of numerous land conservation organizations and park partners, including the Civil War Trust, Petersburg Battlefields Foundation, and The Conservation Fund, Congress passed bipartisan legislation to expand the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield to include this tract and other land within the park’s acquisition boundary. With the passage of the legislation, Congress provided NPS with the authority to accept the donation of the property from the National Park Foundation. 

Rare copy of Declaration of Independence survived Civil War hidden behind wallpaper

Rare copy of Declaration of Independence survived Civil War hidden behind wallpaper
by Michael E. Ruane of the Washington Post
Link to the article

This copy of the Declaration of Independence, made in the 1820s, was given to founding father James Madison. It has recently been purchased by a billionaire philanthropist. 

During the Civil War, the precious document was hidden behind wallpaper in a home in Virginia to keep Union soldiers from finding it.

Later, it sat in a closet in Kentucky, in a broken frame, unappreciated and stored in a cardboard box.

And later still it was stuck behind a cabinet in the office of an energy executive outside Houston.

It was a rare parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence, made in Washington in the 1820s for founding father James Madison, and apparently unknown to the public for more than a century.

Now, the copy, one of 51 that scholars are aware of, has resurfaced via its purchase last month by billionaire philanthropist David M. Rubenstein.

It is one of the exquisite facsimiles made from the original handwritten calf skin document crafted in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776. Scholars say it bears the image of the Declaration that most people know, in part because the original is now so badly faded.

"This is the closest ... to the original Declaration, the way it looked when it was signed in August of 1776," said Seth Kaller, a New York rare document appraiser who assisted in the sale. "Without these ... copies you wouldn't even know what the original looked liked."

Two hundred of the facsimiles were ordered by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, a future president, who was concerned about the already-worn condition of the 40-year-old original.

Master engraver William Stone made the copies in his shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, and created an extra one for himself.

In 1824, the facsimiles were distributed to Congress, the White House, and various VIPs like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Madison. Each man got two copies.

This 1820s copy of the Declaration of Independence features a decorative diagonal mark through the "T" that does not appear to be in the original.

In time, both of Madison's copies vanished from view, and it is only now that one has surfaced, Kaller said in a recent interview. "There was no idea that it had survived," he said.

The fate of the second Madison copy, and over 100 of the others, is not publicly known, he said.

When the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, it sent a working manuscript, also now lost, to a local printer to set in type.

The printer produced several hundred printed copies for Congress and other officials the next day, Kaller wrote in a historical pamphlet.

On July 19, Congress ordered a handwritten, or "engrossed," copy made on calf skin, to be signed by the members.

The job went to Timothy Matlack, a congressional aide who was known for his superb penmanship.

This hallowed version now resides in the National Archives, so washed out that many signatures, including Thomas Jefferson's, are either gone or barely visible.

It is largely through the foresight of John Quincy Adams that excellent copies of the original - exact except for a few interesting tweaks - survive today.

Kaller wrote that by 1820, the original had been handled, rolled, unrolled and marred by the efforts of earlier engravers to make decorative copies. "Every one of the worst things that could have happened to the original" had happened, he said.

Virginia Military Institute surgeon Robert L. Madison in 1870. Madison was James Madison's favorite nephew, and had lived for a time in the White House when his uncle was president. Robert Madison was one of the first people to possess the copy of the Declaration of Independence.

John Quincy Adams gave it to Stone, and the engraver worked on copying it for about two years.

Kaller said he believes Stone likely first traced the original with tracing paper. He then used the tracing to hand-engrave an image of the Declaration on a copper plate, from which the facsimiles were then made.

But Stone may have made some minute textual changes, possibly to distinguish his copies from the original, Kaller wrote.

The ornate "T" in the "The" of the "The unanimous Declaration ..." seems to have been slightly altered. In the Stone copies, a decorative diagonal line runs through the "T." The line does not appear to be in the original.

In the original, there seems to be a heart-shaped flourish where the T is crossed that's omitted in the Stone copy.

And Stone added a tiny imprint across the top of the page,"ENGRAVEDed by W.I. STONE, for the Dept. of State, by order of J.Q. ADAMS, Sect. of State, July 4th. 1823."

Before the newly resurfaced copy was found, it had been kept in a cracked frame, wrapped up inside a cardboard box in Michael O'Mara's office outside Houston.

It had been there for 10 years, and before that it had been in his parents' house in Louisville when he was growing up.

His family had once had it framed and put on the mantel piece. His parents knew it had been passed down through his family from Madison. But in the 1960s it was considered "worthless," O'Mara said.

David Rubenstein
David Rubenstein now owns five of the rare Declaration of Independence copies made by William Stone.  (Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post)
When the frame cracked the document was taken down and stored in a bedroom closet.

"So for ... 35 years, it sat in a box, wrapped up, in a broken frame, in my mother's house," he said in a recent interview. "There was just not a lot of sentiment or value put on it. ... My mother couldn't have cared less about the family history."

The Declaration had been handed down to O'Mara's mother, Helen, who was the great-granddaughter of Col. Robert Lewis Madison Jr., a Civil War doctor who had served in the Confederate army and treated Robert E. Lee in the last years of Lee's life.

Research indicates that the physician had gotten the document from his father, Robert Lewis Madison Sr.

Madison Sr. was James Madison's favorite nephew, and had lived for a time in the White House when his uncle was president. He had likely received the document from President Madison.

Thus, the copy of the nation's founding declaration had passed through turbulent years of the country's evolution, including the war that almost destroyed the document's "united States of America."

O'Mara found in family papers a 1913 news article - the last known public mention of his Declaration - that told of its fate during the Civil War.

The family of Dr. Madison was then probably living in Lexington, Virginia, where the physician was a professor at the Virginia Military Institute before and during the war, according to VMI.

The clipping reported that the doctor's wife put the Declaration behind "the paper on the wall" to hide it from Union soldiers, should the house be searched.

In 1864, Union troops raided Lexington and burned VMI. But the Madison house apparently was unmolested, and the Declaration survived with only some moisture damage sustained while hidden.

O'Mara said that after his mother died in 2014, he began going through family papers. "I just happened to look over at this box, and I said, 'I've either got to put that in a frame and put it up in my office or I need to get rid of it if there's some historical value.'"

In 2016, his research led him to Rubenstein, who has purchased other historical documents, including Declaration copies. He emailed Rubenstein, who expressed interest.

The Declaration was authenticated, and then underwent conservation at the National Archives, O'Mara said.

"I agreed to buy it," Rubenstein said in a recent telephone interview, noting only that he had paid "seven figures" for it.

Madison, who was president from 1809 to 1817, had been a key player in the creation of the government. This was Madison's copy of the Declaration, and "when you look at it you can conjure up images of James Madison looking at it," Rubenstein said.

In 2014, Rubenstein announced the donation of $10 million to Montpelier, Madison's historic Orange, Virginia, home, for reconstruction, refurnishing and archaeology.

Madison's family occupied the plantation with its slaves for several generations, and he is buried there.

Co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a Washington-based global private-equity firm, Rubenstein said he now owns five of the William Stone Declaration copies.

Four have been lent out for display. This copy will be, too, he said, first to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

"Ultimately, they'll always be on display," he said.

Key piece of land at Battle of Brandywine approved for purchase

Key piece of land at battle of Brandywine approved for purchase

The map shows the location of the site acquired that will protect the Brandywine Battlefield. submitted photo

By Digital First Media
POSTED: 02/18/18, 7:37 PM EST

Chadds Ford >> Located in the heart of the historic Brandywine Battlefield, a 13-acre tract of land on Birmingham Hill has been approved for purchase by the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. This parcel of land is the final piece of the Brandywine’s 25-year endeavor to preserve more than 500 contiguous acres around Meetinghouse Road in Birmingham Township, where the fiercest fighting occurred during the Revolutionary War Battle of Brandywine.

Owned by the Estate of Mrs. Roberta Odell, the 13-acre tract on Birmingham Hill was near the epicenter of the Battle of Brandywine. Once purchased, this tract will be merged with an adjacent 100-acre property previously acquired by Brandywine in 2007, bringing the total Battlefield acreage permanently protected in Meetinghouse Road Corridor to over 500. This purchase will also bring fulfillment to the decades of work and major fundraising efforts to preserve the area as a contiguous whole, preventing development in the heart of one of the nation’s most important historic battlefields.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, the Brandywine identified five large, undeveloped and unprotected neighboring properties along and near Meetinghouse Road in Birmingham Township which included the sites where the most intense clashes of the Battle of Brandywine occurred. In order to protect this land from development, conservation easements were necessary to preserve the historic significance and scenic vistas of these Battlefield lands. By 2007, the Brandywine and its partners had raised more than $16 million in public and private funds to acquire the properties and/or place conservation easements with the landowners, resulting in the permanent protection of 485 acres of the Battlefield. The remaining 13-acre parcel on Birmingham Hill is the final piece of this major fundraising effort. David Shields, Associate Director of the Brandywine Conservancy, has been at the forefront of the effort to save the Battlefield and this land from development. “Piece by piece, and with the strong support of our major funders, our goal to protect the historic properties in the Battlefield’s Meetinghouse Road Corridor is nearing completion,” commented Shields. “This is a personally gratifying moment for me as I’ve been working on this project since its inception.”

“This is a key piece of land that the Brandywine has long sought to preserve in order to protect this historic site in honor of the battle and those who fought, and I’m pleased to see it finally coming to fruition,” said Ellen Ferretti, Director of the Brandywine Conservancy. “I want to thank David Shields and the many supporters who have previously contributed over $16 million to make the first phase of this effort possible. We look forward to the next chapter in preserving this piece of cultural heritage for future generations.”

Following the purchase and additional fundraising efforts, the Brandywine will develop a master plan for the combined properties. While the Brandywine is in the beginning stages of planning for the use and management of the entire Birmingham Hill property, the initial goals will be to preserve the property’s historic integrity; conserve existing natural resources; provide opportunities for public visitation; develop interpretative and educational programs; and seek out qualified partners to work with the Brandywine to help realize these goals.

The Battle of the Brandywine took place on Sept. 11, 1777. Success on the battlefield enabled the British to capture Philadelphia, beginning an occupation that would last until June 1778, while the Continental Army spent an arduous winter at Valley Forge. Starting from Kennett Square, British general Sir William Howe led half his army on a 12-mile march, crossing the Brandywine five miles north of Chadds Ford, and took a strategic position on the heights of Osborne Hill overlooking the Birmingham Friends Meeting House. The British were hoping to make a surprise assault on the rear of Washington’s Continental Army amassed at Chadds Ford. On Birmingham Hill and neighboring parcels, Continental forces hastily formed into battle lines to defend against the British forces attacking from the north. More troops fought in the Battle of Brandywine than in any other battle of the American Revolution. The battle lasted for 11 hours until darkness forced a halt. Both sides suffered heavy losses and while the Americans eventually retreated, they gained a new respect for their demonstrated resolve and discipline in battle. The Brandywine Battlefield is designated as both a National Historic Landmark and the first Commonwealth Treasure for its historic integrity and significance to America’s national history.

Deep Divide on Teaching about Slavery

Study Reveals Deep Shortcomings With How Schools Teach America’s History of Slavery
Southern Poverty Law Center’s recent report identifies key problems when it comes to educating students on slavery—and offers guidance on how to fix them
By Jason Daley
smithsonian.com 
February 7, 2018 4:12PM

Discussing difficult topics in a meaningful way with adolescents isn’t easy. But that’s the responsibility that comes with the job for history teachers. However, as Cory Turner at NPR reports, a new study from the Southern Poverty Law Center reveals that many classrooms are falling short in this regard, specifically when it comes to teaching about the United States’ history with slavery.

The recent report examined text books, state standards and received questionnaires from more than 1,700 K-12 history and social studies teachers. The SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance Project also administered a multiple-choice online survey about slavery to 1,000 high school seniors.

The findings revealed that only one-third of the respondents knew that the 13th Amendment ended slavery, less than half knew about the Middle Passage, and only eight percent answered that slavery was the primary reason the South seceded from the Union. (Nearly half the respondents selected, instead, “To protest taxes on imported goods.”)

The study zooms in on seven key problems when it comes to current state of teaching slavery in U.S. classrooms. Instead of learning about the horrors of slavery and the impact of slave labor on this country, it argues that textbooks and teachers have contributed to a sanitized understanding of history by focusing on “positive” stories about black leaders like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and the abolitionist movement.

The narrative is also skewed by an over-emphasis on the experiences of white people before and during the Civil War. Lessons that divorce slavery from the ideology of white supremacy, focus on slavery as a Southern institution and downplay slavery’s impact on the nation as a whole additionally contribute to a lack of understanding around the origins and impact of slavery in the U.S. As do teachers and textbooks that do not connect the legacy of slavery to later historical periods like Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Great Migration and the Civil Rights movement.

“Students are being deprived of the truth about our history [and] the materials that teachers have are not particularly good,” Maureen Costello, director of Teaching Tolerance, explains in an interview with Melinda D. Anderson at The Atlantic. “I would hope that students would look at this and realize that they deserve to know better … and teachers need to know there are better ways to teach this [topic].”

But it’s not just uncomfortable teachers that make the topics hard to discuss. Students are often resistant to the topic as well. “When you bring up racism, kids start getting really defensive, thinking that they’re to blame,” Jackie Katz, history teacher at Wellesley High School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, says in an interview with Turner. “To feel comfortable, you need to have a really good classroom climate, where students feel that they’re not being blamed for what happened in the American past, where they don’t feel shame about it. It is 100 percent not their fault that there is racism in this country. It will be their fault if they don’t do anything about it in the next 20 years.”

The study offers four recommendations for improving the quality of teaching of slavery in classrooms. One is to integrate lessons about slavery into all aspects of American history rather than studying it as an era that ended with the Civil War. It also suggests using more first-hand accounts and documents to represent the voices of those marginalized by history. Additionally, the study calls on textbooks to present more complex histories on the realities of slavery and for state curriculums to be strengthened to support such teachings.

“Teaching about slavery is hard,” the authors acknowledge in their report. “It requires often-difficult conversations about race and a deep understanding of American history.” However, they conclude, “Learning about slavery is essential if we are ever to come to grips with the racial differences that continue to divide our nation.”

To read read more: click here
 

Former POWs To Speak At Andersonville National Historic Site

National POW Museum at Andersonville

By NPT Staff on February 5th, 2018
        On Sunday, April 8, former POWs, veterans, and others will gather at Andersonville National Historic Site in Georgia to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the National Prisoner of War Museum. Featured speakers will include Seymour Lichtenfeld, held prisoner by Germany during World War II, and David Eberly, a former POW during Desert Storm. 
     Mr. Lichtenfeld served his country as a U.S. Army rifleman in both airborne and combat infantry units during World War II. During the Battle of the Bulge, his unit was surrounded. After three days, with no food or ammunition left, he was captured on December 19, 1944. He spent more than five months as a prisoner of war in Germany. He has been awarded the Combat Infantryman’s badge, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Prisoner of War Medal, World War II Battle of the Bulge Medal, European Theater of Operations Medal with three battle clusters, and many others. 
      Colonel (ret) Eberly was the senior-ranking Allied Prisoner of War in Baghdad during the Gulf War in 1991. He served as a U.S. Air Force airman and participated in the initial air strike into Iraq. On January 19, 1991, his Strike Eagle was shot down. After evading the enemy for three nights, he was captured and held prisoner for 43 days. He has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and many others. 
     On Sunday, April 8, the park will honor the sacrifices and service of Mr. Lichtenfeld, Colonel (ret) Eberly, and other former POWs and veterans. Activities begin at 1:30 p.m., when the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Ceremonial Band will perform. At 2 p.m., Mr. Lichtenfeld and Colonel (ret) Eberly will share their stories during a commemorative ceremony.
     Other planned activities include a performance by the Lee County High School Military Drill Team; a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) program; a military flyover; and display of a UH-1 Huey helicopter. All activities are free and open to the public. 
     Andersonville National Historic Site is located 10 miles south of Oglethorpe, Georgia, and 10 miles northeast of Americus, Georgia, on Georgia Highway 49. The national park features the National Prisoner of War Museum, Andersonville National Cemetery and the site of the  historic Civil War prison, Camp Sumter. Andersonville National Historic Site is the only national park within the National Park System to serve as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. Park grounds are open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The National Prisoner of War Museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily. Admission is free.

Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County - a Presentation

     The Citizens for the Restoration of Historical LaMott (Cheltenham Twp outside Philadelphia) invite you to attend a presentation by Dr Cheryl Gooch on "Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County." See photo below or click here for a pdf copy. 
     To be held Sunday February 25th at 3pm at 7420 Sycamore Ave in LaMott PA

Has the Cloatilda - the Last Known Slave Ship - been found??

A wreck found in Alabama may be the last American slave ship
By Brandon Griggs, CNN
Updated 7:08 AM ET, Thu January 25, 2018

Click here for original story
Click on this link for another version of the same story from Smithsonian.com

The aerial photo (above right) shows the remains of what may be the Clotilda, the last slave ship documented to have delivered captive Africans to the United States. The long spine is the ship's starboard side.

If experts' suspicions are correct, it's the long-lost wreck of the Clotilda -- the last known ship to bring enslaved Africans into the United States.
Its precise location has eluded archaeologists and historians since the vessel was burned in 1860 by slavers seeking to hide evidence of their illegal trafficking. But after the wreck was recently exposed by unusually low tides, AL.com reporter Ben Raines discovered its remains near Mobile and has taken the first step towards verifying its authenticity.
"We did not see anything on the site that would say it's not the Clotilda," said Gregory D. Cook, assistant professor of maritime archaeology at the University of West Florida. Raines brought Cook and several other experts to examine the wreck and all agreed that its remains match historical records of the ship.
"We think it's a very compelling possibility that the wreck could be the Clotilda, but we cannot positively identify it at this point," Cook told CNN.

Still, historians are excited at the prospect.
"It's frankly of world historical importance," said John Sledge, an architectural historian with the city of Mobile. "It's something that's been of great interest, both locally and nationally ... going back more than a century."

A dark journey
The Clotilda had a brief and wretched history.
By the mid-1800s importing slaves into the US had long been illegal, although some smugglers defied the law, especially in the South.
According to historical accounts, the Clotilda made its illicit journey after Timothy Meaher, a local plantation owner, made a bet that he could sneak slaves past federal officials and into the country.
He bought the two-masted schooner and paid a captain, William Foster, to sail it to West Africa and collect 110 slaves from what is now Benin. Foster ferried them back across the Atlantic to Mobile, where he smuggled the ship past authorities in 1860 under cover of darkness.
The captain then navigated the Clotilda up the Spanish River, transferred the slaves to a riverboat and burned the ship, sinking it.
Many of the ship's slaves, freed five years later at the end of the Civil War, settled a community north of downtown Mobile that became known as Africatown. Some descendants of the original slaves still live in the area.
"Any tangible evidence related to the period of slavery in the United States carries a powerful meaning for many people, so if this was the last ship to transport enslaved Africans to this country, that would be a pretty huge discovery symbolically," said Cook, the archaeology professor.
Cook said that if the wreck is proven to be the Clotilda, the descendants of its slaves would be consulted on decisions about its future.
"This would have obvious impacts on them, and we would work with them to get a sense of their feelings, what they would like to see occur with the site, and have them involved in the research as much as they would like to be," he said.

Digging for proof
The wreck is partially buried and not much to look at -- a long wooden spine with some planks and iron spikes lying nearby. It's accessible only by boat and lies alongside a marshy island in the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, some 12 miles north of Mobile.
It sat underwater before being exposed by extreme low tides caused by the wintry "bomb cyclone" storm system that hammered the Eastern US this winter.
Preliminary evidence suggests it could be the Clotilda. Cook said its type of hull construction matches ships built in the mid-19th century, and the remains of the hull show signs of being burned. And according to Raines its location in the delta is consistent with the one described in Foster's journals. (He's not revealing the wreck's precise location to preserve its integrity and discourage looters.)
For proof, however, archaeologists would likely need to excavate the wreck and examine the contents of its hold for such items as ceramics, which could help pinpoint the time period, or shackles, which could help confirm its use as a slave ship.
Any digging would require state and possibly federal permits.
"We just won't know until we investigate," Cook said.
Sledge, the Mobile historian, hopes confirming the ship's identity will help bring some closure to descendants of its Africatown neighborhood.
"The Clotilda has been the missing piece of that story," he said.

"Abraham Lincoln: Philosopher Statesman” with Dr. Joseph Fornieri

Saturday, February 10, 1:00 p.m.: 
Abraham Lincoln Birthday Celebration
featuring “Abraham Lincoln: Philosopher Statesman” 
Lecture/Book Signing with Dr. Joseph Fornieri
at the Lehigh County Historical Society
432 W Walnut Street
Allentown, PA  18102
Come celebrate Lincoln’s birthday with a taste of his favorite cake, and learn more about his life and political greatness.  Leading Lincoln scholar Dr. Joseph Fornieri will explore how Lincoln's greatness of thought, speech, and deed made him a true Philosopher Statesman. FREE to members; non-members $8 adults, $3 children.

CLICK HERE FOR A PDF POSTER OF THE EVENT

Clara Barton (as suggested by a student)

The following post was suggested by a school student who found the research page of our website to be helpful for a school project. We hope she (and others) continue to learn from history: past, present and future! Keep on learning, Rebecca!
________________________________________________________________________

All About Clara Barton
Clara Barton is a famous teacher, nurse, and humanitarian. She is considered to be one of the most famous nurses of the Civil War but is most recognized for establishing the American Red Cross. Because she was able to do more than many women were allowed to do at the time, Barton is also a role model for many girls and women.

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in Massachusetts on Christmas in 1921. She was the youngest of five children, and she was a very shy girl, but she had a very close relationship with her four older siblings. During her childhood, her father often told her war stories, which gave her a sense of pride in her country and helped teach her the importance of being prepared. She also developed an interest in caring for others, which began when she had to take care of one of her brothers after he fell off of a roof and severely injured himself. She was not accused of abuse at a nursing home.

Barton's Role as an Educator

Barton's shyness was a big problem when she was young. Her parents believed that teaching would help her get over her shyness. Because she liked helping people, they also thought that she would make a very good teacher. She began teaching in Massachusetts when she was nearly 17 years old, and she was very good at it. During her time as a teacher, she became more confident, and she did very well with students. Her teaching style made even the most difficult children enjoy learning.

In 1850, she moved to New York to further her education, and after, she went to teach in New Jersey. Because there were no free public schools in New Jersey, Barton opened her own small school in Bordentown. As her school became more popular, Bordentown decided that it should be made larger. When the new school opened, officials decided that Barton should no longer be in charge because she was a woman. They hired a man to replace her, and they paid him more for the job. This angered Barton, who later resigned from the school entirely.

Barton's Role During the Civil War

When the Civil War started, Barton lived in Washington, D.C., where she worked at the U.S. Patent Office. After the Baltimore riot of 1861, she assisted injured soldiers, and she recognized some of the men as former students and other people that she knew. She also saw that there were not enough supplies to care for the injured soldiers. To help fix this problem, she encouraged friends in every place where she had lived to gather supplies such as medicine, food, blankets, and clothing for the soldiers. This support network became very important for Union soldiers and played a huge role in getting them aid when their supplies ran out or were low. She would travel by carriage and deliver supplies to field hospitals herself and was even given approval to travel to some battlefields. This was surprising to many people, as women did not normally travel to battlefields or field hospitals alone. Even though she mainly delivered supplies, she would also act as a nurse at times. When she could, she and other nurses would assist with medical care and provide comfort and food to the injured. Her actions earned her the nickname "Angel of the Battlefield."

As the Civil War came to an end, Barton's desire to help continued. Families who were missing sons, husbands, and fathers needed help finding out what happened to them. With the support of President Abraham Lincoln, she started the Missing Soldiers Office. This new organization was able to get information about more than 20,000 missing men.

Barton and the Red Cross

The Civil War and her search for missing soldiers had a negative effect on Barton's health, and her doctors advised her to travel and relax. In 1869, she traveled to Europe, and while in Switzerland, she learned about the International Red Cross. Impressed, Barton began working with the International Red Cross to deliver supplies during the Franco-Prussian War. In 1873, she returned to the U.S., where she worked to establish a Red Cross in the United States. After a lengthy fight, she succeeded in 1881. At the age of 60, she became the first president of the American Red Cross, a position she held for 23 years.
Source

Why Doesn’t Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker?

Why Doesn’t Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker?

A new campaign by historians seeks to bring recognition to the site where the 20th president was shot

By Jason Daley
January 25, 2018
Published in the Smithsonian.com

Yesterday, a tiny ripple made its way through the feeds of history geeks on Twitter. The James Garfield National Historic Site announced that it was working with historians, filmmakers, authors and other interested parties in placing a marker at the site where President James Garfield was assassinated in 1881. He is the only assassinated U.S. president without a marker at the site he was shot.

So why is there no marker for Garfield, 137 years after his murder? One reason might be his short term in office. Evan Andrews at History.com reports that after he was sworn in, Garfield clashed with fellow Republicans in Congress and cared for his wife, Lucretia, who was fighting a life-threatening bout of malaria. But the 20th president only served four months in the White House before he was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac rail station on July 2, 1881.

The other barrier to placing a marker at the site is the fact that the Baltimore and Potomac rail station, where the assassination took place, was torn down in 1908. According to Richard Brownell at WETA’s Boundary Stones, the rail station was built on Constitution Avenue, then B street, and 6th Street NW in 1873. While the station itself was rather beautiful, Washingtonians always hated the train shed that extended out from the station. Garfield’s murder at the site, of course, cast its own pall over the station. By 1901, plans were afoot to tear down the station during a large-scale renovation of the National Mall. In 1908, it finally came down and the tracks were dug up. The National Gallery of Art was opened on the site in 1941, covering the spot where a marker of the assassination might be placed.

The J.A. Garfield National Historic Site, which operates Garfield’s home and farm in Mentor, Ohio, is now looking at sites around the National Gallery of Art to place the marker.

The story of Garfield’s death is something of a potboiler. Garfield, a former Union General and Congressman from Ohio, was hoping to take a break from the D.C. heat with a visit to New England in July of 1881. As his carriage pulled up to the train station, a 39-year-old man by the name of Charles Guiteau was lying in wait, armed with an ivory handled pistol he thought would look nice in a museum one day and a note addressed to the White House. Upon seeing the president, Guiteau opened fire, shooting two point blank shots at the president, one which grazed his elbow and the other, which lodged itself in his lower back.

What was Guiteau’s motivation? Gilbert King at Smithsonian.com reports that Guiteau was a “mentally unstable 41-year-old lawyer [who] had stalked Garfield for months before shooting him.” After giving a few small local speeches supporting Garfield during the election, Guiteau became convinced that he was responsible for the president’s victory. He began writing to Garfield and moved from Chicago to Washington. He even received a meeting with the president where he asked for a post in Paris. His request was rebuffed. Later, he said he was lying in bed one night when God told him to kill the president so that Vice President Chester A. Arthur could return the country to Republican principals and save America. He considered killing the president using dynamite or a stiletto before settling on a revolver. Several times, he had opportunity to take Garfield’s life but held off, fearing he might hit his children or the first lady. One time, he followed the president to the secretary of state’s home, but lost his nerve when he had a clear shot. Finally, that morning at the train station he felt emboldened and brandished his weapon.

Garfield did not die immediately after being shot. In fact, he lingered, in agony, for 80 days. Researchers believe that today Garfield would have survived the assassination attempt, but because doctors of the day were unaware of sterilization practices, they likely created a deadly infection by poking and prodding the wound. By September, the president had a major infection and abscesses all over his body. A special railroad spur line was built directly to the White House, so that Garfield could be transferred by rail car to Long Branch, New Jersey, to take in the sea air. It did not help his condition. He died on September 19, 1881.

Guiteau was convicted and hanged in 1882. Portions of his brain are held in Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum. And what became of the Guiteau’s museum-quality revolver? A black-and-white Smithsonian file photo of it exists, but the weapon itself has been lost to history.

Read the entire article by clicking this link

Photos below: 
LEFT: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1873, demolished in 1908.   RIGHT: View of the Constitution Avenue entrance, north side, of the National Gallery of Art. (Public Domain/Smithsonian Archives)