April 12, 1861
Civil War begins with the firing on Ft. Sumter, South Carolina.
April 19, 1861
Riots, Baltimore, Maryland.
En route to defend the nation's capital, the 6th Massachusetts Infantry is attacked by mobs of southern-sympathizing Baltimoreans as the soldiers walk across town between train stations. They arrive in Washington, D.C. beaten and with several members of their regiment dead. Miss Barton finds them temporarily quartered in the Senate Chamber of the U. S. Capitol and provides supplies from her own household for their comfort. An overwhelming response to her request for additional supplies for the troops marks the start of her legacy as one who receives, stores, and distributes supplies during the Civil War.
July 21, 1861
Battle of First Manassas (Bull Run), Virginia.
Miss Barton attends Federal wounded as they arrive in Washington, D.C. Establishes a distribution agency after receiving additional supplies following an advertisement in the Worcester (Massachusetts) Spy.
1862
Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman, publishes an account of an 1859 battle between French and Austrian forces near Solferino, Italy. In Un Souvenir de Solferino, he outlines a need for wartime relief societies. Clara Barton is unaware of this publication.
March 21, 1862
Father, Stephen Barton, dies in North Oxford, Massachusetts after inspiring Clara Barton toward patriotic support for the country.
August 3, 1862
Gains official permission to transport supplies to battlefields.
August 9, 1862
Battle of Cedar Mountain (Culpepper), Virginia.
This is the first documented battle at which Clara Barton serves on the field. Arriving on August 13, she spends two days and nights tending the wounded. Before leaving, she also provides assistance at a field hospital for Confederate prisoners.
August 28-30, 1862
Battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run), Virginia.
September 1, 1862
Battle of Chantilly, Virginia.
Arriving at Fairfax Station after the battles, Miss Barton tends the wounded and prepares the injured for train evacuation to Washington, D.C.
September 14, 1862
Battle of South Mountain, Maryland.
Aids wounded at battles near Harper's Ferry, Virginia (West Virginia) and South Mountain.
September 17, 1862
Battle of Antietam, Maryland.
Miss Barton and her wagons arrive on the field with the Army of the Potomac prior to the battle. She provides surgeons with desperately needed medical supplies. During the battle she is nearly killed when a bullet passes through the sleeve of her dress, killing the wounded man she is attending. Although lacking medical training, at the insistence of a wounded soldier she extracts a bullet from his cheek, using her pocket knife. Working for several days following the conflict, Miss Barton is weakened by typhoid fever.
Sept. - Nov. 1862
Travels with the Army of the Potomac as it pursues the retreating Confederates into Virginia. Provides aid to the wounded at several minor skirmishes, and accompanies patients to hospitals in Washington, D.C.
December 13, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Miss Barton assists in a divisional hospital of the IX Corps, which is established at the Lacy House (Chatham). She remains in the field through most of the month, following the rout of the Federal Army.
April 1863
Arrives at Hilton Head, South Carolina in preparation for the anticipated bombardment of Charleston. Joins brother, Captain David Barton, an Army Quartermaster and fifteen year old nephew, Steven E. Barton, serving in the military telegraph office. Meets and befriends Colonel John J. Elwell.
May 1863
Meets Frances D. Gage and assists in the care and education of former slaves and freedmen. Miss Barton develops an interest in the growing cause for equal rights among women and African-Americans.
August 10 - 11, 1863
Siege of Ft. Wagner, South Carolina.
Miss Barton helps to establish field hospitals and distributes supplies following the failed assaults.
January - May, 1864
Returns to Washington, D.C. to collect supplies and to recuperate.
May 1864
Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House near Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Arranges for the opening of private homes for the care of wounded, with the assistance of Senator Henry Wilson, Chairman of the Military Affairs Committee.
June 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia.
Fredericksburg continues to be an important hospital and logistical center for the Federal Army, as wounded pour in from the overland campaigns toward Richmond.
June 23, 1864
Miss Barton is placed in charge of diet and nursing at a X Corps Hospital near Point of Rocks, Virginia, appointed by Army of the James Commander Major General Benjamin F. Butler. The "flying hospital" serves the wounded in the almost daily fighting outside Petersburg.
August 1864
The first Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded in Armies in the Field is held in Geneva, Switzerland, establishing the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Clara Barton is unaware of this event and the United States does not join the organization.
January - March 10, 1865
Cares for dying brother, Stephen Barton.
March 1865
With the assistance of Senator Wilson, wins the approval of President Abraham Lincoln to address the problem of large numbers of missing soldiers. By authority of the President, establishes the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army on March 11. Recognition by the War Department follows two months later. Directs four year search for missing men.
April 9, 1865
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, signalling the end of the Civil War.
Summer 1865
Andersonville Prison, Georgia.
Aided largely by records kept by prison survivor Dorance Atwater, Miss Barton helps to locate and mark the graves of the nearly 13,000 Federal soldiers who died in captivity there. She raises the U. S. Flag at the dedication of Andersonville National Cemetery, August 17.
February 21, 1866
Testifies during the 39th Congress concerning her experiences and observations while working in Andersonville, Georgia. Her testimony is recorded in the Reports of the Committees of the House of Representatives.
March 10, 1866
The U. S. Congress appropriates $15,000 to reimburse Miss Barton for expenses associated with her search for missing men.
1866 - 1868
Delivers over 200 lectures throughout the northeast and midwest, telling of her Civil War experiences. Shares the platform with such prominent figures as Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison and Mark Twain. At times, she will earn $75 to $100 per lecture.
November 30, 1867
Meets Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The resulting friendships align Miss Barton with the suffrage movement.
December 1868
Loses voice while delivering a speech, due to fatigue and mental prostration.
1869
Closes the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army, having received and answered 63,182 letters and identified 22,000 missing men.
Forward to Clara Barton Chronology 1870 - 1912
Back to Clara Barton Chronology 1821 - 1860
