Pocket Knife and Case
This knife and case was probably used by Clara Barton and her staff at Glen Echo. Earlier, during the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, Barton performed her first field surgery. She extracted a bullet from the face of a wounded soldier using a similar pocket knife and another wounded man to hold the patient still. She later stated, “I do not think a surgeon would have pronounced it a scientific operation, but that it was successful I dared to hope from the gratitude of the patient.”
Pocket Knife
c 1900-1925
Silver. L 13.9 (Open), 8.1 (Closed), W 1.4 cm
Clara Barton National Historic Site, CLBA 1047
Pocket Knife Case
1900-1925
Leather, Silk. L 9.5, W 2.7, H 1.4 cm
Clara Barton National Historic Site, CLBA 1048
