Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

After working on battlefields and in hospitals of the Civil War, Clara Barton found a new calling in the early months of 1865. She became keenly aware of the need to provide information to the families of missing Union soldiers. In response, she endeavored to open a Missing Soldiers Office to offer this invaluable service to grieving families.

After opening an office on the third floor of her boardinghouse on 7^th Street in Washington, Barton received thousands of letters from relatives looking for lost loved ones. Over three years, the office received more than 60,000 inquiries for information about missing soldiers, sometimes more than 150 letters in a single day. She and a team of clerks compiled lists of names to publish five separate “Rolls of Missing Men” in newspapers across the country. When Barton closed the Missing Soldiers Office after 1868, she and her team had accomplished a tremendous feat.  Their work had revealed the whereabouts of more than 22,000 missing soldiers, providing closure for families devastated by the loss of their loved ones.

The Missing Soldiers Office marks an important transition in Barton’s humanitarian career. She no longer wanted for organizational support to provide humanitarian aid. In her third floor office, she practiced the art of administration and organization with a devoted team of workers, backed by enthusiastic donors. These skills, combined with a reputation built during her national speaking tour, put Clara Barton on the path toward becoming the nation’s foremost humanitarian and founder of the American Red Cross.

Visit the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum and discover together how Clara Barton, her friends, and her colleagues pulled together to make a difference on the battlefield and in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Walk-in visitors welcome anytime during operating hours; group tours available by reservation.