Memorial to American Red Cross founder Clara Barton dedicated in Hagerstown

Dozens of people, including nurses and American Red Cross volunteers, attended a dedication ceremony Tuesday for the new Clara Barton Memorial along the Hagerstown Cultural Trail.

The base of the sculpture notes that Barton was known for being the "Angel of the Battlefield." She aided injured soldiers during the Civil War's Battle of Antietam in southern Washington County and later founded the American Red Cross.

The memorial was unveiled Tuesday, during National Nurses Week, near Park Circle in Hagerstown.

Renowned sculptor Toby Mendez, a Washington County resident, created the bronze sculpture that depicts Barton giving aid to an injured soldier.

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Clara Barton's role at the Battle of Antietam

Mendez told the crowd that days before the Battle of Antietam, Barton received a note that simply said "Harpers Ferry," then in Virginia, according to a video of the ceremony the City of Hagerstown posted on Facebook.

Barton got permission from the Army to follow soldiers and be on the battlefield during fighting so she could aid wounded soldiers, according to presenters.

Barton rode a wagon to Urbana and got word the fighting was near Boonsboro, so she headed that way, Mendez said. She arrived in the area, having bypassed a Union caravan, with medical supplies, food and lanterns for surgeons to continue their work at night.

She arrived as the surgeons had run out of bandages and were instead using corn husks, Mendez said. Images of corn husks and corn stalks are on the ground in the sculpture to symbolize Barton bringing bandages, he said.

What else do we know about Clara Barton?

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in Oxford, Mass., on Christmas Day in 1821, said speaker Stacy McFarland, executive director of the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

She excelled in school and, as a youngster, served as nurse for her brother, McFarland said.

Barton secured public education for children while a teacher, advocated in the 1800s for equal pay for women, cared for wounded soldiers on Civil War battlefields and established a national office to help families locate missing Civil War soldiers.

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She put her job in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C., on hold when the Civil War began so she could volunteer to provide nursing care and deliver supplies to battlefields and field hospitals, said Erica Mani, CEO of the American Red Cross' Appalachian Region.

After the war, Barton went to Europe for rest and ended up meeting with representatives of the International Red Cross who inspired her to found the American Red Cross in 1881, Mani said.

She also advocated for the U.S. government to sign the Treaty of Geneva in 1882.

Why is the Clara Barton Memorial in Hagerstown?

Al Martin, a member of the memorial committee, said via phone Wednesday that National Park Service regulations don't allow new monuments on their property.

Antietam National Battlefield, scene of the Battle of Antietam where Barton aided wounded soldiers, is about 12 miles south of Hagerstown.

A local group has been hoping to establish a memorial to Barton for decades, Martin said. Since Hagerstown is the county seat, the memorial was set along the city's Cultural Trail.

Because of Mendez's reputation, having him attached to the project gave it "tremendous credibility," Martin said.

How was the memorial paid for?

More than $750,000 was raised for the memorial, so it is fully paid, Martin said. However, fundraising continues to establish an endowment through the Community Foundation of Washington County to pay for future maintenance of the memorial.

Among the contributors to the memorial are the city, which provided the land for the memorial. Other sizable donations included $50,000 each from Washington County government and Visit Hagerstown, through hotel/motel-room tax revenue, and a $65,000 grant through the Heritage Area, which includes the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area.

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A state bond bill secured $250,000 for the project, Martin said.

Other contributors include Jan Rinehart; Howard Kaylor and his late wife, Anne; the Nora Roberts Foundation; WellSpan Health; Meritus Health; the Groh Family Foundation; the Delaplaine Foundation; the Irving M. Einbinder Charitable Foundation; the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Washington County Arts Council.