Clara H. Barton (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Clara H. Barton
Founder of the American Red Cross

Here at Fairfax Station in early Sept. 1862, after the Second Battle of Manassas and the action near Chantilly, Clara Barton ministered to the suffering. By her humane and tireless efforts this Angel of the Battlefield helped move over 3000 wounded soldiers to safety.

Erected 1961 by Fairfax County Chapter, American National Red Cross.


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Here follows an excerpt about Clara Barton from the Saint Mary's Catholic Church website:

It was not long after the dedication that the clouds of war appeared on the Virginia landscape. Given the church’s important location on the main road from Fairfax Courthouse to the depot of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad (now Fairfax Station), the area, with St. Mary’s as an identifying point, quickly became an important objective for both Northern and Southern armies vying to dominate the railroads in the area. At the outbreak of the war, Confederate forces were positioned in the area surrounding St. Mary’s. The Union Army controlled the railroad out to Burke while the Confederate Army controlled the Manassas area. Therefore, the land in between, where St. Mary’s stood, was the scene of frequent, violent skirmishes.

In 1862, President Lincoln created the Army of Virginia. The Southern forces, under Generals Lee, Longstreet and Jackson sensed an opportunity to threaten Washington, D.C. Lee’s army met the Army of Virginia commanded by General Pope at the Battle of Second Manassas on August 28-30, 1862. This was called the Battle of Second Manassas or the Second Battle of Bull Run, depending on whether you are a Southerner or a Northerner. Casualties in the three-day battle were horrendous: Pope’s ill-lead army suffered 14,462 killed, wounded or missing, Lee’s forces 9,474.

As the Union Army withdrew before Lee’s troops, a field hospital was moved to St. Mary’s. The wounded were laid out on the Church’s hill, many on pews taken from the church. They awaited the unloading of food and ammunition from the trains in the railroad yard nearby, so they could be placed on trains going east to Alexandria.

Clara Barton had arrived from Alexandria on one of these trains. She was a clerk at the Government Patent Office who had gathered a group of volunteers to tend to the wounded and dying. She nursed the wounded for three days and nights as heavy rains fell and doctors operated in the only dry place available, the church. Many soldiers died and were buried in the churchyard. Although 20,000 Confederate soldiers began the push toward Fairfax Station, Miss Barton, her volunteers and the doctors remained until the last of the wounded were evacuated. She watched from the windows of the last train as the Confederate Soldiers captured Fairfax Station and set fire to the depot. As a result of her experiences at Fairfax Station, she devised a plan to establish a civilian society, which became the American Red Cross. A plaque honoring her heroism sits on the Route 123 side of the church grounds.

After the Second Battle of Manassas, there were many skirmishes in Fairfax. Finally, the Union Army took and rebuilt Fairfax Station in 1864. However, John S. Mosby and his Rangers continually harassed the Union forces in the area.


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