With First Lady Caroline Scott Harrison on Her Deathbed, Clara Barton Writes Her: “May the God who preserved his life during those days of carnage restore you to perfect health”

Acquired by us directly from the descendants of the Harrisons, this letter has never previously been offered for sale

Clara Barton first came to public attention for her nursing efforts during the Civil War. She learned about the Red Cross movement while working briefly as a Red Cross volunteer in Europe during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. After returning to the United States, she focused her attention on the formation of an American Red Cross organization. It took eleven years of work, but in 1881 the organization was formed and Barton was elected its first president. Its purposes were to secure the adoption of the Geneva Convention by the United States, to obtain for itself a charter from the U.S. government, and to organize a system of national relief to mitigate the suffering caused by war, pestilence, famine and other calamities.

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was an organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, Navy, Marines and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service who served in the Civil War.  They assembled each year in Washington to commemorate the victory, see each other again, and reminisce about old times. President Harrison, of course, having fought in the war, was a member of the organization, and was so while serving as President.

On September 20, 1892, the GAR planned to gather for a grand reunion. President Harrison would of course attend. Barton would be there as head of the Woman’s Relief Corps, an auxiliary to the GAR.  She was Chair as well of the Ladies Citizens Committee of that organization; the First Lady was on their Advisory Committee.

In the winter of 1891-1892, while she tried to fulfill her social obligations, First Lady Caroline Harrison was frequently ill with bouts of bronchial infections. In March 1892 she developed catarrhal pneumonia, followed by hemorrhages of the lungs. Her doctors diagnosed her condition as tuberculosis, which at the time had no known cure or treatment. Benjamin was at Caroline’s bedside helping with the nursing care at every moment he could be, considering his obligations as President and that he was in the midst of a reelection campaign. The First Lady suffered a setback in September at the same time as the DAR reunion in DC, and was too ill to attend.

Letter signed, from Barton to Caroline Scott Harrison, after the encampment so late September or early October 1892, with the original envelope.  “Dear Madam, The Ladies Citizens Committee desire to present to you the accompanying souvenir of the recent unprecedented gathering of the Union Veterans and their friends at the National Capital. We trust you will accept this token of our esteem not only as a member of the Advisory Committee but as the wife of our President.  May the God who preserved his life during those days of carnage restore you to perfect health and enable you to wear this, our memento of respect, at many succeeding reunions.  Clara Barton.” That momento is, alas, not present.

Caroline Scott Harrison continued to decline and died on Tuesday, October 25, 1892, in the White House at the age of 60. The souvenir Barton enclosed may have been the last gift she ever received.

We acquired this letter directly from the Benjamin and Caroline Scott Harrison descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale.