Celebrating Women In History: Clara Barton And Tampa

Tampa FL

08 March, 2022

2:34 PM

Description

BY TOM MORTENSON — March is Women's History Month, and it is imperative that we identify the contributions women have made to our country. Women have been shaping America's future from before we were a Nation. One such woman was Clara Barton and her unique relationship to Tampa that is worth telling. Next time you drive down Bayshore Blvd, heading south, near the overhead bridges going to Davis Island you can discover on the right-hand side, a free-standing historical marker dedicated to Clara Barton. The founder of the American Red Cross. You may find this strange, but the inscription explains exactly her connection with Tampa. It reads: Clarissa 'Clara' Harlowe Barton traveled through Tampa, in 1898, on her way to and from Cuba during the Spanish American War. Barton often stayed at the home of J. Mack Towne, which was located just north of this marker at 350 Plant Avenue. There she established a headquarters for the American Red Cross to coordinate relief efforts during the war. In early 1895, the Cuban war for liberty began as the result of the demands by Cuban patriots for independence from Spanish rule. News of the Cuban peasants' struggle against Spanish oppression aroused American sympathy to their cause. In 1898, at the age of 77, Barton obtained permission to travel to Cuba to ease the suffering of Cuban civilians against the Spanish Reconcentration. On April 25, 1898, the United States government declared war on Spain due, in part, to America's support of the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule and the mysterious explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor. Barton waited here, at the Red Cross headquarters, while soldiers assembled in Tampa before embarking to Cuba. While in Tampa, her nurses received intensive emergency medical training. Barton followed the military to Cuba bringing nurses and supplies. This was the first time the Red Cross assisted the U.S. military. During the conflict, Barton and the American Red Cross brought relief to Cuban civilians and both American and Spanish soldiers. On August 12, 1898, Spain surrendered, bringing an end to the Spanish American War. Barton left Cuba on September 10, 1898, passing through Tampa one last time. (Retrieved 9 March 2022 from https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=156548) To honor Clara Barton for her many contributions to the nation and to the Tampa community, the Tampa Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) unveiled the Clara Barton Historical Marker on Saturday, December 15, 2018, and is placed at 217 Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, Florida. Toward the end of the Civil War, Clara Barton was asked by President Lincoln to set up a Missing Soldiers Office to help families come together again by identifying 22,000 men. She went on to establish a national cemetery for the 13,000 Union men who died in the notorious Andersonville Prison. Barton was an active supporter of women suffrage (active with Susan B. Anthony and others), civil rights, and known as the founder of the American Red Cross. Barton's efforts have had an incredible and lasting impact on the America and the world. Next time you are on Bayshore Blvd, driving South, look to your right at the historical marker and remember the impact one woman can make.