'This is a great story': Hagerstown, sculptor, finalizing plans for Clara Barton tribute

Work is progressing on the establishment of a memorial in Hagerstown honoring Clara Barton, known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" who came to the aid of injured soldiers during the Civil War Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg 160 years ago.

Plans for the memorial along the Hagerstown Cultural Trail near Park Circle include a bronze sculpture of Barton giving aid to a soldier.

Its creator, Toby Mendez, is scheduled to appear 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Newcomer House at 18422 Shepherdstown Pike near Sharpsburg to show a model of the sculpture and talk about the project. Mendez's appearance is one of a number events happening at Antietam National Battlefield this weekend to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the Sept. 17, 1862, battle.

The sculpture will add to a collection of public art already in place along the trail, which extends from Hagerstown City Park toward Washington Street in the center of town. The trail is part of a downtown revitalization made up of private and public investment.

When will the memorial be completed ?

Al Martin is chairman of a Clara Barton Memorial Committee, which is working to raise money for the memorial.

Although Martin said earlier this year that his group was raising $550,000 to establish it, he said in a phone interview this week that the fundraising goal is now $635,000. He estimated more than three-quarters of the money has been raised.

He hopes a groundbreaking will occur next spring followed by a dedication of the finished project in the fall.

Story background:City leaders consider memorial in honor of first nurse allowed on Civil War battlefield

Mendez has designed memorials around the country and in Hagerstown, he created a bronze sculpture of Thomas Kennedy on East Baltimore Street. Kennedy was a Washington County state lawmaker in the 1800s who successfully pushed for a law allowing Jews to hold public office in Maryland.

Mendez said earlier this week that it's been rewarding working on the memorial to Barton, especially since her work led to modern-day first responders such as emergency medical technicians. And Barton's story is one a lot of people don't know about, he said.

"Storytelling is really kind of why I do this, and this is a great story," Mendez said.

After an early career in teaching in the 1800s, Barton moved to Washington, D.C., and was one of the first women to work for the federal government. When the Civil War broke out, Barton became known for aiding wounded soldiers and earned the nickname "Angel of the Battlefield."

More:City Council to vote on two agreements to establish Clara Barton sculpture along trail

Two days before the Battle of Antietam, Barton "got a tip something was going on" in Washington County, Mendez said. She loaded up medical supplies and a team to help her and headed west. She caught up to a Union caravan along the way and made her way to Hagerstown and onto the battlefield near Sharpsburg, the first time she had given aid "under fire," according to Mendez.

Surgeons were already out of bandages by the time Barton arrived and were using corn husks to mend wounds. So her supply of bandages, medicine and food were a welcome sight. And she brought along lanterns so surgeons could work through the night after the battle, Mendez said.

Barton's work to aid soldiers during the war led to her establishment of the American Red Cross, which today helps individuals deal with disaster.

Why was Hagerstown picked for the sculpture ?

Currently, Mendez said there seems to be little interest in establishing new memorials on National Park Service properties like Antietam. And since Hagerstown is the county seat of Washington County, he believes the city is an appropriate place to honor Barton with the memorial, the only one of its kind he knows of in the U.S.

A group of Barbara Ingram School for the Arts students worked with Mendez on the sculpture earlier this year and joined him on a trip to Philadelphia to see the foundry where it will be cast.

Mendez said the sculpture will be nearly twice-life-sized, and unlike other sculptures of Civil War-era nurses, Barton is looking right at onlookers instead of down at the soldier.

"It really is a very moving piece," Martin said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Clara Barton sculpture for Hagerstown planned on walking trail