During the Civil War, the railroad and the station were of great strategic importance. Serving first as a supply base for Union forces during the summer of 1862, Fairfax Station became a center for emergency treatment and transportation of the wounded to Alexandria.

Clara Barton and two other volunteers broke convention and cut through regulations to nurse many of the over 3,000 wounded Union soldiers who lay on the hill between historic St. Mary's Church and the depot. Barton, deserted by the other two women when the increasing danger at Chantilly became apparent, finally escaped with the last of the wounded before advancing Confederate soldiers burned the station to the ground. Union troops later rebuilt the structure.

Clara Barton was later instrumental in the founding of the American Red Cross

Learn more about Clara Barton

• Clara Barton - American Civil War Women

• Clara Barton - An American Humanitarian

• Clara Barton - Angel of the Battlefield

• Clara Barton - Biography

• Clara Barton - the National Historic Site

• Red Cross Museeum

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