Clara Harlowe Barton (1821 – 1912)

Clara Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912), nicknamed "Angel of the Battlefield," was a Union nurse during the American Civil War. Also a teacher and patent clerk, Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work when relatively few women worked outside the home in that era. She nursed the wounded at Antietam and at Virginia battlefields; helped identify and mark graves at Andersonville prison; and later founded the American Red Cross.

The 20¢ stamped card is one of the twenty cards corresponding to the twenty 32¢ American Civil War stamps issued at Gettysburg, PA on June 29, 1995. It was sent to France as US-4015356.

Battle of Shiloh Ends

The stamped card with a 20¢ postage, depicting the Battle of Shiloh that ended on April 7, 1862, is one of the twenty cards corresponding to the twenty 32¢ American Civil War stamps issued at Gettysburg, PA on June 29, 1995.

The stamp set has 16 individual portraits and four battle scenes, chosen from a master list of 50 subjects including Presidents, generals, major battles, rank-and-file soldiers, women, African and Native Americans, and abolitionists. With those stamps, USPS intended to show the wide variety of people who participated in the Civil War.

Battle of Shiloh, named after a church on the battlefield, was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Ironically Shiloh means “place of peace.” Confederates surprised General Ulysses S. Grant at Pittsburg Landing, TN, but lost General A. S. Johnston. Union counterattack at Shiloh Church forced the Southerners to withdraw. After this pivotal battle, it left Union armies in control of the central Mississippi River and large areas of western territories.

Casualties: 13,050 Union, 10,700 Confederate.

International Workers' Day

International Workers' Day, celebrated on May 1, is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Also known as Labor Day in many countries, it was related in the labor union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement that advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest in one day. In Canada and the United States, it is celebrated on the first Monday of September, marking the end of the summer holiday when most students return to school.

The featured postcard was purchased from the National Geographic store at zazzle.com, showing construction workers on beams at the top of the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas. Copyright: Paul Chesley / National Geographic Stock.

A View from the top of the Stratosphere Tower