During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Clara Barton and other independent relief workers worked under flags such as this one, providing aid to civilian victims of the war.
Franco-Prussian War - 1870-1871
The American Ambulance Service, a forerunner of the American Red Cross Motor Corps and Ambulance Service, flew this flag throughout the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. Mr. Henry de Geofrey, a relative of the original owner, Dr. Joseph Karrick Riggs, donated this flag to the American Red Cross in 1947. Dr. Riggs, a member of the Riggs banking family, received his medical education in the United States and moved to France in 1866. When the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870, Dr. Riggs joined the American Ambulance Service and served throughout the siege. Clara Barton traveled to Europe and in Strasborg, France, encountered the Franco-Prussian War. She enlisted as a volunteer and learned firsthand about the Red Cross Movement, founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1863.
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