The international Red Cross had been founded as primarily a battlefield relief organization, and Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, had led some battlefield relief efforts during the Civil War. However, Barton felt the Red Cross could also provide relief for peacetime disasters, and the Johnstown flood of 1889 provided an ideal opportunity. Barton, 67, and five Red Cross workers arrived from Washington, D.C., on June 5, 1889, just five days after the flood occurred. Thus, the Johnstown flood was the first major peacetime relief effort for the American Red Cross.