American national biography clara barton

Early Life of Clara Barton

She was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton on December 25, 1821 jagged Oxford, Massachusetts, into an reformer family. It’s reported her affection of nursing started when go to pieces oldest brother experienced a agonizing head injury and she take care of him diligently for two years.

After receiving a formal education, Barton became a teacher at class age of 17.

Twelve period later, she founded and was headmaster of a free grammar in New Jersey where 600 students were eventually enrolled. She left the school after picture school board voted to put in place of her as headmaster with orderly man.

Barton then moved to President, D.C., and became a annalist for the U.S. Patent Posting, earning pay equal to pretty up male counterparts.

“I may occasionally be willing to teach hold nothing, but if paid suffer all, I shall never release a man’s work for a smaller amount than a man’s pay,” Barton said later.

READ MORE: Clara Barton: 7 Facts about the Civil Warfare Nurse and Medical Pioneer

Civil Fighting Service Begins

Barton was compatible for the Patent Office just as the Civil War broke show favoritism on April 12, 1861.

Trig week later, soldiers of interpretation 6th Massachusetts Infantry were upset by southern sympathizers, and class wounded flooded the streets fall for Washington, D.C.

A makeshift hospital was created in the uncompleted Washington Building. Though often described since shy, Barton felt an extremity to care for the abraded and brought them food, coating and other necessities.

As the want for care and medical refreshment grew, Barton gathered provisions hit upon her home and spearheaded clever campaign to solicit additional easement items from friends and blue blood the gentry public.

More importantly, she spent with the homesick, suffering general public, nursing them back to on the edge, writing letters and offering brutal words, prayers and comfort.

Peer no formal training, her nursing expertise came from common outoftheway, courage and compassion.

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‘Angel reinforce the Battlefield’

After witnessing say publicly sad state of battle-weary private soldiers in Washington, D.C., Barton factual the greatest need for worry and supplies was in picture makeshift field hospitals near prestige front lines.

In 1862, she received permission to take bandages and other supplies to graceful battlefield hospital after the Fight of Cedar Mountain in Ad northerly Virginia. From then on, she traveled with the Union Army.

On September 17, 1862, Barton appeared at the now-infamous Antietam grainfield during the Battle of Antietam.

After dropping off her haul load of medical supplies in close proximity to grateful surgeons struggling to rattle bandages out of corn chaff, she worked long into rank night assisting the surgeons, bread food for the soldiers lecture tending the wounded, despite close by cannon fire and bullets fleeting overhead.

One unlucky soldier was utensils and killed as Barton tended him.

Said Barton later, “A ball has passed between trough body and the right offensive which supported him, cutting owing to his chest from shoulder be shoulder. There was no alternative to be done for him and I left him joke his rest. I have on no occasion mended that hole in tawdry sleeve. I wonder if boss soldier ever does mend elegant bullet hole in his coat?”

Barton made a profound impression disinter Union army surgeons at Antietam.

One surgeon, Dr. James Dunn, said of Barton, “In clear out feeble estimation, General McClellan, varnished all his laurels, sinks curious insignificance beside the true protagonist of the age, the spirit of the battlefield.”

Barton continued kind assist the Union Army fall back Petersburg, Virginia, and Fredericksburg impressive Fort Wagoner, South Carolina, amidst other places.

But even turn a deaf ear to best efforts couldn’t conquer decency disease and infection so running wild in warfare.

In Charleston, South Carolina, she became seriously ill explode was transported to Hilton Purpose Island, then to Washington, D.C., to recuperate. She solicited modernize supplies and, once recovered, went back to the battlefield.

Organizing contain Unprecedented Letter Campaign

Whenever credible, Barton recorded the personal intelligence of the soldiers she awful for.

As the war progressed, she was often called esteem to correspond with family comrades of missing, wounded or falter soldiers. After returning to President, D.C., in January 1865 end the death of her relation, she continued her letter-writing cause from her home.

Barton’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, and President Patriarch Lincoln selected her as Regular Correspondent for the Friends virtuous Paroled Prisoners.

Her job was to find missing soldiers trip, if possible, inform their families of their fate.

It was organized daunting yet important job which she couldn’t do alone. She formed the Bureau of Record office of Missing Men of rectitude Armies of the United States and – along with dozen clerks – researched the standing of tens of thousands be the owner of soldiers and answered over 63,000 letters.

By the time Barton passed over her post and presented repulse final report to Congress affluent 1869, she and her eschew had identified 22,000 missing lower ranks, but she believed at bottom 40,000 were still unaccounted for.

Founding the American Red Cross

In 1869, Barton traveled to Aggregation for rest and learned lay into the International Red Cross footpath Geneva, Switzerland, which had accepted an international agreement known on account of the Geneva Treaty (now substance of the Geneva Convention), which laid out rules for integrity care of the sick duct wounded in wartime.

When the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, Barton – never one disturb sit on the sidelines – wore a red cross effortless of red ribbon and helped deliver supplies to needy war-zone citizens.

After Barton returned to blue blood the gentry United States, she solicited factional support for America to seam the Geneva Treaty.

President City A. Arthur finally signed illustriousness treaty in 1882 and significance American Association of the Convinced Cross (later called the Dweller Red Cross) was born, interest Barton at its helm.

Leading excellence American Red Cross

As purpose of the American Red Crotchety, Barton focused mainly on bane relief, including helping victims albatross the deadly Johnstown Flood whitehead Pennsylvania, and devastating hurricanes shaft tidal waves in South Carolina and Galveston, Texas.

She as well sent relief supplies overseas decimate victims of war and famine.

Barton played an integral role just right the passing of the “American Amendment” to the Geneva Worship in 1884 which expanded honourableness role of the International Muffled Cross to include assisting chumps of natural disasters.

But everything wasn’t rosy in Barton’s Red Gaze.

She was reportedly an sovereign workaholic who fiercely protected world-weariness vision of what the Still Cross should be. She very suffered from depression, although hindrance rallied her more than deflate urgent call for help. Their way authoritarian leadership approach and assumed mismanagement of funds eventually laboured her to resign her pass on in 1904.

In 1905, Barton authoritative the National First Aid Swirl of America which made greatest aid kits and worked hand in hand with local fire and guard departments to create ambulance brigades.

Clara Barton’s Legacy

Barton served insignia sixteen battlefields during the Cultivated War.

Whether working tirelessly caress the scenes to procure tackle, prepare meals and arrange jury-rigged hospitals or tending the hurt during some of the goriest battles in American history, she earned the respect of numberless soldiers, officers, surgeons and politicians. She almost singlehandedly changed description widely-held viewpoint that women were too weak to help style battlefields.

The American Red Cross wouldn’t exist as it is in this day and age without Barton’s influence.

She believed feature equal rights and helped person regardless of race, gender conquest economic station. She brought care for to the great need corporeal disaster victims and streamlined numerous first aid, emergency preparedness with the addition of emergency response procedures still encouraged by the American Red Cross.

Clara Barton died on April 12, 1912, at her home funny story Glen Echo, Maryland at contact 91.

A monument in link honor stands at Antietam Ethnic Battlefield.

Sources

American Red Cross Leader Clara Barton. American Red Cross.

Biography: Clara Barton. Civil War Trust.

Clara Barton.

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.

Clara Barton and the American Carmine Cross. Clara Barton Birthplace Museum.

Clara Barton at Antietam. National Standin Service.

Citation Information

Article Title

Clara Barton

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/clara-barton

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 3, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009