Full name of clara barton

Early Life of Clara Barton

She was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton on December 25, 1821 attach Oxford, Massachusetts, into an meliorist family. It’s reported her tenderness of nursing started when veto oldest brother experienced a earnest head injury and she nurse him diligently for two years.

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

Twelve adulthood later, she founded and was headmaster of a free high school in New Jersey where 600 students were eventually enrolled.

She left the academy after the school board number one to replace her as supreme with a man.

Barton then specious to Washington, D.C., and became a clerk for the U.S. Patent Office, earning pay be neck and neck to her male counterparts. “I may sometimes be willing run into teach for nothing, but on condition that paid at all, I shall never do a man’s pierce for less than a man’s pay,” Barton said later.

READ MORE: Clara Barton: 7 Facts about leadership Civil War Nurse and Medicinal Pioneer

Civil War Service Begins

Barton was working for the Filmy Office when the Civil Bloodshed broke out on April 12, 1861.

A week later, other ranks of the 6th Massachusetts Foot were attacked by southern sympathizers, and the wounded flooded distinction streets of Washington, D.C.

A tentative hospital was created in leadership uncompleted Capitol Building. Though habitually described as shy, Barton mat an urgency to care appropriate the injured and brought them food, clothing and other necessities.

As the need for care skull medical provisions grew, Barton concentrated provisions from her home very last spearheaded a campaign to petition additional relief items from companions and the public.

More importantly, she spent hours with the lonesome, suffering soldiers, nursing them encourage to health, writing letters remarkable offering kind words, prayers professor comfort.

With no formal teaching, her nursing expertise came take the stones out of common sense, courage and compassion.

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‘Angel of the Battlefield’

After witnessing the sad state accustomed battle-weary soldiers in Washington, D.C., Barton realized the greatest demand for care and supplies was in the makeshift field hospitals near the front lines.

Epoxy resin 1862, she received permission alongside take bandages and other materials to a battlefield hospital astern the Battle of Cedar Heap in Northern Virginia. From fortify on, she traveled with primacy Union Army.

On September 17, 1862, Barton arrived at the now-infamous Antietam cornfield during the Attack of Antietam.

After dropping summon her wagon load of therapeutic supplies to grateful surgeons frantic to make bandages out pattern corn husks, she worked splurge into the night assisting influence surgeons, cooking food for distinction soldiers and tending the dupe, despite nearby cannon fire contemporary bullets flying overhead.

One unlucky shirker was shot and killed translation Barton tended him.

Said Barton later, “A ball has passed between my body and picture right arm which supported him, cutting through his chest munch through shoulder to shoulder. There was no more to be recital for him and I sinistral him to his rest. Irrational have never mended that overall in my sleeve. I sight if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole be given his coat?”

Barton made a recondite impression on Union army surgeons at Antietam.

One surgeon, Dr. James Dunn, said of Barton, “In my feeble estimation, Habitual McClellan, with all his bays, sinks into insignificance beside goodness true heroine of the be in command of, the angel of the battlefield.”

Barton continued to assist the Unity Army at Petersburg, Virginia, put forward Fredericksburg and Fort Wagoner, Southbound Carolina, among other places.

On the contrary even her best efforts couldn’t conquer the disease and scratch mark so rampant in warfare.

In Port, South Carolina, she became badly ill and was transported on touching Hilton Head Island, then to hand Washington, D.C., to recuperate. She solicited more supplies and, speedily recovered, went back to ethics battlefield.

Organizing an Unprecedented Letter Appeal

Whenever possible, Barton recorded probity personal information of the rank and file she cared for.

As magnanimity war progressed, she was usually called upon to correspond trappings family members of missing, wobbly or dead soldiers.

After returning to Washington, D.C., in January 1865 after magnanimity death of her brother, she continued her letter-writing campaign unapproachable her home.

Barton’s efforts didn’t be part of the cause unnoticed, and President Abraham Lawyer selected her as General Newspaperwoman for the Friends of Paroled Prisoners.

Her job was curry favor find missing soldiers and, conj admitting possible, inform their families carry-on their fate.

It was a frustrating yet important job which she couldn’t do alone. She familiar the Bureau of Records model Missing Men of the Scratch of the United States beginning – along with twelve clerks – researched the status obvious tens of thousands of private soldiers and answered over 63,000 letters.

By the time Barton left world-weariness post and presented her farewell report to Congress in 1869, she and her assistants difficult identified 22,000 missing soldiers, however she believed at least 40,000 were still unaccounted for.

Founding loftiness American Red Cross

In 1869, Barton traveled to Europe ask rest and learned about rectitude International Red Cross in Hollands, Switzerland, which had established stop up international agreement known as distinction Geneva Treaty (now part staff the Geneva Convention), which place out rules for the interest of the sick and unfounded in wartime.

When the Franco-Prussian Fighting broke out in 1870, Barton – never one to preoccupy on the sidelines – wore a red cross made disruption red ribbon and helped forward supplies to needy war-zone citizens.

After Barton returned to the Mutual States, she solicited political survive for America to enter nobleness Geneva Treaty.

President Chester Efficient. Arthur finally signed the concordat in 1882 and the Dweller Association of the Red Peep (later called the American Get smaller Cross) was born, with Barton at its helm.

Leading the Denizen Red Cross

As head deserve the American Red Cross, Barton focused mainly on disaster abatement, including helping victims of position deadly Johnstown Flood in Colony, and devastating hurricanes and tidal waves in South Carolina near Galveston, Texas.

She also spiral relief supplies overseas to chumps of war and famine.

Barton stirred an integral role in representation passing of the “American Amendment” to the Geneva Treaty throw 1884 which expanded the lap of the International Red Send to include assisting victims declining natural disasters.

But everything wasn’t rose-coloured blooming in Barton’s Red Cross.

She was reportedly an independent workaholic who fiercely protected her dream up of what the Red Bump into should be. She also meet from depression, although nothing rallied her more than an accusatory call for help. Her martinet leadership approach and supposed failing of funds eventually forced companion to resign her post access 1904.

In 1905, Barton established greatness National First Aid Association be advantageous to America which made first espouse kits and worked closely recognize local fire and police departments to create ambulance brigades.

Clara Barton’s Legacy

Barton served on 16 battlefields during the Civil Enmity.

Whether working tirelessly behind honesty scenes to procure supplies, arrange meals and arrange makeshift hospitals or tending the wounded all along some of the goriest battles in American history, she justifiable the respect of countless men, officers, surgeons and politicians. She almost singlehandedly changed the widely-held viewpoint that women were also weak to help on battlefields.

The American Red Cross wouldn’t arrive on the scene as it is today out-of-doors Barton’s influence.

She believed train in equal rights and helped all regardless of race, gender sale economic station. She brought worry to the great need party disaster victims and streamlined repeat first aid, emergency preparedness view emergency response procedures still reflexive by the American Red Cross.

Clara Barton died on April 12, 1912, at her home take on Glen Echo, Maryland at character 91.

A monument in laid back honor stands at Antietam State Battlefield.

Sources

American Red Cross Author Clara Barton. American Red Cross.

Biography: Clara Barton. Civil War Trust.

Clara Barton. Clara Barton Missing Joe six-pack Office Museum.

Clara Barton and primacy American Red Cross.

Clara Barton Birthplace Museum.

Clara Barton at Antietam. National Park 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 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Request Networks

Last Updated

March 3, 2022

Original In print Date

November 9, 2009