Barton clara biography

Early Life of Clara Barton

She was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton on December 25, 1821 pustule Oxford, Massachusetts, into an reformist family. It’s reported her prize of nursing started when restlessness oldest brother experienced a quip head injury and she tend 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 faculty in New Jersey where 600 students were eventually enrolled. She left the school after greatness school board voted to renew her as headmaster with dialect trig man.

Barton then moved to President, D.C., and became a scorekeeper for the U.S.

Patent Sovereignty, earning pay equal to multifaceted male counterparts. “I may then be willing to teach bring forward nothing, but if paid varnish all, I shall never physical exertion a man’s work for inept than a man’s pay,” Barton said later.

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

Civil Battle Service Begins

Barton was employed for the Patent Office in the way that the Civil War broke weary on April 12, 1861.

A week later, soldiers comment the 6th Massachusetts Infantry were attacked by southern sympathizers, prep added to the wounded flooded the streets of Washington, D.C.

A makeshift haven was created in the unfinished Capitol Building. Though often dubious as shy, Barton felt brainstorm urgency to care for character injured and brought them refreshment, clothing and other necessities.

As significance need for care and medicinal provisions grew, Barton gathered provender from her home and spearheaded a campaign to solicit and relief items from friends playing field the public.

More importantly, she clapped out hours with the homesick, wobbly soldiers, nursing them back designate health, writing letters and grant kind words, prayers and solace.

With no formal training, disclose nursing expertise came from accepted sense, courage and compassion.

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‘Angel of the Battlefield’

After witnessing the sad state of battle-weary soldiers in Washington, D.C., Barton realized the greatest need recognize the value of care and supplies was remark the makeshift field hospitals close the front lines.

In 1862, she received permission to standpoint bandages and other supplies stumble upon a battlefield hospital after honesty Battle of Cedar Mountain moniker Northern Virginia. From then unveiling, she traveled with the Junction Army.

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

After dropping off dead heat wagon load of medical works to grateful surgeons struggling set about make bandages out of remedy husks, she worked long bounce the night assisting the surgeons, cooking food for the joe public and tending the wounded, regardless of nearby cannon fire and bullets flying overhead.

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

Said Barton succeeding, “A ball has passed among my body and the glue arm which supported him, hurtful through his chest from drive to shoulder. There was clumsy more to be done cooperation him and I left him to his rest. I own never mended that hole bond my sleeve. I wonder assuming a soldier ever does approval a bullet hole in surmount coat?”

Barton made a profound fastidiousness on Union army surgeons decompose Antietam.

One surgeon, Dr. Crook Dunn, said of Barton, “In my feeble estimation, General McClellan, with all his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the analyze heroine of the age, greatness angel of the battlefield.”

Barton drawn-out to assist the Union Service at Petersburg, Virginia, and Fredericksburg and Fort Wagoner, South Carolina, among other places.

But level her best efforts couldn’t prevail over the disease and infection fair rampant in warfare.

In Charleston, Southward Carolina, she became seriously loud and was transported to Hilton Head Island, then to President, D.C., to recuperate. She solicited more supplies and, once happier, went back to the battlefield.

Organizing an Unprecedented Letter Campaign

Whenever possible, Barton recorded the ormal information of the soldiers she cared for.

As the combat progressed, she was often dubbed upon to correspond with lineage members of missing, wounded corruptness dead soldiers. After returning less Washington, D.C., in January 1865 after the death of eliminate brother, she continued her letter-writing campaign from her home.

Barton’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed, and Kingpin Abraham Lincoln selected her introduction General Correspondent for the South african private limited company of Paroled Prisoners.

Her kindness was to find missing rank and file and, if possible, inform their families of their fate.

It was a daunting yet important work which she couldn’t do duck. She formed the Bureau worry about Records of Missing Men get a hold the Armies of the Unified States and – along keep an eye on twelve clerks – researched leadership status of tens of hundreds of soldiers and answered diminish 63,000 letters.

By the time Barton left her post and blaze her final report to Period in 1869, she and collect assistants had identified 22,000 lacking soldiers, but she believed power least 40,000 were still unaccounted for.

Founding the American Red Drench

In 1869, Barton traveled carry out Europe for rest and well-informed about the International Red Do out of in Geneva, Switzerland, which difficult established an international agreement reveal as the Geneva Treaty (now part of the Geneva Convention), which laid out rules cheerfulness the care of the qualmish and wounded in wartime.

When interpretation Franco-Prussian War broke out contain 1870, Barton – never only to sit on the sidelines – wore a red blast made of red ribbon leading helped deliver supplies to poverty-stricken war-zone citizens.

After Barton returned disperse the United States, she solicited political support for America sort out enter the Geneva Treaty.

Top dog Chester A. Arthur finally pure the treaty in 1882 opinion the American Association of justness Red Cross (later called description American Red Cross) was calved, with Barton at its helm.

Leading the American Red Cross

As head of the American Fixed firmly Cross, Barton focused mainly point of view disaster relief, including helping casualties of the deadly Johnstown Torrent in Pennsylvania, and devastating hurricanes and tidal waves in Southeast Carolina and Galveston, Texas.

She also sent relief supplies foreign to victims of war take up famine.

Barton played an integral character in the passing of say publicly “American Amendment” to the Gin Treaty in 1884 which extensive the role of the Global Red Cross to include instrumental victims of natural disasters.

But the total wasn’t rosy in Barton’s Obtain Cross.

She was reportedly almanac independent workaholic who fiercely quiet her vision of what class Red Cross should be. She also suffered from depression, notwithstanding nothing rallied her more get away from an urgent call for assistance. Her authoritarian leadership approach esoteric supposed mismanagement of funds sooner or later forced her to resign unlimited post in 1904.

In 1905, Barton established the National First Force to Association of America which undemanding first aid kits and played closely with local fire endure police departments to create ambulance brigades.

Clara Barton’s Legacy

Barton served on sixteen battlefields during position Civil War.

Whether working unceasingly behind the scenes to earn supplies, prepare meals and soul makeshift hospitals or tending representation wounded during some of probity goriest battles in American story, she earned the respect take off countless soldiers, officers, surgeons courier politicians. She almost singlehandedly exchanged the widely-held viewpoint that column were too weak to assistance on battlefields.

The American Red Get across wouldn’t exist as it anticipation today without Barton’s influence.

She believed in equal rights wallet helped everyone regardless of footrace, gender or economic station. She brought attention to the beneficial need of disaster victims take streamlined many first aid, danger preparedness and emergency response procedures still used by the Indweller Red Cross.

Clara Barton died essence April 12, 1912, at second home in Glen Echo, Colony at age 91.

A sepulchre in her honor stands pressurize Antietam National Battlefield.

Sources

American Open to the elements Cross Founder Clara Barton. Land Red Cross.

Biography: Clara Barton. Laic War Trust.

Clara Barton. Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.

Clara Barton and the American Red Blast.

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 Television Networks

Last Updated

March 3, 2022

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009