The Angel of the Battlefield

Clara Barton saw the lack of nurses on the battlefield and in August of 1862, she gained permission from Quartermaster Daniel Rucker to work on the front lines. Dorthea Dix saw the poor treatment of the mentally ill, and after

Fondly referred to as the "angel of the battlefield" (The Encyclopedia Britannica Online), Clara Barton served as one of the greatest humanitarians this country has ever known. Persistent beyond belief, Clara employed her remarkable interpersonal skills to teach unruly school children, to collect supplies to send to the battlefront, and to struggle to form the American Red Cross. An equal rights advocate, her most memorable successes consisted of improvements in education, foreign aid, and blacks' and women's rights. This American heroine, whose efforts and bravery have become legendary, worked diligently to reach her ideal: "creating the vigilant social conscience which alone can safeguard individual

Clara Barton, born Clarissa Harlowe Barton, is one of the most significant figures in US history. Barton is well known for being a female pioneer in the field of teaching, as well as for her work in the US patent office during the Civil war. These feats alone make her a historical figure; however, she is also known for something which far surpasses these accomplishments. Clara Barton is recognized and remembered today for her extraordinary work as a nurse during the American Civil War, and for going on to establish the American Red Cross. (Clara Barton; Clara Barton)

aiding the wounded soldiers, Clara Barton did work from where she could. She started to

I, Clara Barton, am significant in American history. I am most commonly known for founding the American Red Cross. Before that, I grew up on a farm with my parents and four siblings, went to school, and was employed in the patent office and as a nurse. Without me, life today would be much different.

In 1881 Barton had started the American Red Cross. She herself was the president. Her efforts brought the U.S to sign the Geneva Convention a year later. In 1882 she traveled to help the wounded from fires in Michigan, and earthquakes in Charleston, South Carolina. Along the Ohio River there were flood victims and she went there to help. She did many other things for those who needed her help. Not because she had to but, because she wanted to and that was the kind of person she was.

In the article “Clara Barton,” it thoroughly informs the readers about her personal life and her contribution as a volunteer during the Civil War. Starting with her biography, the article discusses Barton’s educational life and her thirst to do charity work and philanthropy. According to this article, Clara Barton was a pioneer nurse, American teacher and humanitarian. She was born in Oxford, Massachusetts, and was the youngest of six children. Barton was homeschooled and she was the most brightest and intelligent among her siblings. One of her achievements was an establishment of a free public school in Bordentown, New Jersey, in 1853. She was also a founder of Red Cross, which is a volunteer led-organization that runs the world’s

Barton was one of the most courageous women in the world and risked her life multiple times for others life. Clara was one of the first volunteers to appear at Washington Infirmary to cure wounded soldiers. Clara’s father’s death made a great impact on her choices and because of this she wanted to work on the battlefields instead of the city hospitals. Her presence and the large amounts of supplies were very appreciated at the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg). (http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/clara-barton.html).

Clarissa, Clara, Harlowe Barton, was born in Massachusetts in 1821, on Christmas day, and was the youngest of six children, two of which did not make it to the age of twelve. Her father, Stephen Barton raised her as a boy, her brothers having no particular interests in their “soldier father”. He taught her to shoot and man a gun, to ride a horse, to track, and how to be an all about ethical and religious person, making sure to have her study the Christian Bible from time to time..

At an early age, Clara was a school teacher in Massachusetts who became a battlefield nurse. She was also a founder of the American Red Cross and worked as a volunteer in the war. She started working as a clerk in the United States Patent office in 1854. Clara came to know that there was devastation on both sides because she read in the Washington newspaper about

There were many famous names from the Civil War, some of the more notable names were: Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and George Custer. These names are synonymous with great generals who fought great battles during the war, but what about Sarah Emma Edmonds, Clara Burton, Dorthea Dix, Rose O’Neal Greenhow, and Loreta Janeta Velazquez? These names are not as known as their male counterparts, but these ladies of the Civil War Era did their part to aide their respective sides in the war. What these and other women did during the civil war may not seem as important, but without their skills, knowledge, and actions some of the great battles might have gone the other way.

Over 150 years ago a woman named Clara Barton repeatedly defied the odds stacked against females, reinventing herself time and time again. After a career as an educator and clerk in the US Patent Office Clara Barton began her work with the Ladies’ Aid Society delivering supplies to soldiers fighting in the Civil War. Her compassion and devotion to humankind soon transformed this supply service into a career as a Civil War Nurse. She solicited donations and used her own money to purchase supplies needed to care for the wounded. She routinely placed herself in harm’s way to deliver supplies and render aid to those in need regardless of where their loyalties lay. She took the initiative to record the names of men who and died and where they were buried, she documented the conditions of the hospitals where the wounded were being treated. She worked to educate former slaves and prepare them for their new life of freedom. After the war she helped locate missing soldiers, providing comfort to grieving families. In time she founded the American Red Cross.

Barton gave up her job at the beginning of the Civil War to join the war effort because she was upset by the suffering of wounded soldiers. At first, she wasn’t allowed to travel to the battlefield since the Union Army thought it was too dangerous and dirty for a woman, but she insisted until they gave in (Buckley and Burt 1). At the battle of Antietam, Barton stopped to attend to a wounded soldier when suddenly she felt a jerk on her sleeve. She looked down and the soldier was dead; a bullet had passed right by her. Yet, this did not stop her...

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Clara Barton organized relief for the wounded, bringing her talents into aiding people. Her love for assisting people motivated her to create the American Red Cross. Her love of encouraging and saving others later affected and ultimately saved many lives.

Clara wrote letters to the families of soldiers who gone missing. She wanted to know more about those who went missing. Also after the war Clara would talk about her war experiences. Clara's doctor told her to take a trip to Europe to rest because her work was getting her very tired. The rest didn't stop Clara from helping people, or making a change.