She had to find a new way to help. Looking for our Mailing Address? Sanitary Commission (USSC) Biography of Mary Livermore. Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day (December 25th) 1821 in Massachusetts. In 1852 in Bordentown, N.J., she established a free school that soon became so large that the townsmen would no longer allow a Clara Barton Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland demoted Clara to a copyist who only earned 10 cents per every 100 words copied. Biography of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, First Black Female Physician in U.S. Mary Ann … LOCATION: Barton supplemented her early education with practical experience, working as a clerk and book keeper for her oldest brother. US Patent Office, Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Joseph? Damage caused by the Johnstown Flood of 1889, Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Repeat. At the age of ninety, Clara Barton died in her home in Glen Echo, Maryland in 1912. Once back in America, Clara did found the American Red Cross, and set the precedent that the Red Cross will respond to natural disasters, in addition to war. Finally the police arrived and put an end to the violence. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell. Later she organized the American Red Cross to aid the victims of all wars and disasters. When the war ended, he wanted to publish the list. Today, we celebrate her legacy and tell her story. Born on December 25, 1821, she became the first president of the America Red Cross after founding it on May 21, 1881. North Oxford, Massachusetts. Clara Barton was a nurse and founder of the American Red Cross. Florida Atlantic Comparative Studies Journal 12.1 (2010). She sprung into action, organizing who should go where for treatment and rest. When the soldiers emerged, Clara discovered they were her old friends, school mates, and students from Massachusetts. Young Clara helped nurse him back to health. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. She also noticed that not only did the troops have nowhere to camp, they were sorely without supplies. Instead, he saw her talents and drive, and is believed to pay Clara Barton the same wage as a man. She responded to the Johnstown Flood and the Galveston Hurricane, she even helped out in Armenia and Cuba. Their friends and families wrote to Clara, asking, have you seen Wilber? Getting the supplies to the soldiers was easier said than done. The First Rhode Island regiment slept on the shelves of the Patent Office. Washington, D.C. 20004 In 1868, Clara was exhausted from years of working for soldiers. Tens of thousands of men were missing. Civil War Trust. • Ardalan, Christine. Barton was educated at home and began teaching at age 15. This started a life-long career of aiding people in times of conflict and disaster. In 1865, at the request of Pres. Let’s Back Up a Bit . As a prisoner, he was responsible for burying the men who passed away, and keeping a list of their names and the locations of their graves for the Confederate government. She was jealous of any interference, however, and supervised the organization’s activities so closely that charges of authoritarianism were brought against her by members of the executive council. Her mother was not kind to her. After much soul searching, and even more permission searching, Clara had gathered both the permission and resolve to deliver supplies to the troops at the field hospitals set up outside the Battle of Cedar Mountain. The American humanitarian Clara Barton was the founder of the American Red Cross. 11:00am - 6:00pm When the Civil War began in 1861, Barton quit her job and made it her mission to bring supplies to Union soldiers in needamong them, men of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry. She served as president of the American Red Cross until 1904, when at the age of 82 she resigned, then started the National First Aid Association of America. In 1881 she organized the American Association of the Red Cross, known from 1893 as the American National Red Cross, and served as its president until 1904. She is best remembered for organizing the American Red Cross. Clara was one of the earliest women to work for the federal government … and it was not easy. Omissions? Clara Barton broke age and gender stereotypes as a relief worker and nurse during the Spanish-American War (April-August 1898). ), founder of the American Red Cross. She loved being useful and serving those in need. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. While she was in Europe for a rest (1869–70), the Franco-German War broke out, and Barton again distributed relief supplies to war victims. Her siblings were more parents than playmates. Clara Barton – American nurse. In the 1800s in the United States, nursing was a predominately male profession. Atwater had been imprisoned in Andersonville. She attended school, where she excelled despite her shy demeanor. Born in Massachusetts in 1821, Clara Harlowe Barton was the youngest of five children. As the Civil War drew to a close, Clara Barton was not ready to end her war work. Despite the arbitrariness of her administrative methods, her achievements remained; she was affectionately known as the “angel of the battlefield” for her life’s work. 1982. Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. Denney, seeking permission to go to the front, March 30, 1862, Letter to Massachusetts Governor Andrew, seeking permission to go to the front, March 20, 1862, Writing about the night before the battle of Antietam, Upon returning from the battle of Antietam. In April of 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the American Civil War. online Of the 22,000 men located by the Missing Soldiers Office, 13,000 were in one place: Andersonville Prison. Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day (December 25 th) 1821 in Massachusetts. Barton’s Bordentown school was a huge success, so successful that the powers-that-be in the town felt it was necessary to hire a male principal to run the school. Others jeered at the soldiers, with pistols and muskets in their hand. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clara-Barton, National Women's Hall of Fame - Biography of Clara Barton, American Battlefield Trust - Biography of Clara Barton, Shotgun's Home of the American Civil War - Biography of Clara Harlowe Barton, AllMusic - Biography of Modest Mussorgsky, Clara Barton - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Clara Barton - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In the following days, more and more soldiers arrived in Washington. The youngest child, with four much older siblings, Clara did not have an easy childhood. The Baltimore Riot resulted in the first casualties of the Civil War. Indignant, Clara left Bordentown and stopped teaching.