EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN EARLY 1800: CLARA BARTON P/10

 

                                                    Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue my focus on a woman named Clara Barton. She lived from 1821 - 1912.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Clara quit her job and made it her mission to bring supplies to the Union soldiers in need - among them men from the 6th Massachusetts Infantry. This started a life-long career of aiding people in times of conflict and disaster. In 1862, she received official permission to transport supplies to battlefields and was at every major battle in Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina., where she also tended to the wounded and became known as "the angel of the battlefield." She was officially named head nurse for one of General Benjamin Butlers Units in 1864, even though she had no formal medical training. She joined Frances Gage in helping to prepare slaves for their lives in freedom. After the war, Clara helped locate missing soldiers, mark thousands of graves, and testified in Congres about her wartime experiences.

In 1869, Clara travelled throughout Europe to regain her health. While in Switzerland, she learned about the International Red Cross, established in Geneva in 1864. Returning to the US, Clara built support for the creation of an American society of the Red Cross by writing pamphlets, lecturing and meeting with President Rutherford B. Hayes. On May 21, 1881, the American Association of the Red Cross was formed. Clara was elected president in June. In 1882, the US joined the International Red Cross.

Clara remained with the Red Cross until 1904, attending national and international meetings, aiding with disasters, helping the homeless and poor, and writing about her life and the Red Cross. She was also an ardent supporter of women's suffrage. In 1904, she established the National First Aid Association of America, an organisation that emphasized emergency preparedness and developed first aid kits. She died in 1912 of pneumonia. Her Glen Echo, Maryland home, became a National Historic Site in 1975, the first dedicated to the achievements of a woman.

Read Part Eleven HERE