"I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past." - Clara Barton
Reforms in Women's Healthcare - Clara Barton
"Nursing and humanitarian aid is standard and necessary to modern societies in times of need. Both have become what they are today courtesy of individuals throughout history such as Clara Barton, whose contributions in these areas have left a profound and enduring mark. In terms of nursing, Clara Barton had a significant impact on where and how women are able to provide medical care and support during times of war. As a humanitarian, she also introduced the country to the Red Cross, which is one of the most important humanitarian and disaster aid organizations in the world." - Marville University
Clara Barton did not have any formal training in nursing. This was because as a woman, it was hard to receive an education. She, like many women in the nineteenth century, acquired her nursing skills by nursing a member of her own family back to health after doctors gave up hope. At the age of eleven, Clara's older brother David fell off a barn roof and was bedridden for the following two years. Her experiences from nursing him proved beneficial, and at times crucial, to her humanitarian work later in life.
Barton was a woman who had several careers prior to her action in the Civil War. She worked as a teacher from a young age and as an educator, and also founded a free school in Bordentown, New Jersey.
"Eventually, as the school grew, its board elected a male principal at a higher pay level with the belief that a man was more appropriate for the position. As a result, Clara resigned her position. She moved on to become one of the first women to become a clerk for the Federal government when she was hired to work in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington DC in 1854." - Maryville Univeristy
Barton then went on to involve herself in the events of the Civil War while still employed at the patent office in Washington DC.
"She began to collect the needed provisions and even used her own home to store medical supplies. Soon, she began to deliver these supplies to field hospitals, however, women were not allowed close to battles and she did not have a permit to be near the actual fighting. Not content with her inability to help where needed, she eventually made her way to battlefields and subsequently gained permission. At the Battle of Cedar Mountain and a number of additional battles, Barton, who was not a formally trained nurse, was able to provide additional care and comfort to the wounded and dying as a result, her own life was often at risk. At times, she even provided care to wounded Confederate soldiers at field hospitals." - Maryville University
(Clara Barton, Draft Manuscript, ´The Story of My Childhood,´ describing her decision to start a public school in Bordentown, N.J., in 1852. Image 43 of Clara Barton Papers: Speeches and Writings File, 1849-1947; Books; "The Life of My Childhood" (unpublished); Drafts; Handwritten copy, undated)
(From Harper's Weekly, June 1, 1861 (Source: Library of Congress)
Click Timeline for Information on Barton´s Journey of Civil War Aid
After the war ended, Barton continued her work as a humanitarian. She began to respond to anxious inquiries from the friends and relatives of missing soldiers by locating them among the prison rolls, parole rolls, or casualty lists at the camps in Annapolis, Maryland. She established The Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army and directed a four-year search for missing soldiers. Barton and her clerks, over this four year period, received more than 63,000 inquiries, answered over 41,000, and helped locate more than 22,000 missing soldiers. She then founded the American Red Cross in 1881.
"I commenced to search in the spring of 1865. In the latter part of June, 1865, I formed the acquaintance of a young man who had been a prisoner at Andersonville, and who had brought away the death record of that prison. He requested an interview, and, on giving it, I learned from him how the dead were buried in Andersonville, and I became satisfied that it was possible to identify them. I carried the question before General Hoffman, who, with the assistance, I think, of the Assistant Secretary of War, laid before the Secretary, Mr. Stanton, who sent for me to come to him the next day. I did so, and stated to him my impressions, requesting that parties be sent out to identify the graves at Andersonville, and mark to them. He declared his gratitude even at the suggestion, all having thought it impossible; stated that an expedition should be started immediately, and that he would select some officer for the purpose, and he invited me to accompany it. We were ready in a week, and on the 8th of July we left Washington. I requested that the young man should also go with the party to identify the graves. We reached Andersonville, Georgia, on the 25th of July" - Clara Barton Testimony, from The Reports of the Committees of the House of Representatives, 39th Congress, First Session, 1865-1866
"To his Excellency Abraham Lincoln President of the United States
Sir, I most respectfully solicit your authority and endorsement to allow me to act temporarily as general correspondent at Annapolis Maryland, having in view the reception and answering of letters from the friends of our prisoners now being exchanged.
It will be my object also to obtain and furnish all possible information in regard to those that have died during their confinement." - Clara Barton in Her Letter to Abraham Lincoln
(Barton’s letter to Lincoln, February 1865. Courtesy of the Library of Congress)
(American Red Cross Logo PNG, The combination of red and white was borrowed from the flag of Switzerland, which was the source of the Red Cross logo.)
(Recruitment poster for the American Red Cross, 1914–18. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (cph 3g07763))
"The Red Cross, born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield, endeavors—in its international and national capacity—to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples… It makes no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. It endeavors to relieve the suffering of individuals, being guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress." - The American Red Cross
"Each day, thousands of people – people just like you – provide compassionate care to those in need. Our network of generous donors, volunteers and employees share a mission of preventing and relieving suffering, here at home and around the world. We roll up our sleeves and donate time, money and blood. We learn or teach life-saving skills so our communities can be better prepared when the need arises. We do this every day because the Red Cross is needed - every day." - The American Red Cross
"The Red Cross in its nature, it aims and purposes, and consequently, its methods, is unlike any other organization in the country.It is an organization of physical action, of instantaneous action, at the spur of the moment; it cannot await the ordinary deliberation of organized bodies if it would be of use to suffering humanity, it has by its nature a field of its own." - Clara Barton
"...The Red Cross is a part of us--it has come to stay--and like the sturdy oak, its spreading branches shall yet encompass and shelter the relief of the nation." - Clara Barton
(American Red Cross: recruitment poster)
"She was also instrumental in US ratification of the Geneva Convention the following year. She remained active in later years, continuing work for the Red Cross until her resignation in 1904, after which she continued to speak and lecture well into her 80s." - Mary Baker Eddy Library
