LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Clara Barton: Wars
built 636 days ago
As a child Clara played nurse, taking care of pets that were sick or injured. When she was eleven her brother fell from a barn roof and Clara nursed him throughout a two-year convalescence. During the American Civil War Clara was a battlefield nurse. She delivered medical supplies and food, staying with the wounded until they were carried to safety. She was called the "Angel of the battlefield."
Source:
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Barton worked as a volunteer. She advertised for supplies and distributed bandages, socks, and other goods to help the wounded soldiers. In 1864, Barton was given the position of superintendent of Union nurses.
Source:
When the Civil War ended, Barton continued her mission of humanizing the horrors of military suffering. She worked tirelessly for U.S. ratification of the Geneva Conventions of 1864 (conferring neutrality on wounded and hospital personnel in war), and in 1881, organized the American Association of the Red Cross. In 1898, she personally led Red Cross relief efforts in Cuba during the Spanishâ€American War.
Source:
Although still ailing, another crisis jolted Miss Barton into action. The outbreak of war in 1870 between France and Prussia (part of modern-day Germany) brought hardship to many French civilians. Miss Barton joined the relief effort, and in the process, was impressed with a new organization--the Red Cross. Created in 1864, the Red Cross was chartered to provide humane services to all victims during wartime under a flag of neutrality.
Source:
Frances Gage suggested that Barton tell her story to the people, and so in November, 1866, she set off on a speaking tour. Her lecture, "Work and Incidents of Army Life," was warmly received wherever she delivered it for the next two years. Dressed in black silk, her small figure commanded respect, and her musical voice stirred feelings. Her performance on the lecture circuit made her name a household word, and brought her first steady income since leaving the patent office.
Source:
After the Civil War a prisoner of war brought Barton a list of dead soldiers who had been detained in the Andersonville Confederate Prison camp in Georgia. Barton returned to Andersonville and was able to mark the graves of thousands of Soldiers. 45,000 Union soldiers were detained at Andersonville, 13,000 dying from extreme exposure, disease and starvation. Thanks to Miss Barton publishing a list of those names in newspapers, many people were able to learn the fate of their loved ones, and ... where they were buried.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Wars