Clara Barton: the Nation's Prime Precedent of Calm in the Center Of
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Clara Barton: The Nation’s Prime Precedent of Calm in the Center of the Battlefield Dani Martinez Senior Division Historical Paper Word Count: 2500 1 “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.” 1 The bloody events of the Civil War brought on countless adversities that provoked the demise of thousands of American soldiers. Injuries on the battlefield early on in the war proved to be the leading cause of death for soldiers, as the introduction of nurses was not initially effective in lowering the soldiers’ rising death rate. As the fate of American Union soldiers took a turn for the worse, the servitude and organizations created by Clara Barton paved the way for American achievement and success. The initiative and humanitarian measures made by the inspiring Clara Barton during the premise of events before, during, and after the Civil War in the United States, cemented her as an admirable role model for women in the nineteenth century. By putting her fellow citizens before her own needs, as well as through her service and establishment of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton introduced a sense of security in the eye of the storm that was raging war. Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts. As a young adolescent, she was “small, slender, and striking...with silky brown hair...a round face, a wide expressive mouth, and exquisite, dark brown eyes.” 2 All the family members she grew up with were of significantly older age, so much that she referred to herself as 1 Quote said by Clara Barton. Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. The Story of Clara Barton. Chelsea Clubhouse, 2004, 5. 2 Barton’s blooming physical features reflected her shy and introverted personality. She was commonly thought to be older than her traits may have suggested. Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, 3. 2 the child of six parents. 3 Barton’s father was the notorious Captain Samuel Barton, who had served in many Indian wars fought in the territory of Michigan. 4 Barton and her mother Sarah Stone Barton were incompatible, always at odds with each other due to her mother’s aggressive and uncontrollable attitude, and the fact that she left all responsibilities of raising the young girl to her father and siblings. 5 The relationship Barton shared with her family members reflected on her strenuous yet benevolent personality that was displayed through her everyday work for society. At the innocent and unpracticed age of eleven, young Barton gained plentiful medical experience after her older brother, David, suffered a traumatic head injury after falling off the roof of their barn. She reflected on many procedures she grasped from his physician while she treated him: “I learned to take all directions for his medicines ...and to administer them like a genuine nurse...I was the accepted and acknowledged nurse of a man almost too ill to recover.” 6 Barton’s mental and emotional capacity to treat a grown man at such a youthful age heralded a future full of achievement and success in future events to come. Barton’s oldest brother, Stephen Barton, Jr., managed and worked his own village for mass produce in North Carolina called Bartonsville. After being enlisted in the Confederate Army, Barton remained concerned for Stephen’s safety and how his Union beliefs would be affected by fighting for the opposite side. 7 3 Currie, Stephen. Women of the Civil War. Lucent Books, 2003, 46. 4 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, 3. 5 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, Insert, plate #5. From the Library of Congress. 6 “ Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 7 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, Insert, plate #6. 3 At 18 years old, Barton initiated her teaching career by tutoring students in a deserted building, her pupils ranging from toddlers to young adults. She quickly developed a mutual attachment with her students, as her passion for learning caught on to their interests. Her strengthened reputation caused her school to earn the reward for best discipline in North Oxford, her success influencing her to expand her educating grounds and begin teaching the next term at a new school in Charlton. 8 She then opened the first free public school in New Jersey at Bordentown 9; however, the hardships she faced with pressure from political candidates caused her to resign. 10 Becoming tired of not being useful to the war cause, Barton could no longer tolerate teaching in a classroom and decided to resume her further studies at the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York. 11 Barton became involved in war conflicts while working at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington D.C., when she received news of a riot on the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment in Baltimore. Prior to the rampage, this regiment had joined several other militia forces to protect the capital city, which, at the time, was prone to attack as the Confederacy continued to gain power. Clara and her sister Sally plunged into action and transported the wounded men to a small infirmary close to the location and took more to their home, where they fixed their injuries while gathering information about the attack. 12 8 Brown Pryor, Elizabeth. Clara Barton: Professional Angel. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987, 21. 9 Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Speeches and Writings File, -1947; Books; “The Life of My Childhood” unpublished; Drafts; HandwrittenCopy, Undated. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/mss119730782/>. https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss11973.105_0496_0560/?sp=43. 10 Politicians insisted that her booming position was too large for a woman to be able to take up. CLARA BARTON. Directed by Kelly Wolfington, 2017. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIg5qUbks2o. 7:10. 11 Brown Pryor, Elizabeth. Clara Barton: Professional Angel. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987, 31. 12 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, 4. 4 “I don’t know how long it has been since my ear has been free from the roll of a drum. It is the music I sleep by and I love it,” 13 said Barton in a letter written to her father on March 19, 1861. Barton was desperate to be a part of the Union force, as she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps. “The patriot blood of my father was warm in my veins,” she recalled. 14 Growing up, her father always reminded her, “To give your life for a cause like your own country is the greatest thing that can happen...serve your country, obey its laws, because this is what being an American is all about.” 15 Ultimately, the only thing that stopped her from pursuing that dream was her gender and the army’s belief that women belonged in the household. 16 With little time, however, Barton would replace that sentiment with a newfound belief in the power of women in the country. Before long, Barton found herself assisting the Union army by feeding the Union troops and treating their wounds during her first battle of service, the Battle of Antietam, on September 17, 1862. Compared to other nurses of Barton’s time period, she was known to have worked more responsibly under pressure. Her work was more significantly recognized due to the fact that she treated wounded soldiers even throughout the continuous firing of bullets and cannons, not letting the ammunition stop her from saving these men of service. 17 Barton was deeply admired for being of the few nurses who managed to put aside time to devote attentiveness and regard to each of her 13 “Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 14 “Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 15 CLARA BARTON. Directed by Kelly Wolfington, 2017. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIg5qUbks2o. 4:14. 16 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994, 7. 17 Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. Harper & Row, 1965, 89. 5 patients 18, while retaining a consistent schedule to effectively treat as many soldiers as she had the capacity to. 19 “[She] toiled as few men could have done, stanching wounds which might otherwise have proved fatal, administering cordials to the fainting soldier, cheering those destined to undergo amputation, moistening lips parched with thirst [and closing the eyes of the dead],” 20 said an eyewitness at the Battle of Antietam. Barton additionally proved to be the guardian of her soldiers; she attended her men no matter the cost, arriving at Antietam before the battle had even begun. 21 “I ask neither pay or praise, simply a soldier’s fare and the sanction of your Excellency to go and do with my might, whatever my hands can find to do,” 22 said Clara Barton in a letter to Massachusetts governor John Albion Andrew, asking for permission to join the front lines on March 20, 1862. That same month, Barton travelled to Boston and proposed to Andrew the establishment of a state agency in Washington, where supplies would be assembled and distributed for the army troops.