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. C helsea 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, w ho 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.
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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.1 0
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.1 2
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,
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“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.1 4 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. T he Free Press, 1994, 7. 17 Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. H arper & Row, 1965, 89.
5 patients1 8, 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.2 1 “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,”2 2 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. Pleased and galvanized by Barton’s effective plan of action, Washington soon opened its very own distribution center.2 3
In the Battle of Fredericksburg, Barton worked furiously to assist injured men2 4 after being called to the 21st Massachusetts Regiment by surgeon J. Clarence Clutter at the Lacy House. She went along with the troops, back and forth from the battle to the
18 Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. H arper & Row, 1965, 89. 19 Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. H arper & Row, 1965, 89. 20 “Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 21 Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. H arper & Row, 1965, 89. 22 “Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 23 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. T he Free Press, 1994, 39. 24 Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Diaries and Journals:, Dec. 1862. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
6 small hospital 25, her work being captured by photographer Elizabeth Brown Pryor:
“Barton was everywhere in that pinched and unhappy town, saw every wretched collection of wounded men, knew every ugly corner.” 26
Soldiers acknowledged their respected nurse as “the angel of the battlefield”2 7; she organized her own service for transporting medical supplies in which the Union army would assemble donations to buy the needed supplies assuring that they would be delivered to the troops on the battlefield. 28 “Though it is little that one woman can do, still
I crave the privilege of doing it,” 29 said Clara Barton in a letter asking for authority to help the front lines on March 30, 1862. In 1864, she was involved in the transport of tent hospitals where wounded soldiers would be sheltered, in addition to helping treat the soldiers wounded in the battle of Richmond, Virginia. 30
In the battlefield, Barton developed a sense of discomfort towards all torment and trauma experienced by the suffering soldiers, constantly fearing that “the same fair heads… that I have smoothed and patted in fond approval of some good or well-learned task, so soon to lie low… blood-matted and tangled, trampled… buried in a common trench ‘unwept, uncoffined, and unknown’.” 31 Despite her horrific hallucinations, Barton
25 Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers; Diaries and Journals:, Jan.-Feb. 1863. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
7 promised only to work harder for her soldiers and do everything in her power to assure her wounded men’s comfortable recovery. Clara Barton claimed, “ If I were to speak of war, it would not be to show you the glories of conquering armies but the...misery they strew in their tracks...” 32
Her civil service throughout the war remained individualistic and self-sufficient, as she wished for no more than the private donations she received to afford supplies and equipment. S he even rejected working for Dorothea Dix’s Woman’s Central Association, seeming to dislike Dix because of her despotic working conditions and personality.3 3
She occasionally requested authority for the usage of tools like wagons, mule teams, or extra food when in short supply. 34
Wanting to do more for the soldiers who had given their lives for the cause of the bloody war, throughout the course of 1865, Clara Barton sought out to be granted authority to go out onto the field to salvage and identify soldiers who had been killed in the war. She helped locate and distinguish the bodies of 13,000 soldiers that had been slaughtered in the Andersonville prison in Georgia. 35 Through this moving act of giving back, Barton proved to the public that above all other workers of service, her aid went above the call of duty, resulting in the peaceful reunion of the bodies of lost soldiers with their adoring families.
32 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. The Free Press, 1994.
33 Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. T he Free Press, 1994, 10. 34 Currie, Stephen. W omen of the Civil War. Lucent Books, 2003, 46. 35 CLARA BARTON. Directed by Kelly Wolfington, 2017. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIg5qUbks2o. 18:27.
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In the epitome of warfare, Colonel John J. Elwell, chief quartermaster of the
Department of the South was of many who experienced her care, learning first-hand of her delicate and caring demeanor: “...Clara Barton was there, an angel of mercy doing all in mortal power to assuage the miseries of the unfortunate soldiers.”3 6 Letters of tenderness and warmth revealed that the friendship the two had developed soon evolved into deep intimacy, their writing divulging the fact that they had an affair while
Elwell remained married. 37
In the midst of the war, Barton found herself struggling with internal feelings of depression3 8 and thoughts of suicide that raced through her mind; the moments of inactivity in the battlefront prevented her from pursuing the activities she so passionately wanted to do. She reflected, “...[I] have scanned over and over the whole moral horizon and it is all dark. The night clouds seem to have shut down — so stagnant, so dead, so selfish, so calculating … Shall the world move on in all this weight of dead, morbid meanness?”3 9 Spending seven years working tremendously to save soldiers on the battlefield and finding a resting place for the undistinguished men lost in the flames of the war, strained the physical and emotional capabilities of Barton and affected her health greatly. 40 She was even encouraged by her doctors to take time off to relieve her
36 “Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 10 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. 37 Barton, Clara. Letter to John J. Elwell, describing intimate feelings for him and revealing her worries of being discovered while he is still married. 15 July 1865. Personal collection. 38 Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Diaries and Journals:, Oct. 11-Nov. 5; 1865, Feb. 1-may 27; 1853 to 1857. 1851. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
9 body and mind, to be in a better place for the years to come. While she took a break and travelled to Europe, she wound herself up in assisting with the planning and arrangement for the organization during the Franco-Prussian War, which began in 1870.
I n the war between the French and Prussian natives, she experienced and observed the many functions of an organization new to her: the International Red Cross, formed in 1863. As she learned from their tactics and goals, she became fascinated with the idea of the citizens of a nation supported by a force that worked for their safety and well-being; she was inspired to become a helping hand to those who were in need, noting that “the work of these Red Cross societies in the field [accomplished] in four months under their systematic organization what we failed to accomplish in four years without it.”4 1 As the war progressed, Barton became associated with this organization, and from them she learned the importance of value in “organization, transportation, and storage”4 2.
In 1881, The American Red Cross 43 became the very first international organization4 4 in which plans for emergency evacuation, medical staff for first aid4 5 assistance procedures, teams trained to rescue civilians in life or death situations, and systems to assure the city’s public relief became a vital plan of a search and rescue organization that responded to calls of emergency. 46 Through the work of the Red Cross,
41 “Clara Barton: International Relief Organizer.” C lara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum , 14 November 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/relief-organizer/. 42 “Clara Barton: International Relief Organizer.” C lara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum , 14 November 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/relief-organizer/. 43 See Appendix C 44 Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957 ; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; Incorporation; Articles of Incorporation, 1881. 1881. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
10 many innocent victims of warfare or disasters were saved during the Russian food shortage crisis in 1892, Turkish Armenian massacre in 1896, and the Spanish American
War in 1898 47. The war conflict in Cuba during the Spanish American War became a great exemplar for the duties of the organization, as Clara Barton received government-authorized affirmation to travel to the area of Cuba and provide relief to the soldiers giving servitude there. The Red Cross eventually extended its efforts to resolving events of natural disasters, assisting in the flooding of the Mississippi River in
1882-1884, the earthquake in Charleston, South Carolina in 1886, Johnstown,
Pennsylvania flood of 1889 48, and the Galveston, Texas Hurricane of 1900.
After 23 years of providing service for the Red Cross, Clara Barton resigned from her position, mostly due to financial and internal power crises. Although she had signed off of continued work for this organization, she established the National First Aid
Association of America in April of 1905 and served throughout the next five years. The focus view of this organization was to introduce local classes throughout the cities, teaching ambulance procedures and developing first aid kits4 9 for community use.
Barton continued to devote the last moments of her life to service for her country, until her mind and body were eventually worn down by pneumonia, and her life ended on April
12, 1912.5 0
47 See Appendix B 48 Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Letterbooks, -1911; 1889, June-July; pp. 1-319., June-July, 1889. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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The selfless, kind acts of servitude Clara Barton performed for soldiers fighting in the Civil War and victims of natural disasters broke history’s barriers of women in the force of labor, proving that they in fact belonged out on the field, as well as the barriers that had immobilized the helping hand of our country. She proved to the world that simple actions of aid and succor result in the thriving prosperity of America. Although the predominant and moving life of the powerful Clara Barton came to an unfortunate end, the legacy of her work and the Red Cross continues to live on in the lives of many soldiers and people’s lives that she changed for the better.5 1
51 Clara Barton Papers: Miscellany, -1957 ; Namesakes and trade names, 1870 to 1911, undated. 1870. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/mss119730194/>. loc.gov/resource/mss11973.120_0436_0512/?sp=15.
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Appendix A
Photograph taken in the 1870s. This photograph portrait of Clara Barton displays the middle-aged woman in her 50s. During the time of which this photo was taken, she was said to have been “at the climax of her Civil War Service.”
Clara Barton Papers: Addition, -1926; Tributes, 1912, undated. 1 912. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix B
The special boarding passport and circulation ticket above, as well as a letter of approval by the Secretary of State, William R. Day, are classified documents that allowed Clara Barton to travel to the country of Cuba on February 5, 1898. There, she distributed dollars and needed supplies by the army to citizens in need during the Spanish-American War.
Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; Relief operations; Spanish-American War; Passport, passes, and letters of introduction, 1898. 1898. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix B (contd.)
Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; Relief operations; Spanish-American War; Passport, passes, and letters of introduction, 1898. 1898. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix C
The pamphlet shown was created by the American Red Cross, its purpose being to teach the public anonymous audience how to form classes in the community to teach the topic of first aid skills. The title page includes the address of the Red Cross headquarters as well, and the first page shown below gives an outline of the procedure for making classes for first aid.
Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; First Aid Department; Miscellany, 1888 to 1908, undated. 1 888. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix C (contd.)
Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; First Aid Department; Miscellany, 1888 to 1908, undated. 1 888. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix D
The image above displays an illustration, created by the National First Aid Association of America in 1906. The image shows the organization’s Triangular Bandage. The drawings on the bandage show many injuries soldiers may have endured that the association may have treated or encountered, or are trained to cure and respond to.
Clara Barton Papers: Addition, -1926; National First Aid Association of America, 1905 to 1921, undated. 1905. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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Appendix E
This newspaper article briefly takes the time to remember Clara Barton after the peaceful but sorrowful events of her death. While the article explains her passing, it also tells of all her awe inspiring contributions to the great changes that were made to society in the time of her work and life.
“Miss Clara Barton is Dead at 91: Founder of Red Cross and Famous Philanthropist Passes Away.” The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan, 1 2 April 1912. rarenewspapers.com/view/599247. Accessed 18 January 2020.
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Annotated Bibliography Primary Sources
Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Diaries and Journals:, Dec. 1 862. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This diary fragment written by Barton in May of 1864 depicts and explains the many details of the injured soldiers, as well as slaughtered men and the process of amputation that was processed through her eyes, ears, and nose. She explains that she was caring for these soldiers at a temporary hospital in Fredericksburg, VA, during the Wilderness Campaign mislabeled Dec. 1862. From her writing, I was able to take a grasp of how Barton was able to work throughout the battles, keeping her calm, and I was able to see through her description the condition her soldiers experienced when they were wounded on the battlefield.
Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers; Diaries and Journals:, Jan.-Feb. 1 863. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
These notes taken by Barton in her journal (December 1862-January 1863) show how she recorded the turn of events at the Battle of Fredericksburg, VA, in which she had begun nursing soldiers. She recorded the many different stories of her patients, as well as how they had died on the battlefield.
Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Diaries and Journals:, Oct. 11-Nov. 5; 1865, Feb. 1-may 27; 1853 to 1857. 1851. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This diary entry reveals Barton’s feelings of stress and how she suffered with multiple cases of depression with all of the pressure throughout the different battles of the Civil War. Her writing really helped me understand how her mental health was greatly affected by the many events that were happening during her lifetime, and how she felt responsible for many actions made, proving that by focusing so much on taking care of the other soldiers, along the way she forgot to take time to care for herself.
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Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Letterbooks, -1911; 1889, June-July; pp. 1-319., June-July, 1889. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This letter, written by Barton, was delivered to a man named Robert Hunt Lyman on June 22, 1889. The letter explains the events of a flood that affected many lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, writing that the Red Cross indeed went to and saved many lives there. This letter helped me to better understand how the Red Cross went about their rescue missions, as well as how they acted during times of immediate danger.
Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Letterbooks, -1911; Unbound copies;, Aug. -1878, Sept., Aug. -1878, Sept., 1876. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This draft letter sent to Louis Appia on May 17, 1877, expresses how much Barton praised the great generosity she had received from all the American citizens she had treated, as well as advocating for the need for the American Red Cross. This letter gives me a grasp of how she had quickly realized that the work she was doing was making a change in the world, and she had positive feelings about it. It also gives me a quick sense of what was still yet to come: her founding of the Red Cross and how she had developed ideas and goals since this time.
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,
This draft manuscript entails and depicts her thoughts on her decision to establish a public school in Bordentown, New Jersey in 1852. It gave me more information on her teaching career and how she loved to teach students.
Barton, Clara. Clara Barton Papers: Speeches and Writings File, -1947; Speeches and Lectures; War Lectures, 1860s. 1860. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
21
loc.gov/resource/mss11973.107_0270_0490/?sp=8. Accessed 26 January 2020.
In this artifact of Clara Barton’s writing, she describes how she feels about not being able to take effect or make an effort in the war, as well as how it made her feel powerless. She vows to begin helping soldiers in the battlefield in as many ways as she can. This lecture gives me a greater picture of her personality and character, and how she was not willing to give up despite the many tangible and incorporeal setbacks she faced throughout her lifetime.
Barton, Clara. Letter to John J. Elwell, describing intimate feelings for him and revealing her worries of being discovered while he is still married. 15 July 1865. Personal collection. Deming, Ruth Z. “Letter to Johnny from Clara Barton.” Hektoen International , 2016, hekint.org/2017/01/22/letter-to-johnny-from-clara-barton/. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This letter from Clara Barton reveals details of her very obscure and untold romantic, intimate life. After the two participated in a sexual affair, Clara wrote to tell him that she missed his company, while admitting her worries of being found, as well as her stresses regarding the war effort.
Barton, Clara. “The Red Cross of the Geneva Convention. What It Is”. www.nps.gov/clba/learn/historyculture/rcwhat.htm. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This pamphlet written by Barton introduces and describes the Red Cross of the Geneva Convention. It explains what she plans to do with the Red Cross and why she is taking such a grand step to welcome it into society, helping me better understand Barton’s initial views on this organization and what effect she wanted it to create on the nation’s people.
Barton, Clara. The Women Who Went to the Field. P oem. https://www.nps.gov/clba/learn/historyculture/fieldpoem.htm. Accessed 18 January 2020.
This poem written by Barton serves as a toast and form of recognition and acknowledgement in which she thanked all the female fighters who had given their lives to serve in the Civil War. Throughout the text, she describes and analyzes all the work these women, along with the men, did on the battlefield during the war, revealing to me that she not only did similar courageous work as these women, but that Barton was also a human being, inspired by other powerful women to become the brilliant person she is seen as today.
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Barton, Stephen. Clara Barton Papers: Family Papers: Barton, Stephen father, 1857 to 1862., 1857 to 1862, 1828. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This letter from Barton was written on May 19, 1861 to her father, Stephen Barton. Her letter shows her internal struggles as she has a difficult time deciding which way she would allow her willingness in the war effort pull her to stay or leave the state. She states that if there ever was a war to occur in the United States, she would not want to leave Washington, and she would want to stay and help out with the wounded soldiers. This letter truly shows her determination to make a difference in the war by risking her own life to save these fighters in a potential upcoming battle.
Clara Barton Papers: Miscellany, -1957 ; Namesakes and trade names, 1870 to 1911, undated. 1870. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/mss119730194/>. loc.gov/resource/mss11973.120_0436_0512/?sp=15. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This letter is from a soldier named Prentice Dean who survived in the Battle of Andersonville as a result of the great lengths Barton went to to assure his survival. In this letter, Dean thanks Barton deeply for her service, and he also informs her that he named his newborn daughter after her namesake. The letter was sent on December 11, 1883. Dean’s words express that soldiers who were treated by Barton during the war were eternally grateful for all the work she did, and her work to make a change in the world was quickly becoming effective.
Clara Barton Papers: Red Cross File, -1957 ; American National Red Cross, 1878 to 1957; Incorporation; Articles of Incorporation, 1881. 1 881. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This manuscript includes the official establishment of the American Red Cross. It is the organization’s Articles of Incorporation, which states and creates the existence of the organization, written on October 1, 1881. The manuscript helps me better understand the official establishment of the Red Cross and how it came to be.
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Dunn, James L. Letter written to his family, describing, admiring, and praising the fearless work of Clara Barton. 26 November 1862. Private collection. N ational Museum of Civil War Medicine , 25 October, civilwared.org/explore/bibs/barton/dunn-letter. Accessed 26 January 2020.
In this letter to his family members, Dunn expresses his experience of meeting Barton for the first time at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, and he writes of how impressed he was with the amount of work she set herself out to do in the midst of the raging battle.
Vassal, Bernard B. Clara Barton Papers: Family Papers: Vassal, Bernard B. nephew; Correspondence, -1893, undated. to 1893, 1851. Manuscript/Mixed Material. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
This letter from Clara Barton was written for her nephew, Bernard Vassall on February 13, 1860. Through her writing, she mentions to her nephew her many thoughts and concerns about women’s oppression. The picture in which the letter is shown also includes a photograph of the envelope in which the letter was sent. The words written by Clara Barton in this letter really express her thoughts going on inside her head, and the things she believed needed to be changed in society. She recognized how people in society did not truly treat women with the respect that they deserved, and how she believed that women were being restricted from the potential that they actually had. This letter was of great significance to me because it serves as a sort of foreshadow into her life’s story. She saw the unfairness that women were being treated with, and only decades later, the public saw her as one of the few women who changed the outview of women’s role in the nation. This letter, followed by the actions she would take on in the future, reflects on the true willpower she possessed throughout her lifetime; she saw a great problem that needed to be addressed, and through much work, sacrifice, and effort, she was able to make that very change for the better.
Secondary Sources
Arnold, James R., and Weiner, Roberta. American Civil War: The Essential Reference Guide. Santa Barbara, CA, Denver, Colorado, and Oxford, England, ABC-CL10, 2011, p. 137.
This book contains a section that explains all of Clara Barton’s actions throughout her life, as well as how she contributed to the medicine department
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during the Civil War. It specifically focuses on how she established an organized service for the Union Army to buy supplies and have them delivered on the battlefield. This book helped me understand the specific actions that she took part in to help the soldiers, rather than just explaining that she helped out on the battlefield.
Brown Pryor, Elizabeth. Clara Barton: Professional Angel. U niversity of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
This biography focuses on a less known aspect of Barton’s story: her personal life. It includes many saved and unseen papers, letters, memories of her loved ones, stories of her family members, and the doctors who helped her control her nervous disorders. This book gave me a little more insight of how the events and details of her personal life greatly affected the work that she did and the accomplishments she made. It also allowed me to see into a different perspective of her story, through the views of the people around her and how her close family members and friends saw and experienced alongside Barton throughout her life.
“Clara Barton: An Angel of the Battlefield.” Trained by a Teacher, 17 November 2017, trainedbyateacher.com/clara-barton-angel-battlefield/. Accessed 26 January 2020.
Searching through this website, I focused on gathering more information about Clara Barton’s secret relationship with Colonel John J. Elwell. I was able to find many details about their numerous romantic experiences, tender letters, and photographs of the two situated together. From this website, I was able to better understand the facts about their relationship and the many dangers they faced by trying the best they could to cherish the forbidden love they could not hide from each other.
“Clara Barton Bibliography.” Biography.com , A&E Television Networks, 2 April 2014, biography.com/activist/clara-barton. Accessed 18 January 2020.
This website really focuses on Clara Barton’s life as an educator, nurse, and founder of the American Red Cross. It provided a lot of information about her early life, who she was as a young girl and the struggles she went through to be an adequate child. It shows her actions throughout her lengthened career, and how her decisions affected her years later. It includes her death and how people reacted to her passing. This website includes a painted portrait of Barton smiling at the camera, posing as the picture is being taken of her.
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CLARA BARTON. Directed by Kelly Wolfington, 2017. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIg5qUbks2o. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This video documentary truly helped me get a much better understanding of the actual order of events in which Clara Barton experienced and overcame hardships, fought and volunteered in battles, and succeeded in many accomplishments. It also gave me more information I had not been able to previously find about her early teaching career in Bordentown, New Jersey, and her move to find missing soldiers in Andersonville Prison.
“Clara Barton: International Relief Organizer.” Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum , 14 November 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/relief-organizer/. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This webpage provided me with a basis of knowledge regarding how the organization and establishment of the American Red Cross came to be. The series of events explained in this page began when Barton was sent to Europe to relieve her mind and mental health, which resulted in her discovery and learning of the International Red Cross, inspiring her to fight to establish an organization with similar motives in the United States.
“Clara Barton’s Nursing Career.” Clara Barton Museum, 1 0 May 2018, clarabartonmuseum.org/nurse/. Accessed 18 January 2020.
This webpage includes a handful of direct quotes from people who experienced first hand the work of Clara Barton, as well as her own recollections of her past experiences. It includes her own reflections of her work, and words said by her through letters to family, or the government. This website helped me get a better idea of how people perceived her work, and how they were affected by her.
Currie, Stephen. Women of the Civil War. Lucent Books, 2003, p. 46, 48-9, 54.
This book dedicates many sections within its pages to recognize the important role Barton played in society, including information about her childhood, service during the Civil War, including the names and various specific details of the battles she assisted in and nursed soldiers in. It also explains the Red Cross and how she spent her years leading the group.
Delbanco, Andrew. “The Angel of the Battlefield.” T he New York Times, 12 June 1994, nytimes.com/1994/06/12/books/the-angel-of-the-battlefield.html. Accessed 26 January 2020.
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This article gave me a needed amount of background information about a separate source that I had gathered before (See “A Woman of Valor”, Stephen B. Oates). It gave me details about the book and included an analysis of Oates’ writing and the relationship between his historical context and the style in which his book was written.
“Founder Clara Barton- American Red Cross.” AmericanRedCross, 2019, https://redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/enterprise-assets/about-us/history/hist ory-clara-barton-v3.pdf.
This biography provided a lot of events that occured in Clara Barton’s past, like when she began her career as a teacher, and then progressed to her many achievements that opened up the opportunity for other people to provide service. It includes various facts about how she came to nurse soldiers in the Civil War, and how she became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield”. It then specifically explains the many ups and downs she battled and experienced throughout her journey that eventually led to founding the American Red Cross, and how she became its leader. Finally, it compares how both her many strengths and weaknesses pushed her through and held her back from her accomplishments. I found this book extremely helpful and a vital part of my research journey because it was shaped in a full scope of her whole life, and how she developed from a young, innocent girl growing up in a small home, to be one of the most influential women who took action in the Civil War.
Fredrickson, George M. The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union. Harper & Row, 1965, p. 89-90.
Overall, this book takes a grand look at the psychological effects of war on the people fighting or involved, including their internal thoughts on the war and their feelings associated with the events that followed one after another throughout the course of this everlasting war. Regarding Barton, this book acknowledges her fearless work under pressure, and how she did not give up on treating her soldiers even in the presence of gunfire on the battlefield. It shows how she was determined to save as many soldiers as she could, and how the war did not affect her mindset of wanting to save as many people as she possibly could.
Henneberger, Melinda. “Red Cross founder Clara Barton fought ‘thin black snakes’ of depression by springing into action.” The Washington Post, 6 April 2012, washigtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/clara-bartons-enemy-depression/2012/0 4-04/glQAdryXzS_story.html. Accessed 26 January 2020.
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This article gave me more information and reasons behind why Clara Barton suffered with a rising internal struggle with her mental health throughout her career, and how her focus on her work led to her questioning her own purpose in life, and even thoughts about the possibility of taking it.
Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. The Story of Clara Barton. C helsea Clubhouse, 2004, p. 10-13, 20-21, 28-9.
This book entails short but very detailed descriptions of events that occured in Clara Barton’s life, including various details of the Battle of Antietam, her teaching career at North Oxford, and her establishment of the American Red Cross. It also includes a timeline of events in her life, as well as other women during her time who broke similar barriers, which helped me to better understand the order of events in which she performed such tasks and succeeded in many accomplishments, from which I was able to compare her accomplishments with the work of similar woman in her time period and differentiate her unique counterparts to those of these women who were known for accomplishing connected tasks.
Littel, McDougal. The Americans: Reconstruction to the 21st Century. 2 009. Chapter 4, Section 2- The Civil War Begins, p. 173-4.
This section of the textbook highlights Clara Barton and acknowledged her for the many actions she did to contribute to war efforts in the Civil War. It also explained how she managed to rise up despite the many hazards in hospitals at that time, also providing a background of her works. The section also provides a portrait of Barton.
Marko, Eve. Clara Barton and the American Red Cross. ABDO Publishing Company, 2005, p. 20, 47, 58, 73, 118, 130, 150, 164, 195, 209.
This biographical story of Clara Barton is told in the form of an anecdote with illustrations, telling the events of her life in the format of a story. It includes her brother’s injury, her work as a school teacher, her service during the Civil War, including the Battle of Fredericksburg, her work to find soldiers who had been lost and had become unrecognizable in the premise of the battlefield, founding the American Red Cross, and rescuing victims of the flooding in Ohio. I found this story very helpful in terms of gathering information in chronological order and in the perspective of a real story with characters, rather than knowing information and important facts about her life.
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Oates, Stephen B. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War. T he Free Press, 1994.
This lengthy and very detailed biography goes greatly in depth into the growth of Clara Barton throughout her life, and how her courage led to her many accomplishments. It provides a detailed and specific description of her independent work on the battlefield during the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Battery Wagner, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Petersburg. It also details her work as a nurse, relief worker, and curer of the wounded and sick. I found this book extremely vital to the process of my research because it is an entire lengthy book dedicated to telling the whole story of Clara Barton, not missing any details of her very circumstantial life.
Selcer, Richard F. Civil War America, 1850 to 1875. F acts on File, 2006, p. 24, 141, 243t.
This book reveals to the reader how Barton’s American Red Cross solved the problem of citizens in immediate danger being left unattended and left without help in fires or natural disasters, and how she managed to overcome and rise above the great issue of women not having rights to perform or have access to the same things that men did. A table also includes a description of Barton and her life, including her life date, her stance on the war, and her role and career during this time period.
“The Biography of Clara Barton-’The True Heroine of the Age.’” L ife Stories of Civil War Heroes , 2001-2009, dragoon1st.tripod.com/cw/files/cb1.html. Accessed 26 January 2020.
From this website consisting of two pages full of chapters and big ticket events in Clara Barton’s life, I was able to gather very helpful information about the way she came about to helping out on the battlefield, as well as how she fought against the mindset belief that women were not mentally or physically fit to be participants in the war.
Wynn, Jake. “‘Your Place Is Here’- Clara Barton at the Battle of Fredericksburg.” C lara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum , 11 December 2017, clarabartonmuseum.org/fredericksburg/. Accessed 26 January 2020.
This website was full of extensive information and quotes that allowed me to more fully understand all the action and events that occurred during the Battle of Fredericksburg. It also acknowledged the perspective of Clara Barton as she wrote letters to her cousin and reacted to all the wounded soldiers, following the
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Army of the Potomac, and working in the nearby hospitals to tend the wounded.