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Definition: Barton, Clara from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide

US health worker, founder of the American Red Cross 1881 and its president until 1904. A volunteer nurse, she tended the casualties of the American Civil War 1861–65 and in 1864 General Benjamin Butler named her superintendent of nurses for his forces.

Born in Oxford, Massachusetts, USA, Barton was trained as a teacher before becoming involved in projects for the welfare of American soldiers. She was present at the Baltimore riot at the outbreak of the Civil War 1861 and also at the Battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg 1862.

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Clara Barton in Dansville

Barton, Clara (1821–1912)

From Encyclopedia of War and American Society
Civil War Nurse, Founder of the American Red Cross Clara Barton was the most famous of many women who worked heroically to provide care and comfort to wounded Civil War soldiers. In so doing, she and others like her raised the nation’s standards for the care of its fallen soldiers. Born in Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1821, Barton began working as a teacher at age 15; in 1852 she founded a successful school in Bordentown, New Jersey. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Barton worked as a copyist in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. She soon became engaged in distributing useful items to troops from her native Massachusetts who were stationed in and around Washington. Her appeals to her home state resulted in generous shipments of shirts, socks, jellies, and other items to make the soldiers’ lives in camp more pleasant. After the first battle of Bull Run in 1861, she helped tend the many wounded who flooded into and around Washington. The experience made her determined to go to the…
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Full text Article Barton, Clara [Clarissa] (Harlowe)

From The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography
American nurse and founder of the American Red Cross. Born in North Oxford, Massachusetts, Clara Barton was a timid child, the last of five. At 18, she began to teach in local schools, then attended the Liberal Institute at Clinton, New York. She founded one of New Jersey’s first ‘free’ or public…
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Full text Article Barton, Clara

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
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Full text Article Clara Barton (1821–1912)

From Trailblazing Women!: Amazing Americans Who Made History
Clara Barton (1821–1912)
Army Nurse Called the “Angel of the Battlefield” for nursing soldiers during Civil War battles, Clara Barton went on to establish the American Red Cross, one of the most notable humanitarian organizations in the United States. Born in North Oxford, Massachusetts, Barton was the youngest of the five…
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Full text Article Clara Barton (1821–1912)

From The American Women's Almanac: 500 Years of Making History
Clara Barton (1821–1912)
Called the “Angel of the Battlefield” for nursing soldiers during Civil War battles, Clara Barton went on to establish the American Red Cross, one of the most notable humanitarian organizations in the United States. Born in North Oxford, Massachusetts, Barton was the youngest of the five children of…
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Full text Article Clara Barton (1821-1912), c.1865 (b/w photo)

From Bridgeman Images: Peter Newark American Pictures
Clara Barton (1821-1912), c.1865 (b/w photo)
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Clara Barton tending wounded during the American Civil War (colour litho)
Artist: American School, (19th century) Location: Private Collection Credit: Clara Barton tending wounded during the American Civil War (colour litho), American School, (19th century) / Private Collection / Peter Newark American Pictures / The Bridgeman Art Library Date: 19th c. Medium: colour…
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Full text Article Barton

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary Full text Article Biographical Names
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Full text Article Biographies

From The American Women's Almanac: 500 Years of Making History Full text Article The Military
Marcia Anderson (1957–) Anne Hennis Bailey (1742–1825) Clara Barton (1821–1912) Jacqueline Cochran (1906–1980) Eileen Collins (1956–) Margaret D. Craighill (1898–1977) Pauline Cushman (1833–1893) …
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Full text Article Red Cross, American

From The Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology
Clara Barton (1821–1912) founded the American Red Cross in 1881, one year before Congress belatedly ratified the 1864 Geneva Convention concerning wartime help for sick and wounded soldiers. Although Barton played a modest role during the Spanish–American War, full official recognition eluded her, …
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Full text Article Clara Barton: The Red Cross in Peace and War

From The Schlager Anthology of Westward Expansion: A Student's Guide to Essential Primary Sources
1904 photograph of Clara Barton (Library of...
Author Clara Barton Date 1898 Type Essays, Reports, Manifestos Signifigance Highlights the development of the Red Cross into an organization that responds to domestic and international crises during war and peacetime Overview The American Civil War resulted in a profound shift on society and…
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