Clara Barton & The Red Cross

There is not room in the city to receive the wounded - and those that arrived in yesterday - mostly were left lying in the wagons all night, at the mercy of the drivers, it rained very hard-  many died in the wagons, and their companions, where they had sufficient strength, had raised up and thrown them out into the street. I saw them lying there early this morning - they had been wounded two and three days previous, had been brought from the front and after all this lay still another night without care or food or shelter, many doubtless famished after arriving in Fredericksburg. Clara Barton, December 1862.

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

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Hey everyone, welcome back. 

I don’t think anyone will argue with me when I say that one of the most devastating aspects of war is the sheer violence experienced by both sides. Behind the battle plans and talk of strategy are men and women who are on the frontlines, ready and willing to withstand severe injuries, and even death, in support of their cause. 

During the Civil War, soldiers who were injured often faced some rudimentary treatments. While the war was good for the advancement of medicine, it did not detract from the pain and chaos experienced by thousands of union and confederate infantry men. One woman who wished to be by their side carved a place for herself by providing aid and comfort to the wounded and ensuring supplies got to the front lines. 

So this week, I am diving into the life of Clara Barton. Who was she? What is she known for? And what role did she play in the Civil War?

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Those who are familiar with the name Clara Barton likely know she established the American Red Cross in the United States in 1881. However, Barton was so much more. 

Born on Christmas Day in 1821 in Oxford, Massachusetts, Clarissa Harlowe Barton was the youngest of five children. She was incredibly close with her father growing up and it is likely from him that she first began to be enthralled with military service. Her father, Captain Stephen Bartong, was part of a local militia and participated in the various conflicts in the northwest known as the Indian Wars. I was unable to find out much about her mom, Sarah Stone Barton, only that per the Barton Birthplace Museum, Sarah was known for her ability to economize and had quote “volatile temper” end quote. 

Despite being the youngest, Clara spent a part of her childhood caring for her brother David after he suffered a terrible fall while performing chores on the family farm. For two years, Barton played nursemaid, ensuring her brother got what he needed including medication and provided treatments such as applying leeches to bleed him per doctor’s orders. Someone who challenged norms even as a child, Barton was what we would describe as a bit of a tomboy. She enjoyed activities that at the time were seen as solely foy boys and men, including throwing balls and rowing.  Barton was a shy child, but after a visit with famed phrenologists the Fowler Brothers, decided becoming a teacher may help break her out of her shell. 

So, at the age of 17, Clara Barton became Miss Barton and began teaching at a one room schoolhouse in North Oxford. She taught for several years before moving to New Jersey and opening the state’s first free school in 1852. The first few months were a struggle as Barton had a small student body, however it quickly grew and before Barton knew it, she had hundreds of children awaiting her tutelage. Despite being the founder, Barton soon learned that a man was hired to serve as principal and, even worse, would be paid twice her salary. Unwilling to accept less than her male colleague, and no doubt angered at the school’s decision about its leadership, Barton submitted her resignation. 

A bit of a groundbreaker even as a young woman, Barton became the first woman appointed as a recording clerk in the United States Patent Office in Washington, D.C. in 1854. Given the era, there was still a sense of public and private spheres where men and women were expected to operate. As a woman, Barton was breaking the mold by working - especially in a position such as recording clerk in the federal government. Additionally, Barton never married - further highlighting just how different she was. Happy to have a bit of rebellious spirit, Barton continued to work alongside her male coworkers, despite facing harassment for being a woman working in a man’s world and she received equal pay - something that did not last very long. Her boss, Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland, was not supportive of women in government and demoted Barton to copyist, before the position was eliminated entirely in 1857. 

Barton briefly returned to working inside the federal government after Lincoln’s election in 1860, but quit once the Civil War began in the early months of 1861. Living in DC at the war’s outbreak, Barton immediately abandoned post to lend a hand at the city’s makeshift hospital after a group of Union soldiers were attacked by confederate sympathizers. Wanting to help in any way she could, Barton immediately took to gathering supplies and food to provide for the soldiers, asking for help from women’s aid societies and creating a support network with her friends and family across the northeast. While she eventually became a field nurse, Barton’s initial Civil War activities were all focused on ensuring materials and supplies made it to the frontlines. 

Again challenging the norms of the day, Barton demonstrated incredible courage in her pursuits. At a time when women were expected to remain in the home and care for children, Barton was navigating supply lines and collecting necessary items to assist the soldiers along the front. She became so adept at collecting supplies that she needed multiple wagons to transport it all. Her efforts were so successful that she eventually received official permission to conduct her work, traveling from camp to camp confirming the men had the supplies they needed.

It wasn’t long, however, before Barton was in the thick of it, helping apply bandages and assisting surgeons as they performed catastrophic procedures, often without having anesthesia or ether on hand to subdue the patient. Making matters worse, surgeons frequently went from patient to patient without sanitizing their instruments, causing several to die not from their injuries on the battlefield, but from the care received at the hands of their doctor. 

Given the volume of sick and wounded soldiers, the War Department established The Department of Female Nurses, naming Dorothea Dix as Superintendent. Prior to the Civil War, most nursing positions were held by men and throughout the war, estimates put the ratio of male to female nurses at 5 to 1. But with thousands getting injured every day, the government realized it needed all the help it could get and with Dix’s assistance, recruited more than three thousand women, who were paid $12 per month. However, Barton was a woman who went to the beat of her own drum, and she remained a freelance nurse, going wherever she felt most needed. This did not go unnoticed by Dix, who took moves to prohibit unaffiliated nurses from practicing. 

As Stephen Oates from the Ohio Historical Society highlighted quote: “from the outset, Clara had to overcome both government and societal restraints against the presence of a woman on the battlefield,” end quote. She also had to learn the job quickly - and through hands-on experience as there remained a dearth of formal nursing programs in the United States. Again, Barton demonstrated incredible bravery, sitting with men as they withstood painful treatments, or held their hand as they slowly suffered from their wounds. She was on hand to provide aid and comfort at some of the war’s most significant, and deadly, battles including Fredericksburg and Antitietem, where Barton worked nonstop for nearly three days before collapsing from exhaustion. She eventually earned the respect of the men around her, with one surgeon referring to her as the quote “true heroine of the age” end quote. Her talents were even recognized by the Massachusetts 21st who called Barton the quote unquote “daughter” of the regiment. 

Although she earned the respect of the men she aided, she continued to ruffle feathers of the quote unquote establishment. As I mentioned earlier, Dorothea Dix, overseeing the department of women nurses for the union, was not a fan of Barton’s and hoped to end her ability to practice by moving to end the allowance of unaffiliated nurses from operating within the eastern front. Not one to back down, Barton took her leave and headed south, landing in South Carolina where witnessed the men of the Massachusetts 54th lead the charge in the Battle of Fort Wagner. For a refresher about the Massachusetts 54th, be sure to check out the episode I did just a couple of weeks ago. Recalling her memories of that day, Barton later wrote quote: “I can see again the scarlet flow of blood as it rolled over the black limbs beneath my hands, and the great heave of the human heart before it grew still,” end quote. 

The war also brought Clara into contact with someone who would become a close friend and confidant when she met Frances “Fanny” Gage. It is believed that her relationship with Gage was highly influential, and is what prompted Barton’s support of women’s suffrage. Meeting at the height of the Civil War, the two likely bonded over their shared abolitionist beliefs and remained lifelong friends. Barton, who as an unaffiliated nurse often worked alongside formerly enslaved black women, and continued to push for equal treatment throughout her life. 

Despite her lack of medical training, Barton was appointed the head of a military unit in 1864. She continued to help however she could, eventually bringing on a full-time, male assistant named Cornelius “Cornie” Wells. Surrounded by nonstop death and destruction was understandably hard on Barton, who struggled with her mental health, but despite the hurdles, she continued in her pursuit to care for the men under her charge, writing quote: “my position is one of my own choosing, full of hardship and fraught with dangers,” end quote.

Barton continued honoring the soldiers who served even as the war drew to a close when thousands of families mailed letters asking her if she had treated their son, husband, or brother. With Lincoln’s approval, Barton embarked on yet another monumental task and successfully identified 22,000 men providing closure to countless families. Barton also spent the years immediately after the war on the lecture circuit, where she shared stories of her experiences on the front. Never one to do something halfway, Barton toured to the point of exhaustion and took her respite across the pond. 

It was while resting in Europe that Barton first learned about the Red Cross. Originally established to ensure governments provided care for its soldiers in Geneva in 1864, the Red Cross was just the organization Barton was looking for. As someone who felt women should be more heavily involved in military pursuits - even if only as nurses - Barton became dedicated to establishing an American version of the organization. She took to writing pamphlets and even scheduled a meeting with President Rutherford B. Hayes before successfully launching on May 21, 1881.

The first true test for the American arm of the Red Cross was in 1884 when the organization was deployed to assist with river flooding along the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Perhaps hinting at her sense of adventure, Barton wrote of her experience quote: “it seems very much like the old way days to be going to the field,” end quote. Barton remained president of the Red Cross until retiring in 1904. 

And while Barton is likely best known for her work during the Civil War, she was actually on sight for three military conflicts, including the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 where she helped bring relief to local residents and stayed in Strasbourg after the conflict to establish relief programs for women in the city. She was also involved in the Spanish American War in 1898 where she traveled to Cuba to help administer relief through the red cross on the field.

Living with the memories of the rudimentary nature of treatments available to the soldiers during the Civil War, Barton also established the National First Aid Association of America in 1905. Emphasizing emergency preparedness, the association also helped establish first aid kits and helped train individuals on the basics of first aid. 

Unfortunately, Barton would die in 1912, some eight years before the federal government passed and the states ratified the 19th Amendment giving women access to the franchise. She is buried at the North Cemetery in her hometown of Oxford, Massachusetts. Her home in Glen Echo, Maryland was designated as a National Historic Site in 1975 making it the first time a woman was recognized in such a manner. 

A woman who refused to accept the norms of the day, Clara Barton proved one person could make quite a difference. Clara Barton wanted to be a soldier. She ended up being so much more. 

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Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

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