Clara Barton

Clara Barton was a true pioneer and humanitarian. She is a well known woman in American history due to her participation in the Civil War and her founding of the American Red Cross. She became a teacher at a time where most teacher’s were men. She was one of the first woman to ever be hired by the Federal government and was an inspiration for all women during her lifetime and forever after NATURE Clara Barton loved nature through her natural ability to nurture.

As a very caring and giving women she looked to helping anyone and everyone around her. “ The conflict is one thing I’ve been waiting for.I’m well and strong and young…..

young enough to go to the front. If I cannot be a soldier, I’ll help the soldiers”…. (http://womenshistory. about.

com/od/bartonclara/a/clara_barton_quotes. htm) This quote gives a better understanding on Miss Barton’s views of the world around her. She cared for these men that fought so valiantly and brave. She wanted to do anything she could to help. Clara began her civil war service by providing supplies to the troops. Showing her natural ability to nurture, she personally cared for the troops who needed nursing services.Her views on nature were to save as many lives as possible.

Without sustained life, we would not have any nature to appreciate. She made sure that would continue with her self sacrificing decision to help wounded soldiers on the battlefield. This can also be seen with her founding of the American Red Cross. SUPERNATURAL “Your belief that I am a Universalist is as correct as your greater belief that you are one yourself, a belief in which all who are privileged to possess it rejoice”….

… (http://www. uuquincy. org/projects/stamps/14clarabarton. htm) A quote from Ms.

Barton in a letter to her friend in 1905 about her beliefs throughout her life. Her parents raised her to believe in Universalism. As a child she attended the Universalist Church in Oxford, Massachusetts. Always keeping faith with her church she wrote “ In this church I was reared. In all its reconstructions and re modelings I have taken a part, and I look anxiously for a time in the near future when the busy world will let me once more become a living part of its people, praising God for the advance in the liberal faith of the religions of the world today, so largely due to the teachings of this belief”…

.. http://www. uuquincy. org/projects/stamps/14clarabarton. htm) As a universalist, Miss Barton believed in a universal salvation who welcome all and respect individual beliefs. UNIVERSE Considering that Clara was a Universalist by religion, It is only fitting that her thoughts on life are opened by the possibilities of the Universe itself.

Universalism believes that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion…. thus leaving a persons relationship between themselves and their surroundings an open book.This unique point of view about life allowed her to follow what was in her heart and mind. Believing in the search for the truth, there were no ties to one specific point of view but instead an open state of mind that allowed her to focus on the things that she cared about, helping those in need and being there for everyone who needed her.

TIME Miss Barton’s time while she was alive was well spent. From teaching at the age of 16 to becoming a civil war nurse at the age of 40, her time was always filled with something for to do.Even as a child she had a need to be needed. If she was not busy, she would become depressed. Thus, she tended to and did whatever she could to stay busy and keep her mind from falling into the darkness of depression. As a teacher she was able to mold young minds and keep herself busy, yet it was not until the civil war that she was able to put her time and nursing services to use. A time line from 1861-1865 allows us to see how she was able to provide relief to the many wounded in the civil war.

April 1861 in Washington D. C. Miss Barton assisted soldiers wounded in Baltimore, Maryland August-September 1862 in Virginia – She attended to the wounded in the second Battle of Bull Run at Manassas, Cedar Mountain, Chantilly, Harper’s Ferry and South Mountain. September 1862- Sharpsburg, MD- Clara Barton brought much-needed medical supplies and attended to the wounded during and after the Battle of Antietam. December 1862 in Falmouth, VA- She attended to the wounded from the Battle of Fredericksburg. April-Dec 1863 in Hilton Head and Morris Island, S. C.

She transferred from VA to be closer to her brother David, a U. S. Army Captain. There she established hospitals for the wounded from the Battle of Fort Wagner and distributed supplies to Union soldiers after the battle at Charleston. May-Jun 1864- Fredericksburg, VA- She attended to the wounded of the Battle of Spotslyvania Court House and the Battle of Cold Harbor. June 1864 – January 1865- Andersonville, GA – Assisted in the identification of graves for missing soldiers at the former Confederate prison. At the conclusion of her work, the site was dedicated as the first national cemetery.

After the flag was raised in dedication of the national cemetery, Clara wrote “ I ought to be satisfied. I believe I am. ”…..

(http://chapters. redcross. org/atlanta/History/clara_barton. htm) Future events would prove the she was never satisfied unless she was responding to the call of human need. HUMANITY Clara Barton was born to assist. Even though as a child she was shy and timid, she quickly found ways of overcoming those obstacles such as teaching. “ Child that I was, I did not know that the surest test of discipline is its absence”.

… http://clarabartonbirthplace. org/site/? q=node/2) At the age of 16 she became a teacher in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Clara was and excellent teacher and was highly regarded for her ability to teach and produce disciplined children without any physical punishment. “ Show me a child well disciplined, perfectly governed at home, and I will show you a child that never breaks a rule at school”.

.. (http://clarabartonbirthplace. org/site/? q=node/2) She spent most of her life teaching and enjoyed every minute of it but soon enough she was ready for an new challenge.At the age of 40, The civil war had begun and she was ready to take on the the challenge of whistling bullets and booming artillery all around her as she tended to the men in need of medical attention on the battlefield. “ 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”..

.. (http://womenshistory. about. com/od/bartonclara/a/clara_barton_quotes. htm) Clara Barton’s humanity is clearly shown by her courageous actions on the battlefields of the civil war. FATE I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better.

It irritates me to be told how things always have been done… I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. I go for anything new that might improve the past”..

.. http://womenshistory. about. com/od/bartonclara/a/clara_barton_quotes. htm A quote from Clara Barton that describes in detail how she feels about fate and destiny. She feels that keeping an open mind will allow anyone the ability to see things clearly and not in black and white.

As an avid supporter for an open mind, she believed that life would be what anyone could make of it. As stated at the end of the quote….. “I go for anything new that might improve the past”, She is stating that as a people, we should look at our past mistakes and work for the better.

Improving our livelihoods should be what living is for. There is no destiny or fate but only what we are able to do to help create a positive outcome. LAW “ Everybody’s business is nobody’s business, and nobody’s business is my business”…..

. (http://womenshistory. about. om/od/bartonclara/a/clara_barton_quotes.

htm) Clara Barton was a good negotiator at certain times but she was not at all shy about using the law to her advantage. Even with her basic understanding of law, Clara was able to negotiate her way onto the battlefields to help her fellow Union brothers. As head of the missing person’s office that was established with the support from President Lincoln, she was the first women bureau head in the U. S. Government. She prided herself with that fact that not only did she respect all others but for the fact that others respected her greatly.Timelessly know as the “Angel of the Battlefield”, Clara Barton will always be remembered for her humanitarian efforts as well as her persistence and determination to help wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

Countless lives were saved during that conflict and countless lives are saved today thanks to her founding of the American Red Cross. Clara Barton was one of a kind, she proved to the world what the labors of one woman alone could accomplish and she will always be remembered as an American Hero.