Famous People of the Civil War

Learning about the lives of some famous Civil War era individuals

Clara Barton

Clara Barton was an independent nurse during the Civil War. While visiting Europe, she worked with a relief organization known as the International Red Cross and lobbied for an American branch when she returned home. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881, and Barton served as its first president.

Early Life

Barton was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton on December 25, 1821, in Oxford, Massachusetts. Barton spent much of her life in the service of others and created an organization that still helps people in need today – the American Red Cross.

A shy child, she first found her calling when she tended to her brother David after an accident. Barton later found another outlet for her desire to be helpful as a teenager. She became a teacher at age 15 and later opened a free public school in New Jersey. She moved to Washington, D.C., to work in the U.S. Patent Office as a clerk in the mid-1850s.

Work During the Civil War

During the Civil War, Barton sought to help the soldiers in any way she could. In the beginning, she collected and distributed supplies for the Union Army. Not content sitting on the sidelines, Barton served as an independent nurse and first saw combat in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1862. She also cared for soldiers wounded at Antietam. Barton was nicknamed “the angel of the battlefield” for her work.

After the war ended in 1865, Barton worked for the War Department, helping to either reunite missing soldiers and their families or find out more about those who were missing. She also became a lecturer and crowds of people came to hear her talk about her war experiences.

Founding of the American Red Cross

While visiting Europe, Barton worked with a relief organization known as the International Red Cross during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–’71. Some time after returning home to the United States, she began to lobby for an American branch of this international organization.

The American Red Cross Society was founded in 1881 and Barton served as its first president. As its leader, Clara Barton oversaw assistance and relief work for the victims of such disasters as the 1889 Johnstown Flood and the 1900 Galveston Flood.

Later Life

Clara Barton resigned from the American Red Cross in 1904 amid an internal power struggle and claims of financial mismanagement. While she was known to be an autocratic leader, she never took a salary for her work within the organization and sometimes used her funds to support relief efforts.

After leaving the Red Cross, Clara Barton remained active, giving speeches and lectures. She also wrote a book entitled The Story of My Childhood, which was published in 1907. Barton died at her home in Glen Echo, Maryland, on April 12, 1912.

Fast Facts

Fast Fact #1

In her memoir The Story of My Childhood, Barton details about being stricken with bloody dysentery and convulsions at the age of 5. Her family assumed she would not survive, and a report went out that she had died. Thankfully, she went on to make a full recovery, and later, as a nurse, she’d help soldiers suffering from the same illness.

Fast Fact # 2

After teaching for six years in Oxford, Massachusetts schools, Barton opened her own school in 1845 to serve the children of workers in her brother’s mill. From there she went on to establish a free public school in New Jersey. The school became very popular and had so many students that local leaders would not allow Barton to run the school and brought in a male principal! In response, Clara left.

Fast Fact #3

In August 1862, following the battle of Cedar Mountain in northern Virginia later, Barton arrived at a field hospital at midnight with a wagonload of supplies. The surgeon on duty later wrote: “I thought that night if heaven ever sent out a[n]… angel, she must be one – her assistance was so timely.” Thereafter she was known as the Angel of the Battlefield.

Fast Fact #4

It is well known that Barton had a soft spot for cats. For nearly two decades, her black and white cat Tommy was her faithful companion. Her friend and fellow nurse Antoinette Margot painted a portrait of Tommy in 1885, which is still on display at the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland.