The Angel of the Battlefield

In Europe, Florence Nightingale established women’s roles in nursing with calling for equality in the workplace. In the United States, Clara Barton is a household name as a pioneer of nursing. Surprisingly though, Barton never received a formal education in nursing, therefore teaching herself nursing protocol.

Similarly to Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton was not initially a nurse. At first she was a teacher, but resigned when she discovered that a male coworker made twice as much money as her. Insisting that she would never work at an establishment who doesn’t pay their workers equally, she then became a clerk at the US Patent Office. Barton was actually the first woman who assumed that job, and received equal pay for her work as male coworkers. As we all know during that time though, inequality was at its highest, and she was reassigned to a lower paying job because the Secretary of the Interior “opposed women working in government” (“Clara Barton”). This injustice would not hold Barton back from her true calling though.

With the Civil War beginning after the election of Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton quit her job and went to the front lines to aid injured soldiers. She had no prior medical experience, but learned through doing. She first began by giving soldiers necessary medical supplies. She did not even have official approval to give out these supplies until 1862 (“Clara Barton”). She aided the wounded at most major battles of the Civil War, including the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day battle of the war (Michals). This single day battle had an estimated 22,700 casualties. She was a leader, ordering the soldiers or anyone capable to help the wounded. These actions saved soldiers’ lives during the battles, especially from disease and infection. She was nicknamed “the angel of the battlefield” by tending to the wounded soldiers and eventually became a head nurse, which is significant because, once again, she had no prior experience before the war. Once the war ended, she was assigned the grave task to find missing soldiers and identify unmarked graves. This allowed for families to have some closure on their loved one’s death.

After her life-saving service in the Civil War, she founded the American Red Cross in 1881. The American Red Cross aided in health education and distributing supplies through volunteerism. Barton’s insistence on the creation of this foundation ensured that regular people understood basic sanitary procedure and help in the fight against injection and disease. The American Red Cross has been active ever since its creation, with its involvement in any major traumatic event/disaster through blood, supply, and money donations (Michals).

On top of all these accomplishments and heroic actions, she contributed to the women’s suffrage movement through lobbying to government. She is and always will be remembered as a pioneer of nursing, a founder of altruism, and a reformer for women’s rights. Barton never settled for less and believed that equality was necessary for society. She is an inspiration not just for women, but all people due to her perseverance, bravery, and altruism. These are the people to remember when obstacles form in one’s  own life.

“Clara Barton.” American Battlefield Trust, 25 Dec. 2018, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/clara-barton.

Michals, Debra.  “Clara Barton.”  National Women’s History Museum.  National Women’s History Museum, 2015.