Clara Barton and the American Red Cross
“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 have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past. ” Clara Barton was a fighter. Although Clara Barton may not have fought in the war, she was one of the greatest fighters on the battlefield. Clara Barton was a brave American women and this led her discovery of the American Red Cross. Barton’s discovery created something that would have a lasting impact on America and the soldiers who fought to protect the land of the free.
Clara Barton was such a great woman in our American history. Clara Barton’s life before the American Red Cross, demonstrates why she started such a great organization. Clarissa Harlowe Barton, born December 25, 1821, in Oxford, Massachusetts was a shy child during her early years. Her shyness affected her life in the later years. By the time she was eight years old, Clara had not made a single friend, so her parents decided to send her to a boarding school. Clara was so overwhelmed that her problem became even worse, so her parents soon withdrew her from the school. She first found her calling when she tended to her favorite brother, David,
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At the beginning, she collected and distributed supplies for the Union Army. Not content with 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 Civil War, Clara went to Europe. In Europe, she learned about a newly formed International Red Cross and was determined to establish an American chapter. Also, during the Franco-Prussian War, she was honored with the Iron Cross of