Women were an important aspect to the Civil War. One of those woman was Clara Barton. She took on many roles during the Civil War that were focusing on helping others. Clarissa Howle Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of all five of her siblings. Her parents were Captain Stephen Barton and Sarah Stone Barton. Clara had been homeschooled since she was four years old, and she was taught mostly by her siblings. When she turned eleven years old, one of her brothers, David, got extremely sick. Clara was told to nurse him back to health, which took two years. Caring for her brother made her realize that she wanted to become a nurse. Taking care of her brother caused her to be behind schooling. To make up for this she was sent to a private boarding school. From being homeschooled, Clara was very shy. She soon got very sick because she was too scared to meet new people, and was sent home. A phrenologist recommended her to become a teacher to overcome her shyness. Clara took this advice and became a teacher at the age of 17, teaching at a school in North Oxford, Massachusetts. During the nineteenth century it was very common to physically punish …show more content…
July 1861, Clara Barton was one of the first people to help many injured soldiers in the Battle of Bull Run. The next year she was going on to the battlefield transporting injured people to hospitals. By 1864, she received the position of superintendent. Clara Barton was presented with the nickname ‘The Angel of the Battlefield’. She was called this because she risked her life in saving others. After the war ended, Clara went on a lecture tour in Europe, and discovered the Red Cross. On May 21, 1881, Clara came back to America, and created the American Red Cross. She was the first president for the American Red