Clara Barton facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Clara Barton
"The angel of the battlefield"
Born	Clarissa Harlowe Barton December 25, 1821 Oxford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	April 12, 1912 (aged 90) Glen Echo, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Teacher, nurse, humanitarian
Known for	Founder and first president of the American Red Cross
Spouse(s)	none

Clara Barton (born December 25, 1821 – died April 12, 1912) was an amazing American teacher, nurse, and humanitarian. She is best known for starting the American Red Cross. During the American Civil War, she helped find missing soldiers. She also led several hospitals in Virginia. Many people called her the "angel of the battlefield" because of her brave work.

Clara's Early Life
Clara's First Jobs
- Becoming a Teacher
- Working in Washington D.C.
Clara as a Nurse
- Helping in the American Civil War
After the War
Starting the American Red Cross
Final Years and Death
Famous Quotes from Clara Barton
Interesting Facts About Clara Barton
How Clara Barton is Remembered
Clara Barton in Stories and Shows
Images for kids
See also

Clara's Early Life

Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821, in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of five children. Her father, Stephen Barton, taught her about adventure and love for her country. Her mother, Sarah Stone Barton, taught her to be strong and use common sense.

As a child, Clara was quite timid and sensitive. But she learned a lot from her older brothers and sisters. Her sisters, Dorothy and Sally, taught her to read when she was very young. Her brother Steven taught her mathematics, and David taught her how to ride a horse.

Clara loved to pretend she was a nurse. She often cared for sick or injured animals. When she was ten, her brother David fell from a barn roof and hurt his head badly. Clara took care of him for two years, even after doctors had given up hope. This experience showed Clara her natural talent and love for nursing.

Clara's First Jobs

Becoming a Teacher

To help Clara overcome her shyness, her parents suggested she become a schoolteacher. She earned her first teaching certificate in 1839, when she was just 17 years old. Clara was a very good teacher, especially with boys, because she could relate to them.

She received many job offers. Clara bravely asked for and received the same pay as male teachers, which was very unusual at that time!

In 1852, Clara was hired to open the first free school in Bordentown, New Jersey. It was a huge success! After just one year, she hired another woman to help teach over 600 students. However, when a man was hired to take her place as head of the school, she decided to leave. She then moved to Washington, D.C..

Working in Washington D.C.

In 1855, Clara became a clerk for the U.S. government. She later moved to the U.S. patent office. Again, she earned the same pay as the men working there, which some of them did not like.

Clara as a Nurse

Helping in the American Civil War

In April 1861, the American Civil War began. Injured soldiers from the 6th Massachusetts Militia were brought to the unfinished Capitol Building in Washington D.C. Clara lived nearby and recognized some of the men. She immediately volunteered to help nurse them back to health. She and other women started collecting medical supplies for the Union soldiers.

In August 1862, Clara finally got permission to work on the front lines of the war. She gained support from many people who believed in her mission. After the First Battle of Bull Run, Clara put an ad in a Massachusetts newspaper asking for supplies. Many people responded, sending the items needed to help injured soldiers.

Clara became famous for arriving just in time with supplies for soldiers and to help surgeons on the battlefield. Because of her brave and timely help, she earned the nickname "the angel of the battlefield."

After the War

After the Civil War ended, Clara ran the Office of Missing Soldiers. Her office worked to find or identify soldiers who were killed or missing in action. During her time there, the office located, buried, and marked the graves of more than 20,000 Union soldiers.

Starting the American Red Cross

In 1868, Clara began traveling around Europe. There, she learned about the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1870, she helped set up military hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War. She worked with the Red Cross to help European soldiers during this conflict.

After returning home, Clara decided to create an American version of the Red Cross. She officially started the American Red Cross in 1880. Its main goal was to help people during wars and other difficult times. The American Red Cross has since helped refugees and victims of natural disasters like floods and hurricanes.

Final Years and Death

Clara continued to live in her Glen Echo, Maryland, home. This house had also served as the American Red Cross Headquarters when she moved there in 1897. In 1908, Barton published her autobiography, called The Story of My Childhood.

Clara Barton never married and did not have any children. She died in her home on April 12, 1912, at the age of 90. She passed away from pneumonia.

Famous Quotes from Clara Barton

“I am glad to know that somewhere they have learned their duty to their country, and have come up neither cowards nor traitors.” (She said this about her former students who fought in the American Civil War.)
“I only wish I could work to some purpose. I have no right to these easy comfortable days and our poor men suffering and dying thirsting...My lot is too easy and I am sorry for it.”
"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."
“God in His goodness gave me speed to my feet and strength to my arms through the hours of that fearful night."
“The patriot blood of my father was warm in my veins.”
“I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind.”

Interesting Facts About Clara Barton

Clara was born on Christmas Day.
She named her first dog Button.
She helped both Union soldiers and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War.
Clara often bought many of the supplies she used to help soldiers with her own money.
She always went to army camps with a male escort or her sister Sally. It was not considered proper for an unmarried woman to visit an army camp alone back then.
People called her “The American Nightingale,” after Florence Nightingale who helped during the Crimean War. She was also known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.”
She nearly died from illness in South Carolina. She had to be moved to one of her own hospitals on Hilton Head island until she got better.
She knew famous people like Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass.
Clara was a strong supporter of equal rights for all people.
She served as the superintendent at the Massachusetts Reformatory Prison for Women for a few months in 1883.

How Clara Barton is Remembered

Clara Barton's home in Glen Echo, Maryland.

Many streets, schools, national parks, and clinics are named after Clara Barton.
The Clara Barton National Historic Site is her former home in Glen Echo, Maryland. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1975.
The house where she was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts is also a museum today.
A stamp with Clara Barton's portrait and the American Red Cross symbol was released in 1948.
Barton was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.
She was featured on a set of U.S. stamps in 1995 that honored the Civil War.
Clara Barton was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2008.
The Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office Museum opened in 2015. It is run by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.
In 2019, Barton was named one of the first members of the Government Executive magazine's Government Hall of Fame.
The National Museum of American History once displayed Clara Barton's Red Cross ambulance.

Clara Barton in Stories and Shows

The book Numbering All the Bones by Ann Rinaldi features Barton and Andersonville Prison, a Civil War prison known for its terrible conditions.
Angel of Mercy (MGM, 1939) is a short film about her life. Sara Haden played Clara Barton.
In the NBC TV series Voyagers! (1982–1983), Clara Barton (Patricia Donahue) is saved by time travelers. This allows her to go on and found the American Red Cross.
The school in the Disney show Sydney to the Max is named Clara Barton Middle School.
America: The Motion Picture features a very different, fictional version of Clara Barton.
In the HBO series The Gilded Age (2022), Clara Barton is played by actress Linda Emond.