(1821–1912). Before she was 40 years old, Clara Barton had almost no medical experience. Yet Barton became famous as the founder of the American Red Cross. She created the American Red Cross to provide care to sick and wounded soldiers during wartime.

Early life

Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821, in Oxford, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of five children in a farm family. Barton was educated at home. At age 15, she began teaching school in Oxford. She later moved to New Jersey and in 1852 established one of the state's first free public schools in Bordentown. Barton resigned in 1854 and then worked as a clerk at the United States Patent Office. She was one of the first women in the country to work for the United States government.

Civil War

When the American Civil War began in 1861, Barton strongly supported the Union, or the North. She learned that many of the wounded soldiers from the first battle of Bull Run (1861) had suffered because there were not enough medical supplies. Barton advertised in newspapers for donations. In 1862, she began using wagons pulled by mules to give out the supplies right on the battlefield. People called her the “Angel of the Battlefield.”

For the next two years, Barton worked as an unpaid nurse for the Union Army. She helped the wounded in many battles. Many times Barton handed out medical supplies in the middle of the battle.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Barton to search for men listed as missing in action. She traced as many as 20,000 names of soldiers. Her records also helped to identify thousands of dead Union soldiers at the poorly run Southern prison in Andersonville, Georgia.

Red Cross

In 1869, Barton went to Switzerland for a rest. When war began between France and Germany in 1870 Barton went to work for the International Red Cross, an organization formed to care for victims of battles. She tried to prevent needless suffering for both the Germans and the French. Barton returned to the United States in 1873.

In 1881, when Barton was nearly in her 60s, she established the first branch of the American Red Cross. She pushed the American Red Cross to work during peacetime disasters as well as during wars. Barton also struggled to get the United States to sign the Geneva Convention of 1864. That agreement had created rules for the care of wounded soldiers during wars. Thanks to her hard work, President Chester Arthur finally signed the agreement in 1882.

In 1904, Barton resigned as head of the American Red Cross after 23 years in charge. She retired to her home outside Washington, D.C., where she died on April 12, 1912.