Clara Barton: A Woman In American History

Clara Barton is a strong woman, who fought to save the lives of several soldiers including the education of several young people. She is one of the most honored women in American history. Her success started at the school at the age of three where she was good at reading and spelling. First, she gained her first experience in nursing when she was 11 years old when her brother David became seriously ill following an accident, and she cared for him for two years, that was a crucial thing that made her success in the future. She then went on to attend a private boarding school. Though she kept up academically, her reticence affected her health, and she returned home. With encouragement from her parents, she overcame her shyness and became a teacher. This pattern would repeat itself during her lifetime, as she suffered from periods of severe depression, yet always managed to rally when a crisis called for her services. To continue with, while still a teenager, …show more content…
where she became the first female clerk at the U.S. Patent Office. But upon the outbreak of the Civil War, she independently organized relief for the wounded, often bringing her own supplies to front lines. She recognized the need for an efficient organization apart from the War Department’s bureaucracy to distribute food and medical supplies to the troops. In addition, she began soliciting supplies from her friends, distributing them and staying to nurse and nourish the wounded, often very close to the actual fighting. In fact, while tending the wounded at the Battle of Antietam, she worked so close to the battlefield that a bullet once tore through her sleeve and killed the man she was treating. By June of 1864, the army had put her in charge of diet and nursing at X Corps. Also, It was dubbed the flying hospital because of its frequent moves to be close enough to the battle to help the wounded, but not so close as to be