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Throughout her career, Clara Barton filled a number of roles, some more well-known than others. Before the Civil War she was an educator, establishing the first free public school in Bordertown, New Jersey. During the war she was both a nurse, in field hospitals and as Superintendent of Nurses for the Army of the James, and a first aid practitioner, bringing much-needed supplies to soldiers at the front and surgeons in the battlefield hospitals.
Barton was a pioneering American woman, working in the male-dominated Patent Office and supporting women's right to vote. She was an author and public speaker after the Civil War, sharing her stories of service with the public. Barton may be best known as the founder of the American Red Cross in 1881, an organization which "prevents and alleviates human suffering in the face of emergencies by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors." Barton also became an international relief organizer, and a champion of international humanitarian law, encouraging the banning of inhumane weapons fo war and championing the availability of immediate battlefield care. |