Clarissa Harlowe Barton-Clara, as she wished to be called-is one of the most honored women in American history for being a true pioneer as well as an outstanding humanitarian. As pioneer, she began teaching school at a time when most teachers were men. She was among the first women to gain employment in the federal government. As a pioneer and humanitarian, she risked her life when she was nearly 40 years old to bring supplies and support to soldiers in the field during the Civil War. Then, at age 60, she founded the American Red Cross in 1881 and led it for the next 23 years. Her understanding of the needs of people in distress and the ways in which she could provide help to them guided her throughout her life. By the force of her personal example, she opened paths to the new field of volunteer service. Her intense devotion to the aim of serving others resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes.

Civil War Service

Clara Barton was working as a recording clerk in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. when the first units of federal troops poured into the city in 1861. The war had just begun, the troops were newly recruited, and residents in the capital were alarmed and confused. Barton perceived an immediate need in all this chaos for providing personal assistance to the men in uniform, some of whom were already wounded, many hungry, and some without bedding or any clothing except what they had on their backs. She started by taking supplies to the young men of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry who had been attacked in Baltimore, Maryland, by southern sympathizers and were temporarily housed in the unfinished Capitol building. Barton quickly discovered that many were "her boys," as she put it; she had grown up with some of them and some she had even taught. Like a few other women, Barton provided clothing and assorted foods and supplies to the sick and wounded soldiers on behalf of such organizations as the U.S. Sanitary Commission, although she never formally affiliated with any agency or group. She collected some relief articles herself, appealed to the public for others, and learned how to store and distribute them. Besides supplies, Barton offered personal support to the men in hopes of keeping their spirits up: she read to them, wrote letters for them, listened to their personal problems, and prayed with them. She knew, however, that where she was needed most was not behind the lines in Washington but on the battlefields where the suffering was greatest.

Barton prodded leaders in the government and the army until she was given passes to bring her voluntary services and medical supplies to the scenes of battle and field hospitals. Following the battle of Cedar Mountain in northern Virginia in August 1862, she appeared at a field hospital at midnight with a wagon-load of supplies drawn by a four-mule team. The surgeon on duty, overwhelmed by the human disaster surrounding him, wrote later, "I thought that night if heaven ever sent out a[n] . . . angel, she must be one-her assistance was so timely." Thereafter she was known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" as she served the troops at the battles of Fairfax Station, Chantilly, Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Charleston, Petersburg and Cold Harbor.


Clara Barton circa 1865 by Mathew Brady, Washington, D.C. Most famous and widely circulated photograph of Barton

Barton was never satisfied with remaining with medical units at the rear of the column-hours or even days away from a fight. At Antietam, she ordered the drivers of her supply wagons to follow the cannon and traveled all night, actually pulling ahead of military medical units. While the battle raged, she and her associates dashed about bringing relief and hope to the field. She nursed, comforted, and cooked for the wounded. In the face of danger, she wrote, "I always tried . . . to succor the wounded until medical aid and supplies could come up-I could run the risk; it made no difference to anyone if I were shot or taken prisoner."

The interest she showed in her "soldier boys" gave her a wealth of information about the men and the regiments to which they belonged. Toward the end of the war, she found herself writing to many families who inquired about men who had been reported missing. Here, again, she recognized a pressing human need and did something practical to address it. In the month before his assassination, President Abraham Lincoln wrote: "To the Friends of Missing Persons: Miss Clara Barton has kindly offered to search for the missing prisoners of war. Please address her . . . giving her the name, regiment, and company of any missing prisoner." Barton established the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army and operated it out of her rooms in Washington for four years. She and her assistants received and answered over 63,000 letters and identified over 22,000 missing men. By doing this, Barton anticipated the implementation of Red Cross tracing services, one of the organization's most valued activities today.

Barton climaxed her Civil War activity when she proposed that a national cemetery be created around the graves of the Union men who died in the notorious Andersonville Prison in Georgia and that the graves be marked where names were known. With the help of Dorence Atwater, who had secretly tabulated a list of the dead during his own imprisonment in Andersonville, and a team of 30 military men, Barton identified the graves of nearly 13,000 men. She also proposed that some 400 unidentifiable graves be memorialized, thus anticipating the honor now symbolized by the Tomb of the Unknowns. After Barton helped raise the flag over the Andersonville grounds at their dedication in 1865, she wrote, "I ought to be satisfied. I believe I am." Coming events were to show, however, that she would never be satisfied except by responding again and again to the call of human need.

The International Red Cross


Clara Barton circa 1881 by Betts Studio, Dansville, New York. Barton established the American Red Cross in 1881.

When Clara Barton visited Europe in search of rest in 1869, she discovered a still wider field of service. Friends in Geneva, Switzerland, introduced her to the Red Cross and she read A Memory of Solferino, a book written by Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross Movement. Dunant called for international agreements to protect the sick and wounded during wartime without respect to nationality and for the formation of national societies to give aid voluntarily on a neutral basis. The first treaty embodying Dunant's idea was negotiated in Geneva in 1864 and ratified by 12 European nations. (This is called variously the Geneva Treaty, the Red Cross Treaty, and the Geneva Convention.) Later Barton would fight hard and successfully for the ratification of this treaty by the United States.

A more immediate call to action occurred in 1870 with the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. Though not yet allied to the Red Cross, Barton knew the needs of victims of battle and went to the war zone with volunteers of the International Red Cross. To protect herself with the newly accepted international symbol of the Red Cross (the reverse of the Swiss national flag which bears a white cross on a red field), she fashioned a cross out of red ribbon she was wearing. It was characteristic of her pioneering spirit that the first Red Cross symbol she ever wore was one she made herself. Barton helped distribute relief supplies to the destitute in the conquered city of Strasbourg and elsewhere in France. She also opened workrooms to help the citizens of Strasbourg make new clothes, thus anticipating the great quantities of clothing and comfort articles the American Red Cross would produce in later years.

Founding and Leading the American Red Cross

Inspired by her experiences in Europe, Barton corresponded with Red Cross officials in Switzerland after her return to the United States. They recognized her leadership abilities for carrying the Red Cross Movement to this country and for influencing the United States government to sign the Geneva Treaty. Armed with a letter from the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Barton took her appeal to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877, but he looked on the treaty as a possible "entangling alliance" and rejected it. His successor, President James Garfield, was supportive and seemed ready to sign it when he was assassinated. Finally, Garfield's successor, Chester Arthur, signed the treaty in 1882 and a few days later the Senate ratified it.

In 1881-with the signing of the treaty in sight-Barton and a group of supporters formed the American Association of the Red Cross as a District of Columbia corporation. Reincorporated as The American National Red Cross in 1893, the organization was given charters by Congress in 1900 and in 1905. The 1905 charter and its amendments provide the basis for today's American Red Cross and the close working relationship between the organization and the federal government.

The American Red Cross, with Barton at its head, devoted itself largely to disaster relief for the first 20 years of its existence. The Red Cross flag was flown officially for the first time in this country in 1881 when Barton issued a public appeal for funds and clothing to aid victims of a devastating forest fire in Michigan. In 1884, she chartered steamers to carry needed supplies up and down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to assist flood victims. In 1889, she and 50 volunteers rode the first train into Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to help the survivors of a dam break that caused 2,200 deaths.

In 1892, she organized assistance for Russians suffering from famine by shipping them 500 railroad cars of Iowa cornmeal and flour. After a hurricane and tidal wave left over 5,000 dead on the Sea Islands of South Carolina in 1893, Barton's Red Cross labored for 10 months helping the predominantly African-American population recover and reestablish their agricultural economy. In 1896, Barton directed relief operations on behalf of victims of unrest in Turkey and Armenia, the sole woman and only Red Cross advocate the Turkish government allowed to intervene. During her last relief operation, in 1900, Barton distributed over $120,000 in financial assistance and supplies to survivors of the hurricane and tidal wave that struck Galveston, Texas, and caused more than 6,000 deaths.

Although Henry Dunant had suggested in 1864 that Red Cross societies provide disaster relief as well as wartime services, Barton became its strongest advocate in the years that followed. During the Third International Red Cross Conference in Geneva in 1884, the American Red Cross proposed an amendment to the Geneva Treaty calling for expansion of Red Cross relief to include victims of natural disasters. Although some national societies were dubious, the resolution passed and became known as the "American Amendment" to the Geneva Treaty of 1864. Because of work like this in support of the Red Cross Movement, several countries honored Barton with decorations, such as the German Iron Cross for her relief work in the Franco-Prussian War and the Silver Cross of Imperial Russia for the supplies provided during the famine of 1892.

The American Red Cross moved in a new direction near the end of Barton's tenure as head of the organization when it delivered supplies and services to Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Recipients of Red Cross aid included members of the American armed forces, prisoners of war, and Cuban refugees. This was the first time that the American Red Cross provided assistance to American armed forces and civilians during wartime.

A Life of Contrasts

In addition to leading the Red Cross, Barton maintained interests in other fields, such as education, prison reform, women's suffrage, civil rights, and even spiritualism. Her force and independent spirit created opponents, but her charm attracted many loyal followers. She was struck by periods of severe depression throughout her life but always seemed to revive quickly when a major calamity called for her services. She rose early and worked late into the night. She was said to be somewhat vain about her appearance, particularly her hair, although she did not consider herself a pretty woman. She liked dashes of bold color on her clothing, especially red. "It's my color," she once said.

Barton had a talent for words. Ready to spell three-syllable words when she started school at the age of four, she wrote voluminously throughout her life, often daily. She was also a highly skilled speaker. Veterans attending her lectures were often moved to tears as she vividly described battlefield scenes from her Civil War days. Her charisma alone could rally volunteers to meet whatever crises threatened the country.


Clara Barton circa 1904 by J. E. Purdy, Boston Massachusetts. Barton resigned from the American Red Cross in April 1904.

Despite these strengths, mounting criticism of her management style, abilities, and age caused Barton to resign as president of the American Red Cross in 1904. Leaving the organization she had created, she immediately turned her attention to establishing the National First Aid Association of America and served as its honorary president for five years. This organization, though small and short-lived, emphasized basic first aid instruction, emergency preparedness, and the development of first aid kits. Though Barton had promulgated these activities at the Red Cross before her retirement, it was not until several years later that the organization absorbed them into its own broad array of health and safety programs.

Clara Barton published several books about the beginnings of the American Red Cross and the Red Cross Movement. She also wrote The Story of My Childhood, intended as one of a series of short autobiographies detailing aspects of her life which she never completed. She died on April 12, 1912, at her home in Glen Echo, Maryland, and was buried in the Barton family cemetery plot in Oxford, Massachusetts.

Barton's family donated her papers and awards, along with numerous mementoes, to the Library of Congress. The National Park Service manages what is now the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo which is open daily for tours. Barton's legacy to the nation-service to humanity-is reflected in the services provided daily by the employees and volunteers of the American Red Cross throughout the nation and in troubled spots around the world.

Clara Barton and a circle of acquaintances founded the American Red Cross in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 1881. Barton first heard of the Swiss-inspired International Red Cross Movement while visiting Europe following the Civil War. Returning home, she campaigned for an American Red Cross society and for ratification of the Geneva Convention protecting the war-injured, which the United States ratified in 1882.
Barton headed the Red Cross for 23 years, during which time it conducted its first domestic and overseas disaster relief efforts, aided the United States military during the Spanish-American War, and campaigned successfully for the inclusion of peacetime relief work as part of the International Red Cross Movement-the so-called "American Amendment" that initially met with some resistance in Europe.

The Red Cross received its first congressional charter in 1900 and a second in 1905, the year after Barton resigned from the organization. This charter-which remains in effect today-sets forth the purposes of the organization that include giving relief to and serving as a medium of communication between members of the American armed forces and their families and providing national and international disaster relief and mitigation.

Prior to the First World War, the Red Cross introduced its first aid, water safety, and public health nursing programs. With the outbreak of war, the organization experienced phenomenal growth. The number of local chapters jumped from 107 in 1914 to 3,864 in 1918 and membership grew from 17,000 to more than 20 million adult and 11 million Junior Red Cross members. The public contributed $400 million in funds and material to support Red Cross programs, including those for American and Allied forces and civilian refugees. The Red Cross staffed hospitals and ambulance companies and recruited 20,000 registered nurses to serve the military. Additional Red Cross nurses came forward to combat the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918.

After the war, the Red Cross focused on service to veterans and enhanced its programs in safety training, accident prevention, home care for the sick and nutrition education. It also provided relief for victims of such major disasters as the Mississippi River floods in 1927 and severe drought and the Depression during the 1930s.

The Second World War called upon the Red Cross to provide extensive services once again to the U.S. military, Allies, and civilian war victims. It enrolled more than 104,000 nurses for military service, prepared 27 million packages for American and Allied prisoners of war, and shipped more than 300,000 tons of supplies overseas. At the military's request, the Red Cross also initiated a national blood program that collected 13.3 million pints of blood for use by the armed forces.

After World War II, the Red Cross introduced the first nationwide civilian blood program that now supplies nearly 50 percent of the blood and blood products in this country. The Red Cross expanded its role in biomedical research and entered the new field of human tissue banking and distribution. During the 1990s, it engineered a massive modernization of its blood services operations to improve the safety of its blood products. It continued to provide services to members of the armed forces and their families, including during the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars. The Red Cross also expanded its services into such fields as civil defense, CPR/AED training, HIV/AIDS education, and the provision of emotional care and support to disaster victims and their survivors. It helped the federal government form the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and serves as its principal supplier of mass care in federally declared disasters.

While closely associated with the federal government in the promotion of its objectives, the Red Cross is an independent, volunteer-led organization, financially supported by voluntary public contributions and cost-reimbursement charges. A 50-member, all volunteer Board of Governors leads the organization. The president of the United States, who is honorary chairman of the Red Cross, appoints eight governors, including the chairman of the board. The chairman nominates and the board elects the president of the Red Cross who is responsible for carrying into effect the policies and programs of the board. The American Red Cross works closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross on matters of international conflict and social, political, and military unrest. As a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which it helped found in 1919, the American Red Cross joins more than 175 other national societies in bringing aid to victims of disasters throughout the world.

In October 1863, The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement was created in Geneva, Switzerland, to provide nonpartisan care to the wounded and sick in times of war. The Red Cross emblem was adopted at this first International Conference as a symbol of neutrality and was to be used by national relief societies. The symbol is composed of five equal squares, sometimes referred to as a Greek cross. It was chosen because it is a reverse of the colors of the Swiss flag and because the red cross on a background of white was easily recognized and reproducible on battlefields.
The Geneva Conventions now recognize four emblems that are currently in use: the red cross, the red crescent (used in most Muslim countries), the red crystal (adopted in 2006) and the red shield of David emblem that is used by the Magen David Adom, Israel's humanitarian relief organization.

In August 1864, the Geneva Convention Treaty was signed by the representatives of 12 governments. The extraordinary efforts of Henry Dunant led to the eventual establishment of the International Red Cross.

The founding of the American Red Cross in 1881 was due to the devotion and dedication of Clara Barton. Today, the organization's actions, guided by its dedication to humanity and a desire to promote mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation, and lasting peace amongst all peoples, follow these fundamental principles: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.