August 5, 2024 • 10 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Kaela Rider—a former civics and history teacher from Jacksonville, Florida, who now serves as Education Programs Coordinator at the Bill of Rights Institute, tells the story of the founder of the American Red Cross—Clara Barton.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we returned to our American stories. Up next a
story about the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton,
otherwise known as the Angel of the Battlefield. Here to
tell the story is Kaleida Ryder of the Bill of
Rights Institute. You can check out their wonderful curriculum on
American history at mybri dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Take it Away, Khalia, September eighteen sixty two, A forty
year old woman and our team of mules pushed tirelessly
through the night. It may have seemed out of the
ordinary at the time for a middle aged woman to
be heading directly into the teeth of a pending conflict,
(00:54):
but Clara Barton was no ordinary woman, not by any
stretch of the imagination. The clash would finally come near
Antietam Creek and Maryland, pitting some eighty seven thousand Union
soldiers against forty five thousand Confederates. By the time the
smoke cleared, some twelve thousand, four hundred and ten Union
(01:16):
troops in ten thousand, three hundred and thirty seven Confederates
would lay either dead or wounded. The Battle of Antietam
would go down in history as the single bloodiest day
of the Civil War, and Bardon would earn the nickname
the Angel of the Battlefield. Antietam was just the latest
(01:37):
example of Bardon's selfless, dogged determination and the deep sense
of responsibility she felt toward others, traits that can be
traced back to her earliest roots. Clara Barton was born
in rural North Oxford, Massachusetts, on Christmas Day, eighteen twenty one,
to Sarah Stone Barton and Captain Stephen Barton. Had served
(02:00):
in the military. Both her parents were abolitionists and instilled
in young Clara the same virtues of patriotism and duty
that her father had carried with him to the then rough
and wild Northwest territories during his military career. It didn't
take long for those virtues to start showing themselves in action.
(02:21):
When her brother David fell during a barn raising and
suffered a serious head injury, he became Clara's first patient.
She watched as doctors treated him and took notes. She
learned the basics of giving prescription medicine and the antiquated
treatment of blood living, applying leeches to the skin to
remove bad blood. Ten year old Clara would care for
(02:42):
David for two full years, rather than attending school until
he made a miraculous recovery, Writing of the experience she'd stake,
I thought my position the most natural thing in the world.
I almost forgot that there was an outside to the house.
(03:03):
The experience had caused Clara to turn inward, and by
all accounts, she was shy to a fault. In her
early years. Her parents enrolled her in a boarding school
for high school, a stay away school, as they were known.
She received her certificate to teach at the age of seventeen,
and by eighteen fifty she'd opened her own school. Claire
Barton's life seemed to be set out for her by
(03:24):
this point, until she was denied a promotion to become
a principal. While it was certainly a setback, what happened
next would change her life and the world forever. In
eighteen fifty five, Clara Barton moved to Washington, d c.
To begin work at the US Patent Office. It be
(03:47):
the first time in American history that a woman received
a truly meaningful clerkship in the federal government and a
salary that matched her male colleagues. But of course, Clara
Barton did not stay at the Patent Office ituring her
time there that she seized an opportunity that changed her
life and created her legacy. It wasn't the first Battle
of bull Run that resulted in the first bloodshed of
(04:09):
the Civil War or Fort Sumter, but a riot in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore was a city on the brink in eighteen sixty one,
located in a slave state. Abraham Lincoln would only receive
one thousand, one hundred votes out of the thirty thousand
casts there, and famously, on his way to Washington, d C.
For his first inauguration, Lincoln traveled in disguise through Baltimore
(04:32):
due to credible threats of assassination and Maryland talks about
secession were still very much up in the air. Tensions
boiled over on April nineteenth as a group of militia
men from Massachusetts traveled through the city to reach the
nation's capital. By the time all was said and done,
(04:53):
five of them were dead, with another thirty six wounded.
They were brought to the Capitol Building in Washington, d C.
For treatment. Men. When the men reached the train station
in Washington, d C. Barden was already there to meet
and help treat them. Astonishingly, she recognized some of the
men as former students she taught, friends she had grown
(05:15):
up with, and neighbors from North Oxford, Massachusetts. So that
day she quit her job and volunteered to work in
a hospital. But Claire Barden didn't stop there. She also
solicited her fellow citizens and friends to provide food, bedding,
and other supplies that were drastically understocked. At the hospital.
(05:37):
She used the very room where she slept as a storeroom.
Bardon read books to the wounded, talked with them, kept
them company, and even wrote letters to their families back home.
By eighteen sixty two, she finally received permission from army
officials to work on the frontlines, a job traditionally filled
by men and men only. She rose to the occasion
(06:00):
and then some. Barden worked at the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Cedar Mountain, the Second Battle of bull Run, and Fort Wagner,
where she cared for the wounded soldiers of the fifty
fourth Massachusetts. They were among the first regiments of African
Americans to serve east of the Mississippi during the Civil War.
(06:23):
Harden would often forego sleep entirely in her desire to
care for the seemingly endless line of wounded soldiers Union
and enemy Confederates left in the wake of every battle.
Supplies were often limited, and things got so desperate at
one point that she had to use corn husks to
cover wounds. Describing her commitment on the battlefield, she'd state, quote,
(06:43):
I shall remain here while anyone remains, and do whatever
comes to my hand. 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.
You must never think of anything except the need and
how to meet it. Bardon's work wasn't just important, it
was dangerous. During one battle, as she aided a wounded soldier,
(07:07):
a bullet tore through her sleeve and killed the man.
During the war, Barden had become known as the Florence
Nightingale of America and the Angel of the battlefield. She
was even appointed a Union general and future Governor of Massachusetts,
Benjamin Butler, as the lady in charge for all hospitals
along his front line. But when the Civil War ended,
(07:28):
Barden's work caring for soldiers wasn't finished. She found out
that there were thousands of unanswered letters at the War
Department from concerned relatives of missing veterans. People were desperately
seeking their sons, husbands, and fathers. She even received personal
letters from individuals knowing she worked on the frontlines, hoping
for any information. Bardon, as always looked for a way
(07:51):
to help. She received permission from President Lincoln to open
the Office of Missing Soldiers. The Office of Missing Soldiers
corresponded with the families of missing men and worked to
identify more than twenty two thousand who had been killed
or who were missing in action, an astonishing number. In
(08:13):
eighteen sixty nine, Barton traveled to Europe to take a
much deserted break and to recover her health. It was
during this trip to Europe that Barden became inspired by
a new way to serve others. The next chapter in
her life of service was about to begin. While in Europe,
Barden was contacted by the International Red Cross, a humanitarian
group dedicated to providing neutral assistance to soldiers on all
(08:37):
sides of conflict during wartime. Word of her service during
the Civil War had reached Europe. Barden even volunteered for
the International Red Cross while on her European vacation. She
aided soldiers from both sides of the Franco Prussian War
and received the Prussian Iron Cross and other awards for
her actions. Barden was inspired by the idea of establishing
(08:59):
their Red Cross in America, and she took what she
learned overseas back to the United States. In eighteen eighty one,
she hosted the first meeting of the American Red Cross
at her apartment in Washington, d c. And was elected
president of the organization. Clara Barton's sense of responsibility towards
mankind continued for the rest of her life. Even in
(09:21):
her seventies. She worked to provide aid in Cuba to
locals and soldiers during the Spanish American War. It went
beyond War II. Bardon served those affected by the Johnstown
flood in Pennsylvania, bringing fifty doctors to the disaster site
and building a warehouse to hold supplies within four days.
She also helped provide assistance for many other natural disasters
(09:43):
across the country over the years. Clara Barton passed away
on April twelfth, nineteen twelve, at home. She left an
astonishing legacy, a legacy of selfless service and sacrifice for
those in need and the American Red Cross Ross continues
to provide aid to Americans and people around the world today.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling
by our own Monte Montgomery, and a special thanks to
Caleia Rider of the Bill of Rights Institute. You can
check out their wonderful curriculum on American history at mybri
dot org. One quote stood out. I shall remain as
long as anyone remains, she said of her time serving
(10:29):
the wounded and the severely wounded in all of those
battles in the Civil War. And I worry only about quote,
the need and how to meet it. And she did
all of her life. The story of Clara Barton, the
Angel of the Battlefield, here on our American Stories
And we returned to our American stories. Up next a
story about the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton,
otherwise known as the Angel of the Battlefield. Here to
tell the story is Kaleida Ryder of the Bill of
Rights Institute. You can check out their wonderful curriculum on
American history at mybri dot org.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Take it Away, Khalia, September eighteen sixty two, A forty
year old woman and our team of mules pushed tirelessly
through the night. It may have seemed out of the
ordinary at the time for a middle aged woman to
be heading directly into the teeth of a pending conflict,
(00:54):
but Clara Barton was no ordinary woman, not by any
stretch of the imagination. The clash would finally come near
Antietam Creek and Maryland, pitting some eighty seven thousand Union
soldiers against forty five thousand Confederates. By the time the
smoke cleared, some twelve thousand, four hundred and ten Union
(01:16):
troops in ten thousand, three hundred and thirty seven Confederates
would lay either dead or wounded. The Battle of Antietam
would go down in history as the single bloodiest day
of the Civil War, and Bardon would earn the nickname
the Angel of the Battlefield. Antietam was just the latest
(01:37):
example of Bardon's selfless, dogged determination and the deep sense
of responsibility she felt toward others, traits that can be
traced back to her earliest roots. Clara Barton was born
in rural North Oxford, Massachusetts, on Christmas Day, eighteen twenty one,
to Sarah Stone Barton and Captain Stephen Barton. Had served
(02:00):
in the military. Both her parents were abolitionists and instilled
in young Clara the same virtues of patriotism and duty
that her father had carried with him to the then rough
and wild Northwest territories during his military career. It didn't
take long for those virtues to start showing themselves in action.
(02:21):
When her brother David fell during a barn raising and
suffered a serious head injury, he became Clara's first patient.
She watched as doctors treated him and took notes. She
learned the basics of giving prescription medicine and the antiquated
treatment of blood living, applying leeches to the skin to
remove bad blood. Ten year old Clara would care for
(02:42):
David for two full years, rather than attending school until
he made a miraculous recovery, Writing of the experience she'd stake,
I thought my position the most natural thing in the world.
I almost forgot that there was an outside to the house.
(03:03):
The experience had caused Clara to turn inward, and by
all accounts, she was shy to a fault. In her
early years. Her parents enrolled her in a boarding school
for high school, a stay away school, as they were known.
She received her certificate to teach at the age of seventeen,
and by eighteen fifty she'd opened her own school. Claire
Barton's life seemed to be set out for her by
(03:24):
this point, until she was denied a promotion to become
a principal. While it was certainly a setback, what happened
next would change her life and the world forever. In
eighteen fifty five, Clara Barton moved to Washington, d c.
To begin work at the US Patent Office. It be
(03:47):
the first time in American history that a woman received
a truly meaningful clerkship in the federal government and a
salary that matched her male colleagues. But of course, Clara
Barton did not stay at the Patent Office ituring her
time there that she seized an opportunity that changed her
life and created her legacy. It wasn't the first Battle
of bull Run that resulted in the first bloodshed of
(04:09):
the Civil War or Fort Sumter, but a riot in Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore was a city on the brink in eighteen sixty one,
located in a slave state. Abraham Lincoln would only receive
one thousand, one hundred votes out of the thirty thousand
casts there, and famously, on his way to Washington, d C.
For his first inauguration, Lincoln traveled in disguise through Baltimore
(04:32):
due to credible threats of assassination and Maryland talks about
secession were still very much up in the air. Tensions
boiled over on April nineteenth as a group of militia
men from Massachusetts traveled through the city to reach the
nation's capital. By the time all was said and done,
(04:53):
five of them were dead, with another thirty six wounded.
They were brought to the Capitol Building in Washington, d C.
For treatment. Men. When the men reached the train station
in Washington, d C. Barden was already there to meet
and help treat them. Astonishingly, she recognized some of the
men as former students she taught, friends she had grown
(05:15):
up with, and neighbors from North Oxford, Massachusetts. So that
day she quit her job and volunteered to work in
a hospital. But Claire Barden didn't stop there. She also
solicited her fellow citizens and friends to provide food, bedding,
and other supplies that were drastically understocked. At the hospital.
(05:37):
She used the very room where she slept as a storeroom.
Bardon read books to the wounded, talked with them, kept
them company, and even wrote letters to their families back home.
By eighteen sixty two, she finally received permission from army
officials to work on the frontlines, a job traditionally filled
by men and men only. She rose to the occasion
(06:00):
and then some. Barden worked at the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Cedar Mountain, the Second Battle of bull Run, and Fort Wagner,
where she cared for the wounded soldiers of the fifty
fourth Massachusetts. They were among the first regiments of African
Americans to serve east of the Mississippi during the Civil War.
(06:23):
Harden would often forego sleep entirely in her desire to
care for the seemingly endless line of wounded soldiers Union
and enemy Confederates left in the wake of every battle.
Supplies were often limited, and things got so desperate at
one point that she had to use corn husks to
cover wounds. Describing her commitment on the battlefield, she'd state, quote,
(06:43):
I shall remain here while anyone remains, and do whatever
comes to my hand. 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.
You must never think of anything except the need and
how to meet it. Bardon's work wasn't just important, it
was dangerous. During one battle, as she aided a wounded soldier,
(07:07):
a bullet tore through her sleeve and killed the man.
During the war, Barden had become known as the Florence
Nightingale of America and the Angel of the battlefield. She
was even appointed a Union general and future Governor of Massachusetts,
Benjamin Butler, as the lady in charge for all hospitals
along his front line. But when the Civil War ended,
(07:28):
Barden's work caring for soldiers wasn't finished. She found out
that there were thousands of unanswered letters at the War
Department from concerned relatives of missing veterans. People were desperately
seeking their sons, husbands, and fathers. She even received personal
letters from individuals knowing she worked on the frontlines, hoping
for any information. Bardon, as always looked for a way
(07:51):
to help. She received permission from President Lincoln to open
the Office of Missing Soldiers. The Office of Missing Soldiers
corresponded with the families of missing men and worked to
identify more than twenty two thousand who had been killed
or who were missing in action, an astonishing number. In
(08:13):
eighteen sixty nine, Barton traveled to Europe to take a
much deserted break and to recover her health. It was
during this trip to Europe that Barden became inspired by
a new way to serve others. The next chapter in
her life of service was about to begin. While in Europe,
Barden was contacted by the International Red Cross, a humanitarian
group dedicated to providing neutral assistance to soldiers on all
(08:37):
sides of conflict during wartime. Word of her service during
the Civil War had reached Europe. Barden even volunteered for
the International Red Cross while on her European vacation. She
aided soldiers from both sides of the Franco Prussian War
and received the Prussian Iron Cross and other awards for
her actions. Barden was inspired by the idea of establishing
(08:59):
their Red Cross in America, and she took what she
learned overseas back to the United States. In eighteen eighty one,
she hosted the first meeting of the American Red Cross
at her apartment in Washington, d c. And was elected
president of the organization. Clara Barton's sense of responsibility towards
mankind continued for the rest of her life. Even in
(09:21):
her seventies. She worked to provide aid in Cuba to
locals and soldiers during the Spanish American War. It went
beyond War II. Bardon served those affected by the Johnstown
flood in Pennsylvania, bringing fifty doctors to the disaster site
and building a warehouse to hold supplies within four days.
She also helped provide assistance for many other natural disasters
(09:43):
across the country over the years. Clara Barton passed away
on April twelfth, nineteen twelve, at home. She left an
astonishing legacy, a legacy of selfless service and sacrifice for
those in need and the American Red Cross Ross continues
to provide aid to Americans and people around the world today.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling
by our own Monte Montgomery, and a special thanks to
Caleia Rider of the Bill of Rights Institute. You can
check out their wonderful curriculum on American history at mybri
dot org. One quote stood out. I shall remain as
long as anyone remains, she said of her time serving
(10:29):
the wounded and the severely wounded in all of those
battles in the Civil War. And I worry only about quote,
the need and how to meet it. And she did
all of her life. The story of Clara Barton, the
Angel of the Battlefield, here on our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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