Clara Barton and her Significance in the World of Medicine
Introduction
Clarissa Harlowe Barton, a famous pioneer in the field of medicine and nursing, was the founder of the American Red Cross (Goff, 2015). Clara Barton, as she wished to be called, was also an enthusiast of the suffrage movement of women and devoted her life to assisting others. Mostly, she was involved in medical activities that helped millions of Americans as well as people from other nations (Apple, 2013). This paper will discuss Clara Barton’s major contributions in the medicine world
Discussion
Clara Barton was born on 25th December 1821, in Massachusetts, United States. Her father, Captain Stephen, was a successful businessman as well as a community leader. Captain…show more content… In 1861, she was a recording clerk in the United States patent office, when federal units came into the city of Washington DC (Goff, 2015). By then, the civil war had just begun, and the residents of Washington DC were terrified and confused. In the midst of the turmoil resulting from the war, Clara perceived an immediate need to offer personal assistance to the soldiers that were hungry and wounded. After the soldiers of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry had been attacked by Southern sympathizers in Baltimore, Maryland, Burton started taking clothing, food, and medical supplies to them on behalf of various organizations including the United States Sanitary Commission, though she was not afflicted with any organization or group. Besides the supplies that she took to the distressed combatants, she also presented them with personal support to keep their spirits up (Apple, 2013). Apparently, she even composed letters to them, prayed with them, and attended to their personal life…show more content… Seemingly, this is how she came to be known as the "angel of the battlefield" since she attended to many troops in several battles including those of Chantilly, Fairfax Station, Harpers, South Mountain, Antietam, Ferry, Antietam, and Charleston (Goff, 2015). Her interest in serving soldiers offered her a great deal of information regarding the soldiers as well as the troops to which they supported. Towards the culmination of the civil war, she composed letters to families that had lost their loved ones as well as to those that had been reported to be missing. Her efforts to offer support and hope to the affected families led to people recognizing her including the president of the United States by then, Abraham Lincoln. Along with the friends and relatives of the prisoners of war, Barton established a Red Cross correspondence office, which operated in Washington for four years. Later, after a few years, the Red Cross created a tracing service to help track the war prisoners that had gone
