Clara Barton
Angles of the Battlefield
Women Joining the War
Clara Barton was known has the Angle of the Battlefield because she came up with a way women could join the war. Women could join the war by helping the wounded soldiers, to be battlefield nurses. Clara Barton went on to found the Red Cross Association to help those in need nation wide.
Starting an Association
Women have always wanted to join the war and help out in some way so, in the beginning of the civil war women would volunteer them self to helping wounded soldiers on both sides of the war. Clara Barton founded their own women association of nurses. This association became known as the Red Cross Association we know of today.
Who is Clara Barton?
Clara Barton was one of the first volunteers to appear at an infirmary in the Washington to care for soldiers. After her fathers death, Clara left Washington and went to help in the fields. Along with her she brought three wagons of supplies and organized a way where surgeons weren't overworked and sleep deprived and make things work smoother, which made her the historian she is today.
Experiences
There were approximately two thousand volunteered nurses on the battlefield, both north and south. These nurses experienced first hand the grim brutalities of the war for example, amputation, mutilated bodies, disease, and death. Without the volunteers, soldiers would have been much worse off at war and there would have been many more deaths. The Angles of the Battlefield were a huge influence in soldiers and their health.
Need for Nurses
During the battles of the Civil War from 1821-1912 troops were seriously injured, the angles of the battlefield were women who took out time to help to nurse the wounded back to health. Without the nurses, we would have lost a lot more men and there would have been so many more casualties. Although there were over two thousand volunteers who were willing to help the wounded, there was always room for many more and they always needed many more.
Founding of the Red Cross
In 1869 Clara visited Europe and she was introduced with a wider field of service through the Red Cross. Clara read a book by Henry Dunant; the founder of the Red Cross. In Dunant's book it called for international agreements to protect the sick and wounded during time of warfare. Later Clara fights hard and successfully for the ratification of this treaty by the United States. Clara made a cross out of a ribbon she was wearing and fastened it on her to protect herself with the newly accepted international symbol of the Red Cross.