Clara Barton

James Dunn once said, “In my feeble estimation, General McClellan with all of his laurels, sinks into insignificance beside the true heroine of the age, the angel of the battlefield.” The heroine of that age was Clara Barton. She was born on December 25, 1821 in North Oxford, Massachusetts and died on April 12, 1912 in Glen Echo, Maryland. She also lived in Bordentown, New Jersey, Dansville, New York, and Washington, D.C. She was buried in North Oxford, Massachusetts.

Clara Barton was a nurse, but she also was a teacher. She was sixteen when a phrenologist said she should become a teacher to cure her shyness. Clara taught in a town in Massachusetts for ten years. Then she was invited to teach in Bordentown, New Jersey. She set up free public schools in New Jersey. “I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do man’s work for less than man’s pay.”

In 1864, Clara Barton became a nurse in the Civil War. She went to Richmond and Petersburg, some of the grimmest battlefields. She helped in the North and the South. After the Civil War, she identified 13,000 unknown dead Union soldiers. She also marked the 13,000 unknown dead soldiers' graves.

In the service of helping others, doctors told Clara that she needed a restful trip to Europe, but her work was never over. Clara also helped as a nurse in Europe. She received the Iron Cross of Merit from the German Emperor and many more awards for her services.

In 1881, Clara persuaded the American government to let her establish the American Red Cross, and became its first president. The American Red Cross helps victims of natural disasters around the world.

In conclusion, Clara Barton was a brave, hardworking, determined, and compassionate person. She was determined at all times. She was a heroine because she helped wounded soldiers in the Civil War and in Europe. Clara is also a heroine because she established the American Red Cross in the United States of America to help in times of natural disasters.