"ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD"

Clara Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day 1821 on a farm near North Oxford, Massachusetts. In her early life, she initially worked as a schoolteacher and in 1854; she was the first woman to work as a copyist in the US Patent Office.

However, one of her greatest contributions came during the Civil War when she organized the distribution of supplies for wounded soldiers. Her deeds attracted national attention and appreciation.It was then that she was dubbed the "Angel of the Battlefield".

In 1864, she was appointed superintendent of nurses for the Army of the James. When the war ended, she formed a bureau to search for missing men. This bureau marked over 12,000 graves in the Andersonville National Cemetery located in Georgia.

Clara Barton went to Switzerland in 1869 and during the Franco-Prussian War; she served as a nurse on the battlefront. There she had an opportunity to see the worthwhile work that the International Red Cross had done in Europe.

She returned home in 1873, and immediately started to convince people of the need for taking part in the Red Cross work. She helped establish the American branch of the Red Cross in 1881 and became its first president in 1882. She continued to hold this position until 1904.

Clara Barton also urged the United States Senate to ratify the Geneva Convention, which the Senate did in 1882. She later represented the United States at the International Conferenceof the Red Cross in Geneva in 1884.

Clara realized that the Red Cross could be useful to civilians as well as to soldiers and originated a clause in the Red Cross Constitution that provides for relief in calamities other than war. She took charge in the yellow-fever epidemic in Florida in 1877 and the Johnstown flood in 1889. She also helped during the Russian and Armenian famines in 1891 and 1896. She was also in charge of relief after the Galveston flood of 1900.

Ms. Barton wrote several books including "The Red Cross in Peace and War" written in 1898 as well as "A Story of the Red Cross" (1904). After her official retirement, she took an active part in many kinds of charitable and patriotic work. Clara was also instrumental in the women's suffrage movement. She died on April 12, 1912 from complications arising from a bad cold.

Barton's 38-room home in Glen Echo, Maryland, which served as theheadquarters for the American Red Cross for many years, became the Clara Barton National Historic Site in 1974.

In my eyes, Clara Barton is one of the most remarkable women in our history as well as a wonderful role model for generations to come.

The RED CROSS today is made up of volunteers and career staffmembers who form the backbone of the organization's activities in the United States. Workers belong to over 3,100 chapters that serve every US County and volunteers make up the entire staff in over 1,700 chapters. Some chapters have only one paid professional worker, who serves as executive secretary.

The American Red Cross has its national headquarters in Washington, DC where its board of governors, made up of volunteers, develops the national policies of the organization. The Honorary Chairman of the organization is the President of the United States. The organization's President is chosen by the Board and Chapter representatives.

Contributed by: Lady Lunar Light