Born on December 25, 1821 in Massachusetts, United States, Clara Barton was the founder of several free schools in New Jersey, and an official in the patent office until the beginning of the American Civil War, when She joins as a volunteer to help wounded soldiers.

Barton became interested in nursing from a young age. At age 11, she began helping her mother care for the sick and injured in her community. In 1854, she joined the Massachusetts Relief Association, which was helping victims of a cholera epidemic.

At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Barton volunteered to serve as a nurse in the Union army. She became a well-known figure for her dedication and ability to work. She traveled throughout the country, caring for the wounded and sick on battlefields and in hospitals.

During those years, and seeing the needs of the wounded soldiers, she began gathering food and medicine, and asking her friends for help in searching for all kinds of necessary items, obtaining an overwhelming response, she learned to store and distribute them. In 1862 she was allowed to volunteer her medical services in field hospitals, appearing at a field hospital at midnight, with a wagon load of supplies.

During the war, its supplies traveled with the Union army, helping both the wounded and Confederate prisoners, even ahead of official medical units. At the end of the war, Abraham Lincoln transferred the direction of the Office of Correspondence with Friends of Missing Men of the United States Army to him, an organization from which he directed the search for missing soldiers, responding to more than 50,000 requests. and identifying more than 20,000 missing soldiers.

In 1869 he moved to Europe, where during his stay Barton learned about the ideas of Henry Durant, founder of the global network of the Red Cross, among which stood out the establishment of international agreements to protect the sick and wounded during war regardless of your nationality. Regarding this treaty negotiated in 1864 in Geneva and known as the Geneva Convention, Barton would fight in the United States to obtain its ratification. In those years she founded several hospitals during the Franco-Prussian War, and she was awarded the German Iron Cross.

In 1881 she returned to the United States where she formed the American Red Cross Society, inspired by her experiences in Europe, of which she was its president until 1904. The American Red Cross dedicated many of its actions to providing relief in cases of disasters, such as a forest fire in Michigan, where the Red Cross flag was officially flown for the first time, helping to obtain funds and clothing for the victims.

In 1884, Clara Barton faced one of the greatest tests of her life. That year, a yellow fever epidemic broke out in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, where the disease spread rapidly and killed thousands of people. Barton volunteered to help victims of the epidemic; she traveled to Memphis and established a hospital where she cared for the sick and helped organize the distribution of food and supplies to those affected.

Barton’s work was crucial in helping the victims of the epidemic and thanks to his efforts, many lives were saved, however, the epidemic also had a significant impact on his health as he was nearly of dying by contracting the disease.

In the years that followed, Barton continued to fight for the causes he was passionate about. In 1898, he participated in the Spanish-American War, helping the wounded and sick. In 1892, he organized assistance to famine-stricken Russians by sending them 500 railroad cars of cornmeal and flour from Iowa. After a hurricane and tsunami left more than 5,000 dead on the South Carolina Sea Islands in 1893, the Barton Red Cross worked for 10 months helping the predominantly African-American population recover and restore their agricultural economy. He also worked to help victims of natural disasters, such as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

For her work in support of the global network of the Red Cross Barton was decorated by several countries, including the Silver Cross of Imperial Russia and the United States Government, where President Chester Arthur awarded him the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest civilian decoration.

Clara Barton died at the age of 90, in April 1912, after dedicating her life to building a better world through medicine and education, leaving a legacy that lives on every time the Red Cross flag flies. , anywhere on the planet.

Of a markedly independent, hard-working and talented character, she was a great speaker who moved the souls of those attending her conferences, when she recounted the horrifying scenes experienced on the battlefields, thus managing to gain followers and volunteers for the cause of she.

Barton also worked to promote education and gender equality. She was a defender of women’s rights and education for all, and is considered one of the most important women in the history of the United States, standing out as a brave, tenacious and compassionate woman who dedicated her life to helping others. .