Clara BartonClara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Massachusetts and is best known for founding the American Red Cross and supporting Union soldiers in the field during the American Civil War. Clara learned the art of nursing at a young age when she was assigned the task of caring for her brother after a fall and serious injury. At the age of 17, Clara Barton began teaching and was a teacher for many years in Canada and West Georgia before continuing her education. his education by pursuing writing and language studies at the Clinton Liberal Institute in New York and opening his own free school in New Jersey, the first free school to open in the state. After moving to Washington, D.C., Barton began working as a clerk in the United States Patent Office, becoming the first woman to obtain a government job and receive a salary equal to that of a man. However, his position was quickly reduced to that of copyist and then eliminated entirely. Civil War After a riot broke out near his patent office, Barton immediately set out to treat the wounded and soon after wrote to his friends urging them to help him as well, thus building up a reserve of volunteers. network that would change the medical face of the Civil War. With the death of her father, Barton believed it was her duty as a Christian to help the soldiers and began bringing supplies to the men of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry. Like a few other women, Barton provided clothing and various foods and supplies to the sick or injured. Most of the supplies were purchased through donations solicited by Barton herself or with her own funds. During the war, twice as many men died from disease and wound infections as from a bullet on the battlefield; this was due to the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions at the campsites. Clara cared... middle of paper... protected herself, she made a cross with the red ribbon she wore. After returning to America, Barton pushed for recognition of a movement for the International Committee of the Red Cross by the United States government. Initially, President Rutherford B. Hayes expressed what most Americans believed, that they would never again face a problem like the Civil War. But Barton persisted and ultimately succeeded by using the argument that the new American Red Cross could respond to crises other than war, such as earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes. In 1880, the American Red Cross was established, Barton served as the organization's first president until 1904, but he still continued as a volunteer in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The American Red Cross, with Barton at its helm, was largely devoted to disaster relief for the first 20 years of its existence..