Who Was Clara Barton? [Paperback]

Clarissa “Clara” Barton was a shy girl who grew up to become a teacher, nurse, and humanitarian.  At a time when few women worked outside the home, she became the first woman to hold a government job, as a patent clerk in Washington, DC. In 1864, she was appointed “lady in charge” of the hospitals at the front lines of the Union Army, where she became known as the “Angel of the Battlefield.” Clara Barton built a career helping others.  She went on to found the American Red Cross, one of her greatest accomplishments, and one of the most recognized organizations in the world.Stephanie Spinner is a full-time writer of children's books.

Who Was
Clara Barton?

Who Was
Clara Barton?

Who Was
Clara Barton?

In 1833, when Clara Barton was eleven, her brother David fell off the roof of the barn on her family’s farm. He didn’t break any bones, but he did get very sick. Clara decided to take care of him. She cleaned his wounds, changed his bandages, and brought him his meals. For two years she almost never left his side.

By the time David recovered, Clara was very good at nursing. Everything she’d done to help her brother seemed to come naturally to her. So when dozens of children in her Massachusetts town came down with smallpox, Clara nursed them, too. She knew that she might get smallpox, but that didn’t stop her. The children needed her help.

Over the course of her long, busy life, Clara Barton never stopped helping and healing people. She started schools for poor children, nursed wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and fought long and hard to bring the Red Cross to the United States. Under her leadership, the Red Cross won fame for its treatment of disaster victims and set new standards for public service. Barton also transformed the nursing profession, strengthened the women’s movement, and inspired volunteer organizationl³°