CLARISSA “CLARA” HARLOWE BARTONAmerican, (1821-1912)Angel of the Battlefield

“This conflict is one thing I’ve been waiting for. I’m well and strong and young—young enough to go to the front. If I can’t be a soldier, I can help soldiers.”

Clara Barton was a pioneering nurse who founded the American Red Cross in 1881. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and patent clerk. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, she independently organized relief for the wounded, often bringing her own supplies to front lines. As the war ended, she helped locate thousands of missing soldiers.

Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work at a time when relatively few women worked outside the home. Her energy and commitment to humanitarian causes over a forty-year period has made her a household name, a symbol of charitable self-sacrifice.

Location in hospital: Second floor, adjacent to the same-day surgery waiting area