Historical Profile: Clara Barton

Boston, MA. - Clarissa "Clara" Harlowe Barton (1821-1912) was born in North Oxford, Massachusetts.  Barton was a hospital nurse during the American Civil War.  She was also a teacher, patent clerk, civil rights activist, and founder of the American Red Cross.  Barton became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her work as a nurse during the Civil War.

After the Civil War, Barton led the Office of Missing Soldiers in Washington, D.C.  Over the course of several years, this office help to locate, identify, and properly bury thousands of Union soldiers.

On May 21, 1881, Barton founded the American Red Cross at her apartment in Washington, D.C.  In 1907, Barton published her autobiography called: The Story of My Childhood.  There is a plaque dedicated to Barton in Nurses Hall at the Massachusetts State House.

Clara Barton plaque at the Massachusetts State House.

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