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Clara Barton, a Tireless Effort in the Face of Disaster

"If it has been my privilege to lighten never so little the heavy burden of grief which has been laid upon the hearts of our suffering people, or throw the feeble weight of my arm on the side of my country in her hour of trail, if I have made one heart stronger, or one war less bitter, I regard it as a blessing forever beyond my power to express. And whatever yet remains to be done, or however weary I may become even in well doing, my soul will always be lifted up, my hands strengthened, my step quickened, and the miles shortened by the reflection that the hearts of good men and women are with me in my work; that I carry their respect and approval, and that their generous consideration is helping me on to its accomplishment"
- Clara Barton on her inspiration in spite of challenging circumstances

Clara Barton sitting at her desk and looking at the camera
Clara Barton photographed in 1897. The year she moved into her Glen Echo, Maryland home. She signed this image and produced many copies.

NPS.gov

Chatham Manor is an 88.65-acre historic estate on Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, located in Stafford County, Virginia. Built between the years 1768 and 1771 by William Fitzhugh. This grand Georgian-style house overlooking the Rappahannock River was for many years the center of a large, thriving plantation.

Today, the Chatham Manor represents the core of what was once a more vast estate amassed by the Fitzhugh family beginning in the early eighteenth century. During the American Civil War, Chatham Estate served as a Union headquarters and field hospital. Few houses in America have witnessed as many important events and hosted as many famous people as Chatham. The house was host to many noteworthy visitors before, during, and after the war. While there was a litany of honorable mentions such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, today we recognize the great Clara Barton for her honorable work as an educator, humanitarian, and as a trailblazer of women's rights.

Clara Barton was one of the many volunteers working among army surgeons at the Chatham Manor during the American Civil War (another being Walt Whitman). When the war began in 1861, Barton quit her job and made it her mission to bring supplies to Union soldiers in need. Thus began her life-long career of aiding people in times of conflict and disaster. Barton fought against all barriers as it was atypical for women at the time to be caring for strange men in intimate situations. She also courageously took things further by going directly onto the battlefields to help wounded soldiers. After the war, Barton helped locate missing soldiers, mark thousands of graves, and testified in Congress about her wartime experiences.

Barton is most notable for establishing the American Red Cross. While traveling through Switzerland after the war, Barton learned of the International Red Cross that had been established in 1864. Upon her return to the US, she began writing pamphlets, lecturing, and meeting with President Rutherford B. Hayes to build support for the creation of an American Red Cross. Because of her efforts, the American Association of the Red Cross was formed on May 21, 1881, with Barton elected as president in June 1881. In 1882, the US joined the International Red Cross.

Clara Barton remained with the Red Cross until 1904, attending national and international meetings, aiding with disaster relief, and helping the homeless and the poor. In addition, Barton established the National First Aid Association of America, an organization that emphasized emergency preparedness and developed first aid kits.

The impact of Barton’s tireless efforts are still felt today. Thanks to her dedication to aiding those in need, the American Red Cross continues to provide assistance in the face of disasters.

“In these later years I have observed that writers of sketches, in a friendly desire to compliment me, have been wont to dwell upon my courage, representing me as personally devoid of fear, not even knowing the feeling. However correct that may have become, it is evident I was not constructed that way, as in the earlier years of my life I remember nothing but fear.”
- Clara Barton in The Story of My Childhood (pg. 15)





Tags

Clara Barton National Historic Site, Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, Glen Echo Park

Last updated: March 6, 2023