What is a hero? For many, a firefighter, police officer, or superhuman may come to mind. According to Robert F. Kennedy, “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or the lot of others, or strikes out an injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.” Clara Barton, a civil war nurse and the founder of the American Red Cross, is the epitome of a hero, as her heroic acts, courage and care during the Civil War serve as an inspiration for others in today’s dark times.
Barton’s training to become a hero started at a young age. She was brought up by her father, Capt. Steven Barton, a member of a local militia, who never actually attained the rank of captain. Her mother, Sarah Barton, was strict and industrious, and instilled the values of hard work into her children (Pryor 5). Barton’s tenure as a hero began early. When her brother, David, fell off the roof while building a barn and sustained serious internal injuries, Clara, who was just 11 years old at the time, took care of him and nursed him back to health (Krensky 18-20). This experience spurred Clara’s heroism, which would escalate during the Civil War. Clara Barton also set a precedent for women in the workforce. Barton started worked as a teacher for more than a dozen years before becoming the first female clerk in the U.S. Patent Office (Manning 121). Barton broke barriers as a woman in a male-dominated career, which opened the door for her heroism to shine, as she broke barriers in the Civil War
Clara Barton’s heroism reached levels of epic proportion during the Civil War. As her father was on his deathbed, he convinced her to go and help wounded soldiers on the battlefield. “He changed me with a dying patriot’s love to serve and sacrifice for my country and its peril and...
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...the Civil War. She stood up for the lot of injured soldiers, and imbued in them a ripple of hope. “She was perhaps the most perfect incarnation of mercy the modern world has known,” said the Detroit Free Press after her death in 1912 (Manning 122). She struck out injustices, as she advocated for equal rights and compensation for women, as well as women’s suffrage. She was persistent and stood up for her ideal of the necessity of the American Red Cross and the ratification of the Geneva Convention. Clara Barton is the true epitome of a hero, as her heroic acts and beliefs serve as an inspiration for others, and continue to have a lasting impact on the world to this very day. The New York Globe’s
Carroll 6 tribute to her said, “Give the world enough Clara Bartons and the brotherhood of man will be ushered in (Somervill 95).”
Rosemarie Zagarri argues in, A Woman’s Dilemma: Mercy Otis Warren and the American Revolution, that Mercy Otis is an extraordinary woman who deserves recognition just like Abigail Adams, Betsy Ross, and any male figure receives. Through the most important parts of Revolutionary America, Zagarri can convey just how important Mercy really is. Expanding from her knowledge of politics to her ability to write, Mercy creates magnificent poems and plays. She is able to stretch away from the idea of women not belonging in politics and not having the same intelligence of men.
Who is a hero? In contemporary times, usage of the term has become somewhat of a cliché. Over the years, the term “hero” has become representative of a wide variety of individuals, each possessing differing traits. Some of the answers put forth by my colleagues (during our in-class discussion on heroism) as to whom they consider heroes pointed to celebrities, athletes, teachers and family members. Although the occupations differed, each of their heroes bore qualities that my classmates perceived as extraordinary, whether morally or physically. Nonetheless, Webster’s defines “hero” as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” Thus, it is worth considering that individuals become heroes relative to the situation with which they’re faced.
In the book Women in the Civil War, by Mary Massey, the author tells about how American women had an impact on the Civil War. She mentioned quite a few famous and well-known women such as, Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, who were nurses, and Pauline Cushman and Belle Boyd, who were spies. She also mentioned black abolitionists, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, feminist Susan B. Anthony, and many more women. Massey talks about how the concept of women changed as a result of the war. She informed the readers about the many accomplishments made by those women.
Molly hays McCauley better known as Molly Pitcher, played a big role for women during the revolution. She got her name from carrying pitchers of water to the soldiers during battle. It is also said that when a man that was helping with the cannons fell, she helped them with the loading and the cleaning of the cannon. Even though some women
In 1869, during her trip to Geneva, Switzerland, Barton was introduced to the Red Cross and Dr. Appia, who later would invite her to be the representative for the American branch of the Red Cross and even help her find financial beneficiaries for the start of the American Red Cross. She was also introduced to Henery Dunant's book A Memory of Solferino, which called for the formation of national societies to provide relief voluntarily on a neutral basis.
Clara Barton’s ‘The Women Who Went to the Field’ describes the work of women and the contribution they made on the civil war battlefield in 1861. Barton highlights the fact that when the American Civil War broke out women turned their attention to the conflict and played a key role throughout as nurses. Therefore, at first glance this poem could in fact be seen as a commemoration of the women who served in the American Civil War as its publications in newspapers and magazines in 1892 ensured that all Civil War veterans were honoured and remembered, including the women. However, when reading this poem from a feminist perspective it can be seen instead as a statement on the changing roles of women; gender roles became malleable as women had the
Brackman, in “Civil War Women: Their Quilts, their Roles, Activities for Re-Enactors,” tells the stories of nurses, refugees, civilians, and spies during the Civil War. Bold stories of women who are taking care of children and wounded soldiers having to flee their burning homes to save their families. The horror of hospital work with seeing many men dying in agony from battle wounds that are infect by maggots and disease. There is a story that a woman named Georgeanna Woosley made up a costume for women nurses that were not used in the hospitals. Sarah Hill notes on a ship that she saw this costume and knew from the hat and hoop skirt that Woosley was not a nurse.
Clara Barton was known as one of the most honored women in American history. She was among the first women to gain employment in the federal government. She worked as a recording clerk in the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. when the first united of federal troops came into the city. She devoted her personal assistance to the men in uniform, some who had already been wounded, hungry, or were without bedding and clothing. She also started providing supplies to the young men of the Sixth Massachusetts Infantry who had been ambushed in Baltimore in the uncompleted Capitol building. She helped them write letters, and pray with them.
Clara Barton made a very great impact on the war. Clara Barton, who originally was a recording clerk, jumped into action when federal troops came into her city. The troops were injured, hungry, and hardly clothed. Barton cared for the Union soldiers by bringing them food, clothes, and supplies for the sick. Besides helping supply the soldier’s needs, Barton also provided emotional support for the men. She was able to help the men keep up their spirits and hope. Ways she comforted them was reading, praying for them, listening to their problems, and writing letters for their loved ones. Barton was able to develop a volunteer group and gather supplies for the future when soldiers were in need. Barton not only wanted to help the soldiers in her town, but the soldiers on the battlefield. She approached the leaders in the government and asked for permission to supply the army with medical service and support. Permission to help Union soldiers on the battlefield was granted to her. Later after the battle of Cedar Mountain, Barton arrived. She arrived at the battlefield with a wagon full of supplies for the soldiers. The surgeons helping the soldiers were surprised and declared “she was an angel sent to them”.
Clarissa Harlowe Barton, born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Carissa (Clara) was born the youngest of five children to Sarah and Steven Barton. Clara received all of her schooling and life training from her parents, brothers and sisters. Her father who was a once a captain in a war, taught Clara all he knew about the battlefield. Her mother taught her to sew and cook. Her two older sisters Sally and Dorothy taught her to read before she was four years old. Her brother Stephen taught her arithmetic and David her eldest brother taught her everything else; for instance, how to ride anything on anything with four legs, how to shoot a revolver, how to balance and how to take care of and nurse animals. (OTQEF, 1999, p.1) When Clara was 11 years old her favorite brother David, fell from the roof of the barn while trying to fix it, he was seriously injured and was not expected to live. Clara offered to help him and stayed by his side for three years. Her brother recovered thanks to Clara’s help. These learning experiences gave Clara the drive and determination to achieve anything she set out...
The author, Elizabeth Brown Pryor, wrote her biography of Clara Barton with the intent to not only tell her life, but to use personal items (diary and letters) of Clara’s found to help fill information of how Clara felt herself about incidents in her life. Her writing style is one that is easy to understand and also one that enables you to actually get pulled into the story of the person. While other biographical books are simply dry facts, this book, with the help of new found documents, allows Pryor to give a modern look on Barton’s life. This book gave a lot of information about Ms. Barton while also opening up new doors to the real Clara Barton that was not always the angel we hear about. Pryor’s admiration for Ms. Barton is clear in her writing, but she doesn’t see her faults as being a bad thing, but rather as a person who used all available means to help her fellow soldiers and friends along in life.
The last example of Sally Ride’s heroism is that she was a Community Crusader. Ride
see her work was not in vain. And that the revolution she and other ladies of
When the Civil War broke out, Barton chose to resign from her position in the US Patent Office. She started working on the battlefield as a volunteer. At first her basic job was to distribute bandages and war supplies to the wounded soldiers. Barton took her job to another extreme.
Most men underestimate the power of women, but if it weren’t for us how far would they have gotten during war? They wouldn’t have as many caring people, if any, so knowledgeable about health and how to help the injured. Edith Cavell was more than just a nurse that helped treat the injured, she was a hero.