Clara Barton was born Clarissa Harlowe Barton in Oxford, Massachusetts in 1821. The youngest of five children, she was described as a very shy young lady. Barton’s first experience with nursing was sooner than she had expected. Her brother had become ill when she was a teen and she learned how to administer his medications to aid in his recovering. …show more content…
She got her start in nursing by aiding to Union soldiers by bringing them food, water, and supplies. Barton bought supplies from her home to the men of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry. She received her official title as the “angel of the battlefield” after she was granted the permission to transfer supplies to numerous battlefields to where doctors and surgeons could use them. Some of the battlefields that Barton assisted included Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Being able to provide assistance to wounded men, especially without any formal medical knowledge or training was another great accomplishment for Barton. She had assisted in the battle of Antietam, Maryland by bringing her own supplies that she had collected over the years. "A ball has passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through his chest from shoulder to shoulder. There was no more to be done for him and I left him to his rest. I have never mended that hole in my sleeve. I wonder if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole in his coat?" (Clara Barton at Antietam) Unfortunately, Barton became ill with typhoid fever and collapsed (Carla Barton at Antietam). Following her illness, she returned to Washington D.C. in hopes of getting better.
After regaining her strength, Barton kept with it and assist many more men on the battlefield. Nearing the end of the war in 1865, she assisted in identifying 13,000 dead union soldiers from the Prisoner-of-War camp in Andersonville, GA. Barton went on the identify missing soldiers in the Civil War proceeding this camp. She did this by publishing names in the newspapers and exchanging letters with veterans and family members to correctly identify the