Angel of the Battlefield - The Life and Times of Clara Barton by Jo-Ann Roberts

 

In celebration of the 2022 Women History Month theme “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” Clara Barton's gift of healing gave hope to the lives of others and reflects a belief in the unlimited possibilities of this and future generations.

Born into an abolitionist family in Oxford, Massachusetts in 1821, Clarissa Barton's love of nursing started when her oldest brother experienced a serious head injury and she nursed him for two years.

Here are some extraordinary facts about this remarkable woman...

As a child, Clara was painfully shy. Determined to overcome her shyness, she became a teacher at the age of 17, and sought to encourage her students without harsh discipline and was praised for it.

"Her compassion for other and her willingness to help them always won out over her shyness."                                                                   David Pierce 

While visiting a friend in New Jersey, Clara came across many poor, school-age boys on the streets. Determined to help them, she received permission to start a free public school. By the end of the year, the school had grown from six students to several hundreds. But when the school board voted to replace her with a man at twice her salary, she left in protest.

"I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay."        Clara Barton

     

In 1854, Clara took a job as a copyist for the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. Within a year, she was promoted to clerk, making her the first woman to receive a government appointment. She lobbied to receive $1,400, the same salary as her male counterparts, many of whom resented women in the workplace. Her promotion didn't last long. A new boss demoted her back to copyist, earning her ten cents for every one hundred words.

It was while she was working at the Patent Office that the Civil War broke out. A week later, soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry were attacked by southern sympathizers.  A makeshift hospital was created in the uncompleted Capitol Building. Though shy, Clara rushed to help the wounded, and was shocked to discover that some of the men were her former students.

"They were faithful to me in their boyhood, and in their manhood faithful to their country."                                                                           Clara Barton

 

 

                                                                                                                                            

As the need for care and medical provisions grew, she gathered provisions from her home, and organized a campaign to solicit relief items from her friends, neighbors and the public, earning her the name "Angel of the Battlefield".

More importantly, she spent hours with the wounded, homesick soldiers, nursing them back to health, writing letters, offering up prayers and words of care and comfort. Though she lacked formal training, she called upon common sense, courage, and compassion.

In 1862, she received permission to take bandages and other supplies to a battlefield hospital after the Battle of Cedar Mountain. From then on, she traveled with the Union Army.

While cradling the head of a wounded soldier at the Battle of Antietam, a bullet passed through the sleeve of her dress and into her patient.

"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 the end of the war, tens of thousands of men were missing. With Lincoln's approval. she founded the Missing Soldiers Office to help families locate their loved ones. Of the 63,000 requests, Clara and her staff located 22,000 men, some of whom were still alive.

"You must never think of anything except the need and how to meet it."                                                                                                                        Clara Barton  

 In 1869, Clara traveled to Europe for a well-earned rest. After witnessing and joining the efforts of the International Red Cross to help wounded victims of war, she founded the American Red Cross in 1881. She led several relief efforts, including those of the Mississippi River and Ohio River floods, the Johnstown Flood in Pennsylvania, and the devastating hurricane in Galveston, Texas. Her work helped convince the International Red Cross to expand its mission to include helping those affected by natural disasters.

"The only reason we have a Red Cross today that responds to natural disasters and emergencies is because of Clara Barton and her determination to help her fellow man."                                                               David Price

Clara Barton served on sixteen battlefields during the Civil War. Whether working behind the scenes to procure supplies, prepare meals, arrange makeshift hospitals or tend the wounded during some of the bloodiest battles in American history, she earned the respect of countless soldiers, officers, surgeons and politicians. She almost singlehandedly changed the widely held viewpoint that women were too weak to help on the battlefield.

The American Red Cross wouldn't exist as it is today without her influence. She believed in equal rights and helped everyone regardless of race, gender or economic status. When she died in 1912, the New York Times wrote,

"She was a woman of remarkable executive skill, of unbounded enthusiasm, inspired by humane ideas...Her name became a household word, associated in the public mind with goodness and mercy."

A fearless humanitarian who helped revolutionize battlefield medicine, she is celebrated for her lifelong dedication to helping others. She was a teacher, nurse, an abolitionist, and a campaigner for women's rights, and remains one of the most honored women in American history.

Sources:

American Red Cross Founder Clara Barton. American Red Cross.
Biography: Clara Barton. Civil War Trust.
Clara Barton. Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum.
Clara Barton and the American Red Cross. Clara Barton Birthplace Museum.
Clara Barton at Antietam. National Park Service.

The Romance of Wicker Furniture by Jo-Ann Roberts

In my current work in progress, Marrying the Major, Kit Lambert, a proud Southern belle, seeks counsel from her aunt in a serene setting surrounded by fragrant magnolias, wisteria vines, lilac bushes, and...a grouping of wicker chairs and tables. The object of her dilemma?... a  handsome Union major, Will Chandler, whose unnerving presence in their small southern town at the very end of the War Between the States upends her world and her heart.

Nothing sparks my romantic imagination  like a peaceful garden  on a warm early summer evening filled with the scent of flowers and graced with ferns surrounding white wicker furniture. I can visualize a couple sharing sweet kisses, gentle touches, and whispered words of love...*sigh*  So naturally, I wanted to add a scene which added an extra element of romance. This desire led me to researching the history of this favorite type of casual furnishings.

Wicker furniture has a long history that spans nearly 5,000 years - from ancient Egyptian rattan weaving, to the outdoor wicker furniture of our present day. The word  "wicker" is of Scandinavian descent and originates from the words wika which means "to bend" and vikker which means "willow".

This popularity of wicker went beyond ancient Egypt and Rome to various European countries, and finally arriving in America on the Mayflower in the form of a baby cradle! 

Cyrus Wakefield popularized the use of rattan when he began selling it off ships docked at Boston's many ports. The ships would use the material as light weight packaging, capable of keeping crates together.  These materials were used to keep the cargo from shifting around in rough waters during the voyage from Asia. Leftovers were often abandoned on the docks  until they died but Wakefield had a better idea. He took home an armful of the rattan and wove it around the frame of a chair. From this humble beginning, he rose to prominence as one of America's first rattan furniture makers during the 1860s after he married the daughter of a wealthy shipping magnate. Through the connections his in-laws brought to their shipping business Wakefield was able to import rattan from China.

During this time, wicker furniture was used inside the home, on the front porch, and even in the garden. Wakefield Company dominated the industry but was opposed by its largest competitor, Heywood Brothers & Company, who at the time, was the largest manufacturer of wood furniture. The tide shifted when Heywood Brothers developed machinery to automate the process with a loom which could weave the cane. This reduced the price dramatically and the two companies competed heavily in the 1870s-1880s. Ultimately, the two companies merged to form Heywood-Wakefield Company in 1897.

In the world of wicker there are four distinct eras. The Victorian Era (1860s-1900) is notable for its elaborate ornamentation like curlicues and beads, and complicated, handwoven caned back panels in fancy spider-web weaves. Special motifs like moons, stars, and fans were also popular.

The Turn of the Century Era (1900-1917) featured flowing, wavelike lines. These pieces were all handmade with natural materials. During this time period, Gustav Stickley (founder of the renowned Stickley Furniture Company) introduced a wicker style which was modern and revolutionary in design with its straight lines and open latticework.

During the Machine Age (1917-1940s) The Lloyd Loom process was patented in 1917 by Marshall Lloyd, who twisted kraft paper around a metal wire, placed the paper threads on a loom and wove them into what was to become the traditional Lloyd Loom fabric. These chairs quickly became very popular in the U.S. in 1921. Upholstered backs and seat cushions were now the rage. 

The Art Deco style continued to utilize the paper fiber rush weaving multi-colored diamond patterns into the backs of chairs and settees.

My own love of wicker furniture revolves around summer evenings sitting on my in-law's porch on Cape Cod when I was dating my husband. A two-sided porch wrapped around a ten room Victorian house, complete with a small cottage in the back as well as a huge barn and circular drive. But I always sensed that it was that furniture on the porch which gave the house its personality and sense of style. Though the house was sold a few years ago, I hope the new owners spend soft summer nights sipping ice tea on a wicker glider, holding hands and exchanging loving glances.