Timeline of Clara Barton (1821-1912)
1821, Dec. 25 Born Clarissa Harlowe Barton, Oxford, Mass., youngest child of Stephen Barton (1774-1862) & Sarah Stone Barton (1783-1851)
1833-1835 Nurse to her brother David Barton (1808-1888) while he recovered from a serious fall
1839-1850 Taught in local public schools near Oxford, Mass.
1851 Attended the Liberal Institute, Clinton, N.Y.
1852-1854 Established & taught free school, Bordentown, N.J.
1854 Moved to Washington, D.C.
1854-1857 Employed at U.S. Patent Office, first as a recording clerk. Position reduced to copyist in 1855 due to Interior Secretary Robert McClelland's opposition to women in government workforce.
1857-1860 Returned to Massachusetts after position at U.S. Patent Office eliminated
1860-1865 Rehired as temporary clerk, U.S. Patent Office
1861-1865 Organized & assisted in nursing & relief services for the Union army in the Civil War
1861, Apr. Provided supplies to soldiers of the 6th Massachusetts Infantry quartered in Washington, D.C., after having been attacked by a mob in Baltimore, Md., on April 19, 1862-1863
Provided aid to Union troops during & after battles of Cedar Mountain, Chantilly & Second Bull Run in Virginia; Maryland Campaign & Antietam; & battle of Fredericksburg, Va.
1863, Apr Relocated to Hilton Head, S.C., to provide aid to Union troops near Charleston, close to where her brother David Barton & nephew Steven E. Barton were stationed. Met Colonel John J. Elwell, with whom she formed a romantic relationship.
1863, May Met Frances D. Gage, writer, abolitionist, & women's rights activist
1863, July-Aug. Assisted soldiers wounded in the Union assault on Fort Wagner, Charleston, S.C.
1864, Jan.-May Returned to Washington, D.C.
1864 Assisted with relief efforts during the Overland Campaign in Virginia
1864, June Began relief work with the X Corps, Army of the James, under the command of General Benjamin F. Butler
1865, Jan.-Mar. Caregiver to her brother Stephen Barton (d. March 10, 1865)
1865-1868 Operated the Office of Correspondence with the Friends of the Missing Men of the U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., in an effort to locate & identify missing soldiers
1865, July With Dorence Atwater, part of the expedition to the former Andersonville prison in Georgia to mark the graves of Union prisoners. Raised U.S. flag at cemetery dedication on August 17, 1865.
1866, Feb. 21 Testified External before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, United States Congress 39th Congress, 1st session, 1865-1866
1866, Mar. 10 U.S. Congress appropriated $15,000 to reimburse Barton for her efforts in locating missing soldiers (See S.R. 36, 39th Congress, 1st session, March 2, 1866 for joint resolution urging appropriation. Available online in "Bills & Resolutions" on A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation)
1866-1868 Toured the Northeast & Midwest delivering lectures on her war experiences
1869, Aug. Traveled to Europe to restore her health
1870, Sept. 17 Met Grand Duchess Louise of Baden, with whom Barton formed a personal friendship & professional relationship
1870-1871 Introduced to the Red Cross in Europe, & organized relief services during the Franco-Prussian War
1873 Returned to the United States
1876 Moved to Dansville, N.Y., where she met Julian B. Hubbell, who would play a significant role in Barton's future relief efforts with the Red Cross
1877-1882 Advocated for U.S. ratification of the Geneva Convention, which was ratified by the U.S. Senate on March 16, 1882
1881-1904 Founder & president, American Red Cross (known as the American Association of the Red Cross at its founding)
1881-1882 Organized Red Cross relief aid to forest fire victims in Michigan
1882-1884 Organized Red Cross relief aid to victims of Mississippi & Ohio river floods
1883-1884 Superintendent, Women's Reformatory Prison, Sherborn, Mass.
1884, Aug. Traveled to Geneva, Switzerland in the first American delegation to the International Red Cross Conference
1886, Mar. Moved to Washington, D.C.
1886, Sept. Organized Red Cross relief aid to earthquake victims, Charleston, S.C.
1888, Feb. Supervised tornado relief efforts, Mount Vernon, Ill.
1888, Aug. Organized Red Cross relief for yellow fever victims, Jacksonville, Fla.
1889, June-Oct. Organized Red Cross relief aid to flood victims, Johnstown, Pa.
1891-1892 Built warehouse at Glen Echo, Md., modeled on Red Cross shelters used for relief work at Johnstown, Pa. Barton would later use the structure as her home & American Red Cross headquarters.
1892 Organized Red Cross relief aid to Russia for victims of drought & famine
1893, Apr. American Association of the Red Cross reincorporated as the American National Red Cross
1893-1894 Organized & supervised Red Cross relief aid for hurricane victims on the Sea Islands, S.C.
1896 Organized Red Cross relief aid for the Armenians in Turkey
1897-1912 Lived at American Red Cross headquarters, Glen Echo, Md.
1898, Feb. 15 Assisted with the wounded after the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana, Cuba
1898, Apr. Began organization of Red Cross relief efforts in Cuba during the Spanish-American War
1898 Published The Red Cross External. Washington, D.C.: American National Red Cross
1900, June American National Red Cross reincorporated as the American Red Cross
1900, Sept.
Organized Red Cross relief aid to victims of a hurricane & tidal wave, Galveston, Tex.
1903, Dec. Distributed supplies during typhoid epidemic in Butler, Pa.
1904, May 14 Resigned as president of the American Red Cross
1904 Published A Story of the Red Cross External. New York: D. Appleton
1905-1910 Founder & president of the National First Aid Association of America
1907 Published The Story of My Childhood External. New York: Baker & Taylor Co.
1912, Apr. 12 Died, Glen Echo, Md. Interred in North Cemetery, Oxford, Mass.