Post contributed by Jared Marrotte, Trent History of Medicine Intern.
Clarissa Harlow Barton, born on December 25th, 1821, is one of the most distinguished women in American History. She is renowned for her remarkable first aid services for the Union during the American Civil War, being called by many the “Angel of the Battlefield”, tending to the wounded even on the frontlines. She is also credited with founding the American Red Cross, a relief organization which, at the time, only had chapters overseas. She would serve as the organization’s president until her resignation in 1904.
Despite her accomplishments and contributions to war and disaster relief, however, Barton faced criticism regarding her leadership of the American Red Cross, and even the legitimacy of some of the work attributed to her. Mabel Thorp Boardman, the woman who would succeed Barton as the president of the American Red Cross in 1905, would spearhead these criticisms in 1916. In response to a plan to memorialize Barton in the American Red Cross’ new Washington D.C. headquarters, Boardman wrote a 3-page letter of charges (found in Box 2 of the Clara Barton Papers in Duke’s Rare Book & Manuscript Collection) and ordered them sent to “every member of Congress”. Boardman gives 30 statements that can be divided into 4 categories of charges against Barton’s character:
Statements 1-5 (page 1 of Boardman’s letter) question the legitimacy of the contributions Clara Barton made during the civil war, citing the lack of official documentation of her actions and impact, and emphasize that the building “is a memorial to all the women who sacrificed and suffered during the Civil War.” After discrediting her efforts, they assert that another woman, , a fellow nurse during the conflict with official documentation of her efforts, would be more worthy of the memorial.
Statements 6-9 (page 1 of Boardman’s letter) question Clara Barton’s role in forming the American Red Cross, asserting that her efforts were not solely her own (nor were they the first), and that the organization she formed was small and lacked significant impact.
Statement 10 (page 1 of Boardman’s letter) cites a lack of official records of the activities of the Red Cross for 23 years (1881-1904 approximately); and related to that, statements 11-30 (pages 1-3 of Boardman’s letter) emphasize the lack of financial records of the American Red Cross during Barton’s presidency and claim that there were several instances of her misusing funds for personal use.
Boardman’s arguments, along with her tone throughout the letter, illustrate just how adamant she was that Barton, or as she says, “such a woman,” should not be memorialized in their new headquarters.
Only two months later, on November 27th, 1916, William Henry (W. H.) Sears and Dr. Julian Bertine Hubbel, both associates and former field agents of Clara Barton, responded with an astounding 225-page letter (also found in box 2 of the Clara Barton Papers) responding to every objection. The letter included both typewritten papers and evidentiary documents supporting Clara Barton’s innocence and accomplishments:
The response to statements 1-5 (pages 1-10 of Sears’ letter) clarifies that the actual request, approved by Congress regarding the memorial, was meant to commemorate the services and sacrifices of the American women in U.S. conflicts, not just the Civil War. Even if that was the case, Sears and Hubbel prove, through correspondence between Barton and government personnel, the invaluable and often dangerous services she provided during the civil war.
The response to statements 6-9 (pages 10-17 of Sears’ letter) gives details regarding the first attempt at creating an American chapter of the Red Cross, which was a failure; she was not a part of this initial effort. It was Barton that managed to successfully ratify the Geneva treaty in the U.S., and the organization she formed had, contrary to Boardman’s statement, performed significant relief work. Sears shares several instances, such as “While Miss Clara Barton “remained” the President of this “small” American Red Cross she devised and proposed the American Amendment to the Geneva Convention, permitting the Red Cross to furnish relief on the fields of national calamities…” (page 14 of Sears’ letter)
The response to statements 10-30 was the strongest (pages 17-148), with Sears and Hubbel providing more than 100 pages worth of typewritten accounts, correspondences, unofficial records, and finance tables illustrating the efforts and finances of the American Cross during the 23-year gap addressed by Boardman. Clearly, the American Red Cross was neither idle nor insignificant during Clara Barton’s Presidency. To further support this, they also included several statements from commendatory press notices from various individuals and groups from different states and countries, praising her for her humanitarian services (pages 106-161 are filled with such praises).
Sears and Hubble conclude their response by reaffirming the character and accomplishments of Clara Barton, suggesting that the writer of the charges either wrote them out of malice or ignorance. If it is the latter, Sears asserts that the “defamer” should be given this record of Barton’s doings and be given an opportunity for “public retraction and apology.” (page 163 of Sears’ letter)
Today, Clara Barton is honored by several exhibitions, memorials, monuments, and historic sites around the country. Among which is an exhibition within the American Red Cross’s headquarters in Washington D.C., featuring one of her dresses that she would have worn during her meetings with U.S. military or government personnel.
Find more primary sources about Clara Barton at the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, including some written by herself!
Other resources:
The daughter of Civil Rights activists and scholars Michael Simmons and Dr. Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, and the sister of Grammy Award-winning DJ and record executive Tyree Cinque Simmons (DJ Drama), Simmons grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is married to Black lesbian trailblazer Sheila Alexander-Reid, founder of Women in the Life. Simmons founded the multi-media company AfroLez ® Productions in 1992 while participating in a scriptwriting workshop at Scribe Video Center taught by her mentor, the late award-winning author and filmmaker Toni Cade Bambara. During the workshop, she wrote Silence…Broken, which she developed into a short film in 1993. The company later produced In My Father’s House (1996), among other films. NO! The Rape Documentary was funded by individual donors, community-based funders, and granting agencies such as the Ford Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and the Valentine Foundation. The film had its world premiere at the 2006 Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles, CA. Simmons’s films have been included in film festivals around the world and have been screened by many educational and activist organizations.
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