Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in Oxford, Mass., on Christmas Day of 1821. A teacher, a civil rights advocate, and the founder and first president of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton is still considered an icon of compassion, justice and courage.

“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.”

Raised as the youngest of five children, Barton was a shy child but showed early signs of fortitude and compassion. When her brother David was injured in a farming accident, his 11-year-old sister served as nurse, dressing his wounds and applying leeches, as was the accepted medical practice. Consistent with her self-sacrificing nature, Barton stayed home from school for two years to care for him.

When she was 16, she started work as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse. In 1850, she moved to Bordentown, N.J. Barton saw a dire need for a local school, so she opened one with the help of the local education committee. By the end of the fi rst year, she was teaching more than 200 students while running the school herself.

In 1853, when the citizens of Bordentown built a larger school, they appointed a man to be the principal rather than Barton, despite her excellent service in running the school. The new principal was hired at twice her salary. Barton, a supporter of equal pay for equal work and a friend of Susan B. Anthony, was outraged. Rather than stay on as a teacher and compromise her principles, she resigned.

“What could I do but go with them [the Civil War soldiers], or work for them and my country? The patriot blood of my father was warm in my veins.”

Growing up, Barton heard stories of the Indian wars in Ohio and Michigan from her father, Capt. Stephen Barton. She was thrilled by his tales and learned a great deal about military tactics, wartime supply needs and geography.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Barton was living in Washington, D.C., and working as a clerk in a U.S. patent office. In April, Confederate supporters mobbed a group of Union soldiers in Baltimore, Md., and the injured were taken to the U.S. Capitol. Barton rushed to the temporary hospital and immediately set to work aiding the wounded. She gathered food, clothing, medicine and other necessary supplies and distributed them among the soldiers. She sent letters to friends and relatives across the East Coast and rallied their support, asking that donations be sent to her in Washington.

Barton’s natural compassion, organizational skills and fearless temperament were the perfect combination for a relief worker. She used her talent of persuasion to garner support from others, increasing her own efforts exponentially.

“I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.”

While her brother David served as a captain in the Union army, Barton provided relief services to the wounded at battle sites from Maryland to Virginia to South Carolina. She served at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Fredericksburg, among others.

In December 1863, she moved to South Carolina to be closer to David, who was stationed at Hilton Head. While there, she helped set up hospitals and distribute supplies to Union soldiers. Through 1864 and 1865, Barton was stationed at hospitals throughout South Carolina and Virginia.

Her work in the field was often dangerous and grueling. But she showed great courage and never failed to request a location nearer to the front than others deemed safe for a woman. Barton was determined to serve, regardless of personal cost.

“It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past.”

At the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln appointed Barton to lead the search for missing soldiers, and the Office of the Search for Missing Men was established in her Capitol Hill apartment. Thousands of families across the nation sent her letters asking for help. She lectured across the Northeast and the Midwest, telling of her wartime experiences and publicizing her search.

In 1865, Barton led a mission to the Confederate prison in Andersonville, Ga., to help identify graves of former captives. While in Georgia, she was witness to the confusion and turmoil of recently freed slaves, many of whom were unsure of their freedom. Upon her return to Washington, D.C., she gave a report to Congress in February of 1866 detailing the Andersonville expedition.

“We reached Andersonville, Ga., on the 25th of July, and very soon the colored people there commenced to gather around me,” she said. “They would travel 20 miles in the night, after their day’s work was done, and I would find them standing in front of my tent in the morning to hear me say whether it was true that Abraham Lincoln was dead, and that they were free.” Barton assuaged fears and used her considerable influence to help those in the most dire straits.

At the conclusion of her search in late 1866, Barton had helped locate more than 22,000 missing soldiers.

“A confederation of Relief Societies in different countries, acting under the Geneva Convention, carries on its work under the sign of the Red Cross.”

After an exhausting lecture tour concluded in 1868, Barton took a rest in Europe. Officials from the International Red Cross (IRC) had heard of her Civil War relief work and contacted her for a meeting.

The IRC was founded in 1863 by Swiss businessman Henry Dunant. In 1864, the first Geneva Convention with representatives from 16 governments acted on behalf of victims of war by drafting the Treaty of Geneva, which was signed by all nations present except Great Britain, Saxony, Sweden and the United States.

Barton quickly became involved in European relief efforts, providing aid to victims of the Franco-Prussian War. Her hands-on experience with the IRC helped her see the benefit such an organization would have in the United States.

After her return home in 1873, Barton spent nearly a decade spreading the word and preparing for the founding of the American Red Cross in May 1881. Under her leadership, the Red Cross aided victims of natural and manmade disasters, such as forest fires, floods, earthquakes and epidemics. Barton’s indomitable spirit and strong work ethic inspired the American people to band together and sacrifice for the sake of others.

“…offering a hand up, not a handout.”

Barton served the American Red Cross until 1904. Over her years of providing aid, she was decorated with the Order of the Silver Cross from Imperial Russia, the Order of the Iron Cross from Imperial Germany and the International Red Cross Medal. She was also named American Red Cross President for Life.

On April 12, 1912, at the age of 90, Barton passed away at home in Glenn Echo, Md. She had dedicated her life to “offering a hand up, not a handout” and remains a stirring example of what courage and compassion can do in the face of suffering.