Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born in 1821. She was the fifth out of five children. She was born in Oxford, Massachusetts. When she was little, her brother got a serious injury. Clara helped her brother get better. After her brother got better, she felt that she should help people and animals. After that Clara nursed many families with smallpox. Clara went to boarding school when she was just a kid. When Clara was 17, she went to work at Oxford School as a teacher. The school was in New Jersey. She left teaching school because she could not be its principal. She got a job at the Patent Office. She got the same pay as all the male workers. In 1861 Clara started the Red Cross. The Red Cross played a big role in the Civil War. The Red Cross was given permission to go and find lost soldiers, to heal wounded soldiers and to give food to all the wounded and sick soldiers. She also gathered clothes for all the soldiers. Once when she was in the operating room, shells hit the ground while they were operating. So Clara held the table for the surgeon. Being a nurse in those days was dangerous because you could catch colds from your patients. When Clara was older she went all around the United States giving lectures.