Chapter XX: Clara Barton’s Death and Resurrection

Clara Barton died young. Even to those who were near her, she never seemed to grow old. At ninety there was no mark of physical infirmity upon her, nor was there any slightest slackening in the interest of the object for which so long she had cared. On her ninetieth birthday she wrote to the Reverend Percy H. Hepler:

Notwithstanding the much and more that has been said of “age” and all the stress laid upon it, I could never see and have never been able to understand how it came to be any business of ours. We have surely no control over its beginning, and, unless criminally, none over its ending. We can neither hasten nor arrest it, and how it is a matter of individual commendation I have never been able to see. I have been able to see painfully that the persistent marking of dates and adding one milestone to every year has a tendency to increase the burden of “age” and encourages a feeling of helplessness and release from activities which might be a pleasure to the possessor. I have given the exact age as recorded, lest I be suspected of trying to conceal it, but I have never, since a child, kept a “birthday” or thought of it only as a reminder by others.

Somehow it has come to me to consider strength and activity, aided so far as possible by right habits of life, as forming a more correct line of limitations than the mere passing of years.

Something similar to this she said to the author. She had no pride in her great age; she did not like to be thought of as an old lady. Years were to her merely opportunities of service, not measures of life. Notwithstanding this attitude, which prolonged her life and kept her young in spirit, Clara Barton was nearing the end of life’s journey. She had a heavy cold in the winter of 1908 and 1909, but fully recovered, and never seemed better in health than in the summer of 1910 when she made her journey to Chicago referred to in the last chapter. Unfortunately, she reached New England in a cold summer storm, which seemed almost like sleet, and her exposure seriously weakened her.

She returned to Glen Echo in August, but did not fully recover her strength. That winter she had double pneumonia, and her physician told her she had but one chance of life. “I will take that chance,” she said calmly. She took that chance and recovered.

But she did not grow strong again. The news of the death of her niece, Mrs. Riccius, was a great shock to her. Her heart almost ceased to beat. Always her concern for those whom she loved affected her more than anything that could happen to her.

In the summer of 1911 she made her last visit to Oxford. She made the journey with no ill effects, but the summer did not bring her permanent improvement. Long years of constant work and the serious illness of the winter had caused a slight weakness in the muscular action of the heart. Otherwise, her physicians could find no organic ailment.

When she was at work in Galveston in 1900, she was seriously ill. Her physician whispered to her nephew, Stephen, that she could live only a few hours. She overheard the word, and calling Stephen to her whispered to him, “I shall not die; don’t let them frighten you.” In that spirit she had met the numerous predictions of her death in the various illnesses of the years.

But it was not so after the summer of 1911. She went back to Glen Echo without her usual invigoration from her weeks in New England.

Still she did not give up. She had periods of old-time vigor. Here is an entry in her diary for Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12, 1910:

At night I fold the wash of Monday for ironing to-morrow. Up at six: commenced ironing and continued till all was done, at one o’clock. At night took the clothes from the frames and put them in place, and felt that for once one thing was done as it should be. ’Twas finished before leaving.

She commented on the bad behavior of the Suffragettes, whom she believed to be injuring their cause by unwomanly conduct.

A week later:

We moved the large desk to my chambers from the dining-room below. A spacious desk it makes. One should be able to write a History of the World with such accommodations.

She was concerned for her old and faithful horse, Baba; and, when one night he was out in pasture and it turned somewhat cold, she could not sleep, but got up at four o’clock in the morning, fed Baba a full feed of corn, and some fruit from the table, and went back to bed.

Her diaries of 1907 had been neglected. She tried to bring them up to date from her pencil notes:

It seems to have been a hard year for me. It makes me tired to read it.

That spring she trimmed the rosebushes and set out flowers. A fire broke out in her room; the floor grew hot from the burning-out of the soot in a sheet-iron drum; and she got water and wet the floor till the chimney and pipe had burned out.

She mourned over the death of Mark Twain:

We have lost something very precious in his rich vein of humor. There are losses that are never made good. We have not another Whittier, or another Mark Twain.

The diary for 1911 begins with the multitude of Christmas greetings received and sent. The process took her several days and left her very weary. This led her to reflect that she was kept so busy with inconsequential writing that she had no time to do the writing she so much wanted to do, her Life and the story of her work.

She had an invitation from the “Review of Reviews” to write an article on “Hospitals and Hospital Nurses of the Civil War.” She declined, on the ground that she knew nothing about the subject! She had not been a nurse, and did not pretend to write as if she had been.

This was in January, 1911, and in February she had pneumonia, but recovered.

That summer she had two or more visits from a man who expressed himself with great emphasis on the subject of the immodesty of woman’s dress; she agreed with him, but felt it was hardly fair to talk to her as if she were to blame or needed to be convinced. “But really, he is not without provocation. Huge hats, dangerous hatpins, hobble and harem skirts, and the conduct of the Suffragettes are hard to defend.”

Most of her visitors just ran in from Washington, and ran away, hurrying back to the city. One day an old friend came and spent the afternoon and the night:

This day has been extremely social. It is really refreshing to see a man who has a little time, and not always in a rush with a watch in his hand to catch the next train. I fail to believe that these nervous persons accomplish the most, or are actually the best business men. Hurry is a habit with them. They make every one uncomfortable with their own selfish plans, and all are relieved to get them off and see them go.

In April she began to feel that she could take up and finish her History of the Red Cross.

In that month, Dr. Hubbell was grafting trees. She had always coveted the learning of that art; so she took lessons in tree-grafting. Also, she began to learn the use of the typewriter, at the age of eighty-nine.

She was interested in the trial of the Los Angeles dynamiters; in the activity of Mr. Bryan, whom she wished the Democrats might have sense enough to nominate; and, if a Democrat had to be elected, she, a Republican, wished it might be he.

She read a “Life” of the Brontë sisters. She read in good English translations “The Apology” of Socrates, the address of Xenophon to his army, some of the orations of Demosthenes, and other good old literature. She read the daily papers, and commented on all important current happenings.

She provided a final home for Baba, eighty miles away in Virginia, bade him a fond farewell, and sent money regularly to keep him well fed.

In May she wrote her will; the same will that was probated a few months later.

She commented on the great Suffrage parade in London, with satisfaction that the cause of Woman Suffrage was gaining, but with rather sad reflection that, fallible as men were, she had found women even more so; and she thought suffrage would be a blessing, but not an unmixed blessing.

She salted down eggs in early summer, and in the late fall they were candled and found good. She oversaw the management of her household, and part of the time she did her own cooking, in this, her last summer.

These citations are given, not because they are important in themselves, but because they give little glimpses of her life in her last few months. Certainly she did not permit herself to rust out in mind or body. A physical examination after her recovery from pneumonia in 1911 found her with every bodily organ sound, but with a pulse somewhat easily disturbed.

On Christmas, 1911, her ninetieth birthday, she sent to the world through the press this message:

Please deliver for me a message of peace and good-will to all the world for Christmas. I am feeling much better to-day, and have every hope of spending a pleasant and joyful Christmas, my ninetieth birthday.

Her hope was fulfilled and she celebrated her ninetieth Christmas with quiet but cheerful festivities.

As the rigor of winter came on, she was taken again with double pneumonia. In the weeks that followed, hope alternated with fear, until, on April 12, 1912, at nine o’clock in the morning, she cried out, “Let me go; let me go,” and the earthly life of Clara Barton came to its close.

A few days before she died, she talked with her nephew, Stephen, concerning her funeral, and chose for herself the principal speakers. She desired that her long-time and trusted friend, Mrs. John A. Logan, should say the principal words in a preliminary service to be held in Glen Echo, and that at the main funeral service to be held in Oxford, the chief speakers should be her friend the Reverend Percy Epler, and her cousin, the Reverend William E. Barton. She mentioned others as those whom she would be glad to have share in the services, and her wishes were carried out.

On Sunday afternoon a brief service was held at Glen Echo. The Reverend John Van Schaick, Jr., pastor of the “Church of our Father,” Universalist, of Washington, read the Scripture and offered prayer.

The Reverend W. W. Curry, a veteran of the Civil War, paid her a brief and heartfelt tribute, which was followed by three addresses, by Chaplain Coudon, of the House of Representatives, Mrs. John A. Logan, and the Honorable Peter V. De Graw.

The body reached Oxford in the early morning of April 16th, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Barton; Francis Atwater, of Meriden, Connecticut; Dr. Eugene Underhill, President of the Nurses’ College of Philadelphia; and Dr. Julian B. Hubbell. It had long since become apparent that no church in Oxford would contain the congregation. The service was held in Memorial Hall, which was filled to overflowing, and it was estimated that as many as five hundred people were unable to secure admission. Delegations were present from many cities, and representatives of various patriotic organizations were in attendance. Floral tributes had been received from many parts of the Nation, and a magnificent wreath was sent by the Grand Duchess of Baden. The casket was almost hidden with flowers. Above it was a great red cross made of carnations, and upon the casket was a large bouquet of red roses, the flowers which all her life she most had loved and which had belonged to her family since the days of the Wars of the Roses.

Appropriate music was rendered by the Schumann Quartet of Boston, who sang sympathetically Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar.” The opening words of Scripture, “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” and of the comforting sentences, “Let not your heart be troubled,” were recited by the Reverend William E. Barton.

The Reverend John P. Marvin read the Bible lesson. Mrs. Allen L. Joslyn read a beautiful tribute from the Town of Oxford, and Mr. J. Brainard Hall, of Worcester, a veteran of the Civil War, represented the Woman’s Relief Corps in a tribute which included the placing of a silk flag upon her breast as she lay in the casket.

The two formal addresses were then delivered by the ministers whom she had chosen, the Reverend Percy E. Epler, pastor of the Adams Square Congregational Church of Worcester, and the Reverend William E. Barton, of Oak Park, Illinois.

For an hour after the service, the people filed through the hall and past the casket for a last look at her face.

The body was then borne to the hearse, escorted by a guard of the Grand Army of the Republic, its chaplain, H. A. Philbrook, and the color sergeant leading the procession.

The North Oxford Cemetery has a beautiful and sightly elevation, containing the largest lot in the enclosure where for generations the Bartons have been buried. There her body was laid to rest, the hands of old soldiers lowering it to its last resting-place.

It was a glorious day in the spring. The services had begun at one o’clock, and, as the procession entered the cemetery, the sun was near its setting. The cemetery was thronged with people, the crowd containing many who had been unable to secure admission to the hall. The music in the hall had been rendered by a male quartet. Clara Barton had never cared greatly for music, but the music that she liked best was that rendered by male voices or sung heartily by a congregation. In the cemetery one hymn was sung, “Nearer, my God, to Thee,” the whole great congregation joining in the singing.

CLARA BARTON

“ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD”
CIVIL WAR 1861-1865
FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR 1870-1871
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898
ORGANIZER AND PRESIDENT OF THE
AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS
1881--1904

DEC. 25, 1821--April 12, 1912

IN THE CEMETERY AT OXFORD]

A prayer was offered by a blind soldier, Chaplain Simmons, of Worcester.

The closing scene can hardly be described. Dr. Barton took his place at the head of the grave, holding in his hand a large bunch of red roses, and the place at the foot of the grave was taken by the Reverend Doctor Tyler, “Father Tyler,” a venerable and saintly man, who had buried the fathers and mothers of the Barton family in Oxford. He stood with his long white beard and silver hair irradiated by the sunset; and, in a voice tender, and reverent and comforting, spoke the following words:

In the few words with which I am to close this service, I shall indulge in no repetition of what has been said, and so well said, by the principal speakers on this occasion, eulogistic of the life and the life-work of the most celebrated woman of the world, whose mortal remains we have here deposited in the resting-place of her choice, among the beloved of her family. My thought will lead you in another direction, which has hardly been alluded to, if at all, in the eloquent addresses to which we have listened.

As we look into the grave and bid farewell to the mortal remains of Clara Barton, we instinctively are led to ask ourselves, “Where is Clara Barton who for more than ninety years made them the agencies of her great work in the world?” The life, the spirit, the soul--has that been destroyed by death? Does utter annihilation follow the development and growth of such a life?

As a Christian minister I feel I give a voice to the scriptural revelation of life and immortality when I say emphatically, “No!” She still lives! She has entered the pearly gates of the Holy City and is now walking the golden streets of the New Jerusalem! She has been born again into the newer life, as Christ taught the inquiring Pharisee, and our aged friend is now among the youngest of the Immortals!

I feel that while the Nation mourns because of her going, all heaven is rejoicing because of her coming! This great gathering of friends who sorrowfully bid her good-bye is but typical of the greater multitude of friends who have gone before her, and who, with smiling faces and extended hands, have given her a heavenly welcome. In a little while, after the pain of our grief has softened, we shall be glad, and bless God that He has taken her to Himself.

Now we know nothing, or but little, of the vocations and employments of the eternal life; except concerning the angels as “ministering spirits” they are nowhere revealed; but reasoning from analogy I am convinced that as doing is necessary to our happiness here, so a busy activity must be essential to the happiness of Heaven. In this regard we may be assured that Clara Barton will not be found wanting.

And so by faith beholding her as a happy spirit in the glorious life to which she has been promoted, we may all join in giving to these relics of her earthly life, as they peacefully rest for always in their last home, a heartfelt, loving

Good-Bye!

At the close of this brief and touching address, Dr. Barton spoke the words of committal; and, as he uttered, “Dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” dropped upon the lowered casket the large red roses, and pronounced the benediction.

Just then a mother stepped up and whispered, “My little girl was born in Clara Barton’s birthplace; in the very room where she was born. Will you baptize her, and will you do it now?”

“Bring her to me,” said the minister, “and I will christen her ‘Clara Barton.’”

So the name was bestowed in that hour upon another little girl, whose parents sought that the spirit that had lived in Clara Barton might live again in the life of their own daughter.

Two years from the following summer, the world witnessed a desolating war, and the months that followed wrought their inevitable destiny by plunging America into the seething conflict. Long before America formally entered the fight, the American Red Cross was active in measures of relief for the sorrowing nations of Europe. When, at length, the United States itself entered the war, the Red Cross blazed forth in every community between the oceans. Churches and town halls and private homes became dépôts where supplies were collected, bandages rolled, and workers trained. Hospitals, in our own country and along the battle-front, were erected and equipped. To them went thousands of American young women, each one of them wearing, on her arm or cap, the symbol which Clara Barton brought back to her own land after the close of the Franco-Prussian War. In their heroism and their deeds of mercy, Clara Barton lived again.

THE END

INDEX

Acquia Creek, I: 168, 209, 273.

Alcott, Louisa M., I: 47.

Amidon, George H., I: 314.

Andrew, Gov. John A., I: 156, 159, 160.

Andrews, B. P., II: 162.

Anthony, Susan B., I: 1.

Appia, Dr. Louis, II: 5, 11, 120;
letters from Clara Barton, 121, 130 _seq._;
letter to Clara Barton, 124.

Armenia, II: 244.

Arogo, transport, I: 240.

Arthur, Chester A., expresses interest in Red Cross, II: 162;
recommends Red Cross treaty, 164, 188, 192.

Atlantic Monthly, quoted, I: 143.

Atwater, Dorence, I: 2, 317 _seq._;
arrested and imprisoned, 322 _seq._;
his list printed in New York Tribune, 327;
his subsequent life, 327.

Bardwell, Rev. Horatio, I: 57.

Barker, Miss Louise, I: 60.

Barton, Ada, I: 133.

Barton, Anna, wife of Edmund, I: 13.

Barton, Augustine de, I: 10.

Barton, Clara, her autobiography, I: 1 _seq._;
her ancestry, 9 _seq._;
her parents, 16 _seq._;
her childhood, 19 _seq._;
her timidity, 20;
her education, 20 _seq._;
her dog, Button, 26;
her fondness for verses, 26;
her skill as a horsewoman, 27;
her horse, Billy, 30;
her presence at the killing of an ox, 34;
her youth, 36 _seq._;
her illness in childhood, 37;
nurse of her brother David, 37;
ceased to grow at 12, 38;
learned to weave, 38;
how she kept the Sabbath, 39;
did not learn to dance, 42;
a child’s party, 43;
her books, 48;
her first experience as a teacher, 50;
her “waifish dresses,” 56;
at Clinton Institute, 60;
teacher at Bordentown, 62;
her home letters, 68 _seq._;
her verses on the steamboat, 75;
her lovers, 76 _seq._;
her too great sensitiveness, 20, 85;
her work in the Patent Office, 89 _seq._;
her styles of handwriting, 91;
her home letters, 94-101;
cares for soldiers of Sixth Massachusetts, 107;
at Battle of Bull Run, 119;
her relations with her family, 131 _seq._;
visit to New England in December, 1861, 136;
return to Washington with supplies, 137;
letter to Frances Childs, 141-44;
her father’s last sickness, 145 _seq._;
letter to her brother Stephen, 147 _seq._;
decided to give herself to work at the battle-front, 154, 157;
letter after Fredericksburg quoted, 154;
letter to Gov. John A. Andrew, 158;
her father’s death and burial, 161-63;
her disappointment concerning permission to go to the front, 164;
permission and passes obtained, 164;
started for the front, 167;
letter to Corporal Poor, 169;
at Culpeper, or Cedar Mountain, 172 _seq._;
another letter to Corporal Poor, 174;
at Second Bull Run, 175 _seq._;
letter to sister Julia, 192;
starts for Harper’s Ferry, 194 _seq._;
at Antietam, 199 _seq._;
at Fredericksburg, 212 _seq._;
letter to Vira Stone, 212 _seq._;
how she dressed at the front, 220, 221;
received a box from Anna Childs, 221 _seq._;
at Hilton Head, S.C., 225 _seq._;
witnesses futile attempt to capture Ft. Sumter, 238;
serenaded as the Florence Nightingale of America, 242;
her views of peace and patriotism, 245-48;
her requisition for a flatiron, 248;
witnessed assault on Ft. Wagner, 248-50;
sick in summer of 1863, 250 _seq._;
met with official arrogance, 254;
declined to criticize Dorothea Dix, 255 _seq._;
her position in Patent Office, 258 _seq._;
returned to Washington, 262;
at Worcester, 263;
listened to H. W. Beecher, 263;
her political views in 1864, 264-68;
listened to George Thompson, 269;
her change of opinion concerning John Brown, 269;
at Spotsylvania and Wilderness, 272 _seq._;
returns to Washington to better care for soldiers, 278-79;
why she did not work under Commissions, 280;
returns to Washington in 1864, 282;
appointed superintendent of nurses, Army of the James, 282 _seq._;
describes Fourth of July celebration, 283-85;
letters to Frances Childs Vassall and Annie Childs, 286-96;
describes death of her brother Stephen, 298-99;
her verses on “The Women Who Went to the Field,” 301-03;
drew her salary as clerk in the Patent Office till August, 1865,
304;
at Andersonville, 304 _seq._;
appointed by President Lincoln to find missing soldiers, 305;
assisted in her work by Pres. Andrew Johnson, 307-09;
approved and passes issued by Gen. Grant, 309-10;
sometimes had greater success than missing men desired, 311-13;
letter from grateful soldier, 313-14;
four years in work for missing men, 316;
appointed by Secretary Stanton to visit Andersonville, 317 _seq._;
devotes herself to release of Dorence Atwater, 321-25;
publishes his lists in _New York Tribune_, 326;
wanted to write a book, 328-33;
chose lecture platform instead, 342 _seq._;
her finances, 340-41;
bought a new home, 347;
nervous breakdown, 348;
first voyage to Europe, II: 1;
first knowledge of the Red Cross, 2;
in Switzerland, 8;
in Corsica, 8;
in Berne, 9;
accepts invitation to serve Red Cross in Franco-Prussian War, 11
_seq._;
at Basle, 12;
at Mülhausen, 14;
at Strassburg, 17;
at Carlsruhe, 19;
letter to Frances Childs Vassall, 23;
at Paris, 31;
at Lyons, 32;
at Carlsruhe, 40;
at Belforte, 44;
declines gift and receives annuity, 53;
letter to her sister Sarah, 55;
at Montbéliard, 56;
in Italy, 64;
in London, 65;
at Isle of Wight, 73 _seq._;
in London, 77;
letter to Mrs. Vassall, 79;
letter to Bernard Barton Vassall, 81;
letter to Mamie Barton Stafford, 83;
returns to America, 84;
only person in America in 1873 wearing Red Cross, 88;
the nature of her sickness, 89-91;
letter to Mr. Dwight, 91-92;
at Dansville Sanitarium, 92 _seq._;
letter to John D. De Frieze, 93;
letter to the Grand Duchess of Baden, 95-100;
recovery of health, 100 _seq._;
letter to Mamie Stafford, 104;
letter to German professor, 106;
receives ovation on Memorial Day, 112;
letter to Dr. Louis Appia, 121;
his reply, 124;
further correspondence, 130 _seq._;
first pamphlet concerning Red Cross, 139;
her first attempt at publicity, 145-46;
correspondence with Pres. Garfield, 147-49;
interview with James G. Blaine, 149 _seq._;
interview with Robert T. Lincoln, 151;
letter from James G. Blaine approving Red Cross, 154;
her first public announcement of the Red Cross, 157;
elected president American Red Cross, 159;
organizes first local Red Cross society in America, 162;
interviews President Arthur, 163;
appears before Senate Committee, 164;
first work of American Red Cross, 169;
encounters opposition of rival organizations, 172 _seq._;
visits State Department, 179 _seq._;
sees the Red Cross Treaty, 179-81;
receives news of adoption of Treaty, 184;
in Mississippi floods, 196 _seq._;
becomes matron at Sherborn, 199-214;
her love of the color of red, 218, 347;
Louisiana tornado, 220;
Ohio River floods, 221;
Texas famine, 224;
Mount Vernon tornado, 228;
yellow fever epidemic, 229;
Johnstown, 231;
Sea Islands hurricane, 240;
Armenia, 244;
in Constantinople, 248;
decorated by Sultan, 254;
attended International Conference at Geneva, 260;
introduced the “American Amendment,” 261;
letter from Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden, 264;
letter to Mamie Stafford, 268;
address at Wellesley, 270;
is pressed for money for expenses of Red Cross, 271;
accepts Red Cross Farm, 272 _seq._;
in Cuba, 280-93;
receives thanks of Congress, 293;
at Galveston, 294;
at St. Petersburg, 296;
friction in Red Cross, 298;
Committee of Investigation, 300;
resigns from Red Cross, 300;
considers removal to Mexico, 301;
at home, 307-16;
her religion, 317-25;
her personality, 326-60;
her last years, 361-68;
her death, 369-74;
her funeral, 374-78;
her resurrection, 379.

Barton, Clarissa Harlowe, aunt of Clara Barton, I: 15.

Barton, David, brother of Clara, I: 20, 31;
his accident, 38;
his marriage, 53, 54;
letters of Clara to, 70 _seq._, 111, 225;
letter from, concerning her home life, 199, 200.

Barton, Dolly, I: 15.

Barton, Dorothy, sister of Clara, I: 132.

Barton, Dorothy Moore, wife of Dr. Stephen, I: 14.

Barton, Lady Editha, I: 10.

Barton, Edmund, I: 13.

Barton, Edward, of Salem, I: 11.

Barton, Elijah Moore, I: 14, 15.

Barton, Elizabeth Rich, wife of Stephen (brother of Clara), I: 132.

Barton, Gideon, I: 14.

Barton, Hannah, I: 15.

Barton, Hannah, wife of Samuel, I: 12.

Barton, Ida, I: 133.

Barton, Dr. John, I: 11.

Barton, Julia, wife of David, her marriage, I: 54;
her interest in Clara’s wardrobe, 56;
letters of Clara to, 94-100.

Barton, Sir Leysing de, I: 9.

Barton, Luke, I: 15.

Barton, Mamie, niece of Clara, _see_ Stafford, Mrs. John.

Barton, Martha, wife of Edward, I: 10.

Barton, Matthew de, I: 10.

Barton, Pamela, I: 15.

Barton, Polly, I: 15.

Barton, Samuel, of Framingham, I: 11, 12.

Barton, Samuel, nephew of Clara, letter to her, I: 145;
letter from her, 227.

Barton, Sarah, sister of Clara, _see_ Vassall, Mrs. Vester.

Barton, Sarah Stone, mother of Clara, I: 17;
taught Clara to make pies, 36;
her death, 62;
Clara’s love for, 134.

Barton, Dr. Stephen, grandfather of Clara, I: 14.

Barton, Captain Stephen, father of Clara, I: 15, 16 _seq._;
Clara’s reference in her letters, 111;
his children, 132;
Clara’s love for him, 134;
last sickness, 145 _seq._;
encouraged his daughter Clara to go to the front, 154, 157;
his death, 161, 162;
funeral, 162.

Barton, Stephen, brother of Clara, I: 30;
letter of Clara to, 91 _seq._;
in North Carolina, 101;
letter of Clara to, 102 _seq._;
his marriage, 132;
letter of Clara to, 147 _seq._, 225;
his capture, rescue, and death, 297-300.

Barton, Stephen E., nephew of Clara, on Clara Barton’s lovers, I: 77;
letter of Clara to, 278;
in work for Cuba, 283, 370.

Barton, Rev. William E., visited by Clara, II: 366;
conducts Clara’s funeral service, 320, 376;
baptises a little girl at Clara’s funeral, 379.

Barton family, its origin and history, I: 9 _seq._

Bartonville, N. C., named for Stephen, I: 132.

Basle, Clara Barton in, II: 11.

Bastian, G., II: 162.

Belle Plaine, Clara Barton at, I: 278.

Bellows, Rev. H. W., I: 3; II: 2, 4, 117 _seq._, 165, 166, 353.

Berne, Clara Barton in, II: 9.

Bickerdyke, “Mother,” I: 296, 343.

Bismarck, correspondence with Clara Barton, II: 20.

Blaine, James G., II: 2, 149 _seq._;
letter to Clara Barton approving Red Cross, 153;
letter from Gustave Moynier, 154;
endorsement of Red Cross, 157;
submits recommendation on Treaty of Geneva, 163;
Clara Barton’s letter to, 201, 202;
assists in Russian famine, 239.

Blaine, Walker, II: 159.

Bordentown, N.J., where Clara Barton taught, I: 53, 62.

Bowles, Charles S. P., II: 2, 117.

Breck, T. S., Asst. Adj. Gen., I: 310.

Bridges, Edward, I: 12.

Brown, John, I: 101-03.

Brush, A. P., II: 162.

Buchanan, President James, I: 98.

Bull Run, Battle of, I: 119 _seq._;
Second Bull Run, 175 _seq._

Bunnell, Mark J., II: 162.

Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., II: 30.

Butler, Gen. B. F., Commander of Army of the James and friend of Clara
Barton, I: 282;
failed to secure Cabinet appointment, 339-41;
appoints Clara Barton superintendent at Sherborn, 205.

Butler, M. C., II: 242.

Cameron, Simon, I: 128.

Canfield, Mrs. S. A. M., II: 159, 198.

Carlsruhe, Clara Barton at, II: 19, 40.

Cedar Mountain, battle of, I: 172, 173.

Chantilly, battle of, I: 179.

Childs, Anna, letter to, I: 104;
letters of Clara Barton to, 221, 290-96; II: 32, 347.

Childs, B. W., I: 109.

Childs, Frances, _see_ Vassall, Mrs. B. B.

Clinton Institute (N.Y.), where Clara Barton attended school, I: 157.

Colvin, Mrs. Mary, II: 162.

Conger, Omar D., II: 152, 167, 170, 198.

Constantinople, Clara Barton in, II: 248.

Corsica, Clara Barton in, II: 8.

Cuba, Clara Barton in, II: 280-93.

Culpeper, battle of, I: 173.

Dahlgren, Admiral John, I: 249.

Dansville, Clara Barton at, II: 92 seq.;
first local organization of Red Cross, 93;
gives ovation to Clara Barton, 112.

Davis, Hon. John, II: 193.

Davis, J. C. B., II: 198.

De Frieze, John D., letter of Clara Barton to, II: 93.

De Witt, Col. Alexander, I: 89, 90, 95, 156.

Diggles, Jonas, I: 192.

Diggles, William, I: 192.

Dix, Dorothea Lynde, superintendent of Army nurses, outline of her
work, I: 230-37; 296;
did not love publicity, 328-29;
did not desire to be imitated, 329; 343.

Douglass, Frederick, II: 198.

Dunant, J. Henri, II: 4;
establishment of Red Cross, 116.

Dunn, Dr., I: 200.

Dwight, Edward, II: 44, 50, 54, 91.

Dwight, Rev. H. O., II: 244, 252, 255.

Eddy, Mrs. Mary Baker, II: 318.

Edmunds, Hon. George F., II: 163, 179.

Ellsworth, Elmer, I: 116.

Elwell, Gen. J. G., I: 241 _seq._, 249 _seq._, 251.

Elwell, J. K., II: 283.

Epler, Rev. Percy H., author of biography of Clara Barton, II: 319;
at Clara Barton’s funeral, 320.

Falmouth, Va., I: 210.

Faulkner, Mrs. James, II: 162.

Faulkner, Riley, Ohio soldier, I: 219.

Ferry, Thomas W., II: 164.

Field, Father, of the Cowley Fathers, II: 352.

Fitts, Nancy, schoolmate of Clara Barton, I: 24.

Fletcher, Dr. J. W., I: 161.

Fogg, George P., II: 2, 117.

Fowler, L. W., I: 46 _seq._, 50.

Franco-Prussian War, II: 11 _seq._

Franklin, Gen. William B., I: 197, 214.

Fredericksburg, battle of, I: 154 _seq._

Frelinghuysen, Hon. F. T., II: 189, 192, 260.

Fremont, Gen. John C., I: 98.

French, Alice, II: 239.

Gallagher, Thomas E., II: 162.

Galpin, Mrs. L. Q., II: 162.

Galveston, tornado at, II: 294.

Garfield, President James A., II; 3,
147-49;
nominates Clara Barton President of Red Cross, 157, 159;
assassinated, 160.

Garnett, A. Y. P., II: 159, 198.

Glen Echo, Red Cross headquarters, II: 307.

Golay family, II: 8.

Gough, John B., advises Clara Barton to lecture, I: 342.

Grant, Gen. U. S., requests printing of Clara Barton’s lists, I: 309;
issues passes for her, 310.

Greeley, Horace, publishes Dorence Atwater’s lists at Clara Barton’s
request, I: 326.

Green, Rev. Joseph K., II: 253-55.

Gregor, Alexander, II: 239.

Hale, Judge Robert, I: 86.

Hall, J. Brainard, II: 376.

Hamilton, Charles, I: 180.

Hamlin, Rev. Cyrus, II: 253.

Hill, Hon. Benjamin H., II: 164.

Hinton, R. J., II: 159.

Hitchcock, Dr. Alfred, I: 161.

Hitchcock, Gen. E. A., letter appointing Clara Barton for search of
missing men, I: 306; 309.

Hitz, John, II: 3, 346.

Hoffman, Gen. William, I: 309.

Hooker, Gen. Joseph, I: 197, 200, 214.

Horr, Hon. George A., II: 167.

Hosmer, F. J., letter from, I: 313-14.

Howard, Gen. O. O., I: 201.

Howe, Julia Ward, “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” I: 144;
Clara Barton’s comment on, II: 328.

Hubbell, Dr. Julian B., II: 216, 220-21, 240, 251, 260, 290, 329.

Hunter, Gen. David, I: 241, 243.

Jackson, Chaplain, I: 189.

Jackson, Rev. E. W., I: 170.

Jackson, Dr. J. H., II: 162.

Jackson, P. T., II: 50-52.

Jackson, Gen. Stonewall, I: 173.

Johnson, President Andrew, orders
printing of lists at request of Clara Barton, I: 307-09.

Johnson, Mrs. Fannie B., II: 162.

Johnston, John W., II: 164.

Johnstown flood, II: 231 _seq._

Joslyn, Mrs. A. L., II: 326.

Kansas and the slavery question, I: 98, 104.

Kearny, Gen. Phil, I: 188.

Kennan, George, II: 156, 159.

Klopsch, Louis, II: 283.

Knapp, Rev. George P., II: 253.

Lacy House, Fredericksburg, I: 211, 214.

Lamb, Capt. Samuel T., I: 241.

Lapham, Hon. Elbridge G., I: 164, 179, 184.

Lawrence, William, II: 159.

Learned family, I: 13 _seq._

Lee, Gen. Robert E., I: 209.

Leggett, Gen. M. D., I: 249.

Lincoln, Abraham, inaugurated, I: 105 _seq._;
promised to free the slaves, 199;
appoints Clara Barton to find missing soldiers, 305, 336, 337.

Lincoln, Robert T., Clara Barton’s interview with, II: 151.

Logan, Mrs. John A., II: 374.

London, Clara Barton in, II: 8, 77.

Loring, George B., II: 159.

Louisiana tornado, II: 220.

Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden, II: 19;
letter of Clara Barton to, 95-100;
letter to Clara Barton, 264.

Lowell, James Russell, quoted, I: 143.

Maine, sinking of the, II: 285 _seq._

Margot, Antoinette, II: 14 _seq._, 40 _seq._, 56, 262.

Marvin, Rev. John P., II: 376.

Mason, Hon. Charles, I: 90.

McClellan, Gen. George B., I: 199, 209.

McDowell, Gen. Irvin, I: 179.

McKinley, President William, Message to Congress, in appreciation of
Clara Barton, II: 293.

Meighan, T. W., Clara Barton’s letter to, I: 245 _seq._

Menseur, Rev. Mr., teacher of Clara Barton, I: 24.

Miller, Hon. John, II: 163.

Moore family, I: 13, 15.

Morgan, Benjamin, II: 35.

Morgan, Hon. J. T., II: 164.

Morris Island, Clara Barton at, I: 250.

Mount Vernon tornado, II: 228.

Moynier, Gustave, II: 120;
letter to J. G. Blaine, 154, 190.

Mülhausen, II: 14, 17.

Mussey, R. D., II: 159, 198.

Norton family, I: 62.

Ohio River floods, II: 220.

Parthia, steamship, Clara Barton on, II: 84-87.

Patrick, Gen. John H., I: 218.

Peet, Rev. W. W., II: 248, 252, 253.

Philbrick, H. A., II: 376.

Phrenology, I: 46.

Pierce, Dr. Delano, I: 29.

Pierce, President Franklin, I: 89.

Poor, Corporal Leander, I: 169, 225, 241.

Pope, Gen. John, I: 179.

Pratt, Major E. H., II: 162.

Proctor, Hon. Redfield, II: 298 _seq._

Red Cross, Clara Barton’s first knowledge of, II: 1, 11;
first pamphlet concerning, 139-43;
birth of movement, 144 _seq._;
her first attempt at publicity, 145-46;
in forest fires of Michigan, 169;
in Mississippi floods, 196;
in subsequent disasters, 219-58;
friction in, 298 _seq._;
Clara Barton resigns from, 300;
incarnates her spirit, 379.

Reno, Gen. Jesse L., I: 197.

Riccius, Ida Barton, II: 199;
letter of Clara Barton to, 275.

Roosevelt, President Theodore, II: 298.

Roses, Wars of the, I: 10.

Rucker, Gen. D. H., I: 167, 207, 227, 273, 308.

Russian famine, II: 237.

Sanitary Commission, I: 168.

Schoppe, Rev. Mr., II: 318.

Sea Islands hurricane, II: 240.

Sears, Gen. William H., II: 299.

Seward, Frederick H., II: 150.

Seymour, Gen. Truman, I: 264, 266.

Shaw, Col. Robert G., I: 249.

Sheldon, Hon. Joseph, II: 260.

Sheldon family, II: 64, 74.

Sherborn, Clara Barton at, II: 199-214.

Sherburne, Adj. Gen. John P., I: 316.

Simmons, Charles E., I: 190.

Sliney, William F., II: 159.

Smith, Mrs. Mary R., II: 162.

Solomons, A. S., II: 159.

South Mountain, battle of, I: 197.

Spain, war with, II: 290.

Spotsylvania, battle of, I: 272 _seq._

Stafford, Mrs. John (Mamie Barton), letter of Clara to, II: 83; 104;
268.

Stanton, Edwin M., appoints Clara Barton to visit Andersonville,
I: 317-20.

Stone family, I: 17.

Stone, Colonel, teacher of Clara Barton, I: 26.

Stone, Vira, I: 212, 213.

Strassburg, Clara Barton in, II: 11.

Stratford-on-Avon, Clara Barton visits, II: 84.

Strobel, P. A., II: 162.

Sturgis, S. D., II: 159.

Sullivan, W. S., II: 260.

Sumner, Hon. Charles, I: 98.

Sumter, Fort, attempt to recapture, I: 238.

Suydam, Mr., chairman Bordentown School Board, I: 62, 63.

Sweet, George A., II: 162.

Taylor family, II: 64, 73.

Terrell, Hon. A. W., II: 325.

Texas famine, II: 224 _seq._

Thayer, Eli, I: 104, 105.

Thompson, Rev. George, address in Washington, I: 269, 270.

Tillinghast, B. F., II: 239.

Tillman, Gov. Benjamin, II: 242.

Tilton, Theodore, presides at Clara Barton’s lecture, I: 344.

Tolstoy, Count, II: 239.

Torrey, Susan, teacher of Clara Barton, I: 24.

Trask, Spencer, II: 245.

Treaty of Geneva, II: 161 _seq._; 188 _seq._

Tribune, New York, I: 326; II: 22.

Tufts, Gardiner, I: 174.

Tyler, Rev. Dr., II: 320, 377.

Universalist Church, in Oxford, I: 39 _seq._;
that of Clara Barton’s parents, 317.

Upton, Mr. and Mrs., II: 9.

Vanderlip, J. A., II: 162.

Vassall, Bernard Barton, I: 133;
letter of Clara Barton to, II: 81.

Vassall, Mrs. Bernard Barton, formerly Frances Childs, teacher with
Clara at Bordentown, I: 65;
her memories, 66 _seq._;
Clara’s letters to, 114;
describes Clara’s Washington home, 121;
her marriage, 133;
letter of Clara to, 141;
description of Clara Barton’s attire, 221;
letters of Clara Barton to, 286-89; II: 23, 36, 77.

Vassall, Irving, I: 134.

Vassall, Mrs. Vester, Clara Barton’s sister Sarah, I: 133; II: 56, 65;
sickness and death, 89.

Venice, Clara Barton in, II: 64, 72.

Verona, Clara Barton in, II: 71.

Voris, Gen. Alvin C., I: 249.

Wagner, Fort, assault on, I: 248.

Ward, George K., II: 162.

Washburn, Dr. George, II: 253.

Wellesley, Clara Barton at, II: 270.

Wells, Rev. C. M., I: 210, 227.

Whiteman, Mrs. Reuben, II: 162.

Wight, Isle of, II: 73.

Wilderness, Battle of the, I: 273.

Willard, Frances, Clara Barton’s letter to, II: 203, 204.

William the Conqueror, I: 9.

Wilson, Senator Henry, called on Clara Barton on her return from
Hilton Head, I: 264-66;
corrects abuses reported by Clara Barton, 278-79;
Clara Barton’s letters concerning her desire to write a book,
330-33.

Windom, Hon. William, II: 163, 167.

Woodruff, Oscar, II: 162.

Yellow fever epidemic, II: 229.

Young, Charles S., correspondence with Clara Barton, II: 301-303.

Zouaves, I: 116.

Transcriber’s Notes

Page 145: “no executive actio” changed to “no executive action”

Page 146: “stanch friends” changed to “staunch friends”

Page 254: “translaion of which” changed to “translation of which”

Page 345: “selfa-ccusation” changed to “self-accusation”