Not content sitting on the sidelines during the war, Clara Barton served as a nurse and first saw combat in Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1862. She also cared for soldiers wounded at the battle of Antietam. Barton was nicknamed "The angel of the Battlefield" for her work. She was also the first President of the American Red Cross.
More than 2,000 women served as nurses during the civil war. They helped in many ways, including comforting dying or badly wounded soldiers, changing bandages, and feeding and bathing them. Due to the record keeping and the lack of real attention being paid to the many women who served as nurses, their names are often lost. Because of this, we don't know exactly how many women served as nurses during the civil war. That's a lot of unnamed heroes.
Sources:
Clara Barton:
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/clara-barton.html
http://www.biography.com/people/clara-barton-9200960
Civil War Nurses:
http://www.historynet.com/civil-war-nurses
More than 2,000 women served as nurses during the civil war. They helped in many ways, including comforting dying or badly wounded soldiers, changing bandages, and feeding and bathing them. Due to the record keeping and the lack of real attention being paid to the many women who served as nurses, their names are often lost. Because of this, we don't know exactly how many women served as nurses during the civil war. That's a lot of unnamed heroes.
Sources:
Clara Barton:
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/clara-barton.html
http://www.biography.com/people/clara-barton-9200960
Civil War Nurses:
http://www.historynet.com/civil-war-nurses