Life’s Work

    Clara was known for her shyness. She was encouraged to become a teacher to help cure it. She began her teaching career in a small Massachusetts town. She taught for ten years until she was offered a position at a private school in New Jersey.  While in New Jersey, Clara saw the need for free public education and opened up the first free public school in the state.  The attendance grew to over 600 students, so the school board saw fit to hire a man to run it. Clara packed up and moved to Washington D.C. (Civil War Nurse, para, 10).  In Washington, Clara received a substantial clerkship working in the U.S. Patent Office.  She was the first woman to work in that office. In 1861, the War between the States broke out and Clara decided to resign from her position to volunteer to help with wounded and suffering soldiers. She would gather supplies such as clothes and food, as well as supplying medical assistance to them. Clara offered personal assistance as well such as lifting spirits by reading letters, listening to problems and praying with them.  She then found her place to take care of the wounded and suffering rather than behind the scenes in Washington. Clara earned her nickname “Angle of the Battlefield” for delivering a wagon of supplies one night to a field hospital after the battle of Cedar Mountain (American Red Cross, para, 5-6). In 1864, Clara became the Superintendent of Union nurses; she practiced nursing exclusively on sixteen different battlefields experiencing first-hand the horrors of war (Chitty, 2001). After the war Clara worked herself to a physical breakdown and the doctors ordered her to go to Europe and rest.