Clara Barton Red Bud

Clara Barton worked at the Patent Office in Washington DC, but found time to organize relief efforts for soldiers returning after the Baltimore Riots. During the Civil War, Barton worked to collect and distribute medical supplies desperately needed for the tending of wounded soldiers and organized a program for locating men listed as missing in action. Through interviews with Federals returning from Southern prisons, she was able to determine the status of some of the missing and notify families and loved ones.

Clara Barton established the American Red Cross in 1881 and remained head of the organization until her retirement in 1904.

The Clara Barton Redbud can be found at her home in Glen Echo, Maryland

Did You Know? In 1887, Clara Barton travelled to Florida to help combat the Yellow Fever epidemic that raged in the state. In the spring of 1898, Clara barton and her staff sailed from the port of Tampa to bring supplies to war ravaged Cuba during the Spanish American War.

Tampa Bay History Magazine: Tampa’s Yellow fever Epidemic of 1887

http://www.hillsborough.communityatlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/SneakyCowardlyEnemy.pdf

Florida Memory: Spanish American War

http://www.floridamemory.com/photographiccollection/photo_exhibits/spanishamericanwar/

Learn More about Clara Barton and the American Red Cross

American Red Cross: Clara Barton
http://www.redcross.org/museum/history/claraBarton.asp

Clara Barton Birthplace Museum, North Oxford, MA
http://clarabartonbirthplace.org/site/

National Park Service: Clara Barton National Historic Site, Glen Echo, MD
http://www.nps.gov/clba/index.htm

Proposed Clara Barton Redbud - Medicinal Herb Garden

As founder of the Red Cross, Clara Barton was an expert in herbal remedies of the late 19th century. When she came to Florida in 1887 to fight the raging yellow fever epidemic, she almost certainly brought yarrow to help reduce fevers. Other medicinal plants would have been part of the supplies she brought with her in 1898 when she came to Tampa to join soldiers headed to Cuba for the Spanish American War.

Examples of Proposed Plants:

Yarrow (Achillea) - Fever Reducer
Foxglove (Digitalis) - Heart Failure
Wormwood (Artemesia) - Digestive Aid
Parsley (Petroselinum hortense) - Kidney Stones
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) - Anti-inflammatory
Witch Hazel (Hamamelidaceae) - Astringent