Artifacts and Their Rationale
1. Leech in a Jar
- Clara Barton first tasted nursing at age 11 when she helped her brother recover
after a fall. She learned how to use leeches, a medical technique of the time, to
heal him.
2. Pass to Battlefield
- Women were not allowed on the battlefield during war. Clara was required to
have a pass from an officer or even the president to go reach out and help the
wounded men ofthe Civil War.
3. Clara Barton Nurse Outfit
- To be properly and appropriately clothed, Barton wore a dress even on the
battlefield as it was disrespectful to dress in anything less. The "angel ofthe
battlefield" was known to wear a dress with apron.
4. Pictorial ofOther Females during the Civil War
- Clara Barton was not the only woman involved with the Civil War. Many
females volunteered as nurses and other helpers. Some were even so brave as to
fight as men or become spies.
S. Clara Barton's Army Soup
- Although it wasn't the greatest, Barton's "soup" of army biscuits, wine, water,
and brown sugar comforted many on the battlefield. She gave this out day and
night, working round the clock.
6. Pictorial of the Dead and Wounded
- Clara walked sleeplessly and was faced with the harsh realities of war. Death,
sickness, and loneliness plagued the soldiers leaving Barton with unbelievable
images that would follow her for the rest of her life.
7. Letter from Clara to Family ofa POWlMissing Soldier
- Miss Barton was given the task of finding and identifying missing soldiers,
prisoners of war, and also dead men. She'd write to family members ofthese
heroes to tell of her findings.
8. Red Cross Armband
- Clara discovered the International Red Cross in Europe. She was of aid there
and wore an armband with the Red Cross emblem on it. When the American Red
Cross was founded, this emblem symbolized help and aid in times of war and
peace.
9. Pamphlet for Congress
- Barton strived for the American Red Cross to be recognized by the US Congress
as an international treaty. To achieve this, Clara created a pamphlet for congress
explaining the Geneva Convention and Red Cross.
to. First Aid Kit
- One of Miss Barton's later accomplishments was that of helping come up with
the original first aid kits. This small and accessible tool forever changed the
practice ofnursing. It has a variety of helpful things in the case of an emergency.
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Leech in a Jar
Augullt 18B3
Clara Barton
aid an tbe
,law her to
aldlDn.
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Clara Barton first tasted nursing at age 11 when she helped her brother
recover after a fall. She learned how to use leeches, a medical technique of
the time, to heal him. This was one ofmy most interesting and fun artifacts.
At first I wasn't sure on how to create a leech but I got several ideas. I ended
up buying some gummy worms and food coloring. I cut a gummy worm in
half and put it in some water that had been dyed with every color (which
turned out to be a muddy brownish black). Soaked overnight, the "leeches"
looked authentic enough to placed in their jar. They must have looked pretty
real because I fooled many people by telling them they were real leeches.
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Pass to Battlefield
August 18sa
I herebJ give Miss a~ara BartoD
perlDissioll to be of aId OD the
battlefieldl I'lea.e allow her to
help aDd feed our .oldier~_ 'f)
~,~
f~
Women were not allowed on the battlefield during war. Clara was
required to have a pass from an officer or even the president to go reach out
and help the wounded men ofthe Civil War. This artifact was created by
using a font and the font being adjusted to fit the time period. I also dated the
document as when Barton actually was given pennission to first go to the
battlefield by Colonel Pucker. Then, I signed it as the colonel for
authenticity.
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Clara Barton Nurse Outfit
(As seen on me)
To be properly and appropriately clothed, Barton wore a dress even on
the battlefield as it was disrespectful to wear anything less. The ~'angel ofthe
battlefield" was known to wear a dress and apron. This artifact turned out to
be a real task for me. How could I find a 1800's style dress? My English
teacher was a real lifesaver and actually made the dress after I found a
pattern and the fabric at Wal-Mart. Iftime had allowed, I would have liked
to put a hole through the sleeve ofthe dress as Miss Barton actually had a
bullet pierced through a dress ofhers. However, time did not permit this but
I was very pleased with my dress. It added to my presentation, especially
because I took the role of Clara Barton. That dress allowed me to become
this wonderful nurse and humanitarian.
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Pictorial of Other Females during the Civil War
Clara Barton was not the only woman involved with the Civil War.
Many females volunteered as nurses and other helpers. Some were even so
brave as to fight as men or become spies. Using the internet I looked up
some other women who impacted or helped during the war. In my pictorial I
included Mary Tippee, a soldier; Sarah Thompson, a spy; Rose O'Neal, a
spy; and Mary Edwards Walker, a doctor and soldier. The center picture is
that ofnone other than Clara Barton. This artifact was intended to show that
not only did Barton impact the Civil War but the whole female gender did.
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Clara Barton's Army Soup
Although it wasn't the greatest, Barton's "soup" of army biscuits,
wine, water, and brown sugar coniforted many on the battlefield. She this
out day and night, working round the clock. This concoction actually calls
for wine but for school, I decided to leave that out ofthe soup. I did bake
biscuits and leave them out for a few days to get them somewhat stale,
which was the way they would have been in the 19th century. Water and
brown sugar were added to the biscuits for my presentation to make the
mushy, completely nasty looking army soup. Just by looking at it, one can
see that it probably wasn't so tasty.
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Pictorial of Dead and Wounded
Clara walked sleeplessly and was faced with the harsh realities ofwar.
Death, sickness, and loneliness plagued the soldiers leaving Barton with
unbelievable images that would follow her for the rest ofher life. To create
this artifact, I searched online for pictures of the Civil War that would help
truly capture what Clara Barton saw during her daily work on the
battlefields. Although morbid, I meant to instill the thought ofgrief and
sadness when one looked at the poster of the images I collected.
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Letter from Clara Barton to Family of a POWI Missing Soldier
Miss Barton was given the task of finding and identifying missing
soldiers, prisoners of war, and also dead men. She'd write to family
members ofthese heroes to tell ofher fmdings. The actual letter was dyed in
tea before I wrote what I thought would have been said by Clara Barton. I
never found any evidence ofwhat her letters actually included. The
mortician tag that is included with this artifact is a copy of one that is used in
Civil War reenactments. My history teacher helped me get a hold ofthis and
I believe it added to the art~fact by making it more real.
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Red Cross Armband
Clara discovered the International Red Cross in Europe. She was of
aid there and wore an armband with the Red Cross emblem 'on it When the
American Red Cross was founded, this emblem symbolized help and aid in
times ofwar and peace. I debated over how I would create this but in the end
I simply took a handkerchief and used fabric glue to apply the red ribbon.
Folded up to about the size of an armband, the handkerchief looks like it
could be an armband.
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Pamphlet for Congress WI/ATITIS
BY ClAM BAJtTON
Barton strived for the American Red Cross to be recognized by the US
Congress as an international treaty. To achieve this, Clara created a
pamphlet for congress explaining the Geneva Convention and Red Cross.
Founded in Europe, the Red Cross was more than just an organization to
help people, it was a treaty signed by multiple countries that were active in
the cause. This treaty was the Geneva Treaty, or Geneva Convention. To
create the pamphlet, I used a resource of mine, a video that showed the
actual pamphlet I jotted down a rough sketch ofthis and used it to create my
own. After typing it up and adding the border, I dyed the paper in tea to give
it an antique look. Later, the edges were also burned.
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First Aid Kit
One ofMiss Barton's later accomplishments was that of helping come
up with the original first aid kits. This small and accessible tool forever
changed the practice of nursing. It has a variety of helpful things in the case
of an emergency. This artifact was actually a little difficult to make. I had
trouble fmding a container that would look authentic to the time period.
After numerous visits to Michaels and other craft stores, I settled for the box
used in my presentation. Inside, I put what I could fmd that was in the
original first aid kits: bandages and the ingredients for a mustard plaster.
Splints were also found in the kits but I could not fmd anything to be used
for that. My mustard plaster actually had what is needed for it; I looked up
the recipe online. The only other thing needed is a bit of water. The point of
this artifact is to show how a simple innovation has evolved into what it is
today.