Charles River Editors - Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton: The Lives and Careers of History’s Most Influential Nurses

By Charles River Editors

Florence Nightingale

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Florence Nightingale

I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. Florence Nightingale

Today, nursing is one of the most ubiquitous professions in the world, and images of war immediately call to mind nursing the wounded, but it was not long ago that such ideas were relatively primitive. Indeed, schoolchildren are still taught about the revolutionary exploits of Florence Nightingale, the war nurse who is often credited as the founder of modern nursing. As The Times wrote of Nightingale, She is a ministering angel without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds.

Florence Nightingale first came to prominence during the Crimean War in the middle of the 19 th century when she helped organize efforts to treat wounded soldiers, and the image of her doing rounds among those she treated at night became extremely popular in Europe, but her efforts extended far beyond the scope of battle. In time, she came to found the first secular nursing school, at St Thomas' Hospital in London, and with that she began to transform nursing into an actual profession. Perhaps not surprisingly, in conjunction with nursing, Nightingale was a social reformer who advocated for the advancement of women in all areas of life, from healthcare to poverty, and she bolstered her work with voluminous writings on behalf of her causes.

Clara Barton

I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them. Clara Barton

The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history, and had the two sides realized it would take 4 years and inflict over a million casualties, it might not have been fought. Since it did, however, Americans have long been fascinated by the Civil War, marveling at the size of the battles, the leadership of the generals, and the courage of the soldiers. For over 150 years, the war has been subjected to endless debate among civilians, historians, and the generals themselves.

The Civil War is often considered one of the first modern wars, and while technology affected what happened on the battlefield, technology and new methods also improved the way soldiers were cared for away from the front lines. Civil War medicine is understandably (and rightly) considered primitive by 21 st century standards, but the ways in which injured and sick soldiers were removed behind the lines and nursed were considered state-of-the-art in the 1860s, and nobody was more responsible for that than Clara Barton, the Florence Nightingale of America.

Barton had been an educator and clerk before the Civil War broke out in 1861, but almost immediately, she went to work attempting to nurse injured Union soldiers and ensure army hospitals were properly supplied. By 1862, she was shadowing Union armies near Washington to bring supplies, clean field hospitals, and directly nurse wounded soldiers herself. In short order, she was recognized as the Angel of the Battlefield.

In the wake of the war, she gave speeches about her experiences and even went abroad to serve in a similar capacity during the Franco-Prussian War, and eventually she brought back the tenets of the International Red Cross to found the American Red Cross. Under her leadership, the organization would assist not just during wars, but also during natural disasters and other humanitarian crises, roles that the American Red Cross continues to fulfill today.

Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton: The Lives and Careers of Historys Most Influential Nurses chronicles two of the most famous women of the 19 th century. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton like never before.

Young Florence

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, in the year 1820, during a winter's sojourn of her parents there. One of two only daughters of wealthy parents, she was brought up in all the luxurious refinement of the best type of English home, in the midst of a large and affectionate family connection, in an environment enriched by all the intellectual advantages and the happiness that such circumstances could bring. She was a healthy child, fond of a frolic, and not free from unregenerate impulses towards unsympathetic governesses, yet, on the whole, serious-minded, and a little self-absorbed, with a tendency to introspection that sometimes verged upon the morbid, and an inclination to belittle herself and her powers, that arose partly out of a conscientious knowledge of her own shortcomings, and partly from a natural shyness, amounting almost to self-consciousness. Mr. Nightingale held views on the higher education of women that were far in advance of his time. He personally supervised the education of his daughters, himself teaching them, as they grew older, modern languages and classics, European and Constitutional History, and even higher mathematics. They wrote essays and analyzed philosophical treatises, pursuing much the same course of study, under his tutorship, as would be followed now for a university degree. - Mary Cowden Clarke, World-noted women: or, Types of womanly attributes of all lands and ages (1858)

So never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots itself. Florence Nightingale

While there have been many women throughout history who have done great things, few ever received the adulation both in life and in death that Florence Nightingale has enjoyed. Indeed, her very name is synonymous with not just an entire profession (and one of the first which a respectable woman could pursue) but to any kind of gentle care given at any time. Much has been justly made of her piety and the sense that she was called by God for a special purpose, and this certainly seems to be true, especially when one looks at the particular circumstances that surrounded her birth and childhood.