The Red Cross has been an instrument in saving hundreds of thousands of human lives throughout the years. In the beginning, some of the earliest miracle work that the Red Cross was involved with was helping people who were suffering from the floods in Mississippi and Ohio.
These floods occurred both in 1882 and 1884. They were also instrumental in aiding those struck by the Texas famine of 1886, the Florida yellow fever epidemic in 1887, an earthquake in Illinois in 1888, and the Pennsylvania flood of 1889.
As they continued their work of serving and helping others, they began to make a big impact on the world. Other countries recognized the need the world had a larger organization like this and passed the "American Amendment" in the Geneva Convention to incorporate this concept.
The Red Cross was not involved in a war until 1898, when the Spanish-American War broke out. One of the most famous nurses was Clara Barton.
She was key to fighting for and furthering the rights of women. Other women at the time also made a big difference in this area such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and so forth.
For her work, Barton became the most decorated American woman at the time. She was awarded the Iron Cross, the Cross of Imperial Russia, and the International Red Cross Medal.
Barton's last contribution to the medical world came in 1904 when she founded the National First Aid Society. Finally, at the age of 83, she retired from being the President of the American Red Cross. She moved to Glen Echo, Maryland.
Later she died from complications of a cold, but she left behind two lasting "rules of action." These rules were "unconcern for what cannot be helped" and "control under pressure."
In addition to the women who performed as nurses, there were many other women who made a difference in army since before the time of the Civil War. Many of the nurses were dubbed "angels of the Civil War battlefields" including Dorothea Dix, Sally Louisa Tompkins, Mary Todd Lincoln, Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke, Mary Jane Safford, and Clarrisa (Clara) Barton.
Dorothea Dix was already sixty years old when the Civil War began, yet she made lasting impact despite the concern of others. She had a wealth of experience through working in hospitals and insane asylums that was vital to the battlefield.
She was quickly elected to be the head of the nursing staff and assigned to the North medical facilities. Others remember her personality as very assertive and dominant.
She set very strict standards for nurses to follow. The strict enforcement of hard work resulted in increased survivors among the wounded.
Sally Louisa Tompkins lived in Richmond, Virginia when the war began. Her town was soon the temporary home of hundreds of casualties of the war.
The casualties more than filled every nearby hospital. As a very influential woman in Richmond, Sally was able to convince the judge to leave Richmond to fight in the war.
When he left, she converted his office into a hospital that employed his friends and slaves as the hospital workers. Sally believed strongly in cleanliness which saved thousands of lives.
In contrast, the tools used in operations on the battlefield were not cleaned in between operations resulting in the transfer of disease. Thousands of soldiers died on the battlefield because of the lack of clean utensils.
Sally's hospital returned more soldiers to battle than any other hospital in the South. Her hospital operated for about 45 months and during that time on 73 died, despite the vast number that were sent to her.
Due to her service the Confederation President Jefferson Davis awarded Sally the rank of a captain and named her a hospital official in the army-supported medical service. Her hospital was named Robertson Hospital and was led by "Captain Tompkins" for the rest of the war.
These women had a great impact on the lives of thousands of soldiers and the lives of thousands women. They also pioneered what nursing and medical care is like today.
The number of lives saved since their time due to keeping medical facilities clean is uncountable. Their legacy of courage, service, dedication, devotion and selflessness is something that everyone can look up to no matter what their occupation or calling in life is.
Author Resource:-
Tom Selwick has worked as a traveling nurse for the last 16 years. He has worked in many local clinics and the ER and recommends looking into becoming a travel nurse.
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