Clara

She began teaching in Worcester County of Massachusetts and taught in various others schools for 6 years. Clara then realized she needed a change and decided to open up her own school. After running her own school for a few years Clara recognized that she needed more change and at age 29, Clara enrolled in an advanced school for female teachers in Clinton, New York. This addition to her education led her to a teaching position in New Jersey which opened the opportunity for her to open several free schools there in New Jersey. Her schools were very successful and students flocked to be a part of them. After much success in her teaching career, Clara finally ran into rejection when the school board refused her the position of heading the school she had founded and instead gave the job to a less qualified man. This greatly upset Clara and she again decided she needed a change, however this time the change was more dramatic. After recovering from the emotional effects of the events that occurred in New Jersey, Clara took a job in Washington D.C. as a copy clerk in the U.S. Patent Office. This job did not last long since at age 40, when the American Civil War broke out she felt the need to resign and become a volunteer for the Union. As a volunteer, Clara distributed supplies such as medicine, bandages, and food to the soldiers, assisted surgeons in amputations and stitching, and nursed wounded soldiers until they could be taken to a safe place. Clara was even granted permission to deliver the supplies she assembled directly to the front of the battle ground. After delivering these services for two years, Clara's benevolence became legendary and she was informally given the title of "Angel of the Battlefield." After the war ended, Clara lectured about her war experiences, coordinated a national effort to locate soldiers who were missing in action, and was active in the suffrage movement. Locating soldiers basically became her life for the next three years.