Clara Barton and the American Red Cross via American Minute
She distributed relief supplies to wounded soldiers and, at the request of President Lincoln, aided for nearly four years in searching for missing soldiers.
After attempting to carry a wounded soldier off the battlefield of Antietam, September 17, 1862, Clara Barton wrote:
“A ball had passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through the sleeve and passing through his chest from shoulder to shoulder. There was no more to be done for him and I left him to his rest.
I have never mended that hole in my sleeve. I wonder if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole in his coat?”
Clara Barton was present at some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War: Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.
The National Park Service recorded thatClara Barton first visited Chatham or “Lacy House” in early August 1862, bringing food and hospital supplies to help “her boys.”
She returned during the Fredericksburg Campaign, December 1862.
Clara Barton helped care for the wounded soldiers of both sides that were brought into the house. 
A physician requested her help in the city, which required her to cross a pontoon bridge over the river.
As she stepped off, an officer offered her his hand.
Suddenly a shell passed under their arms, tearing away part of her skirt and his coattail. He later died.
Clara Barton set up a soup kitchen at the Lacy House, which became a makeshift hospital for the Union 2nd Corps.
With doctors too busy to keep medical records,Clara wrote in her diary the names of the men who died and where they were buried. Her diary is at the Clara BartonNational Historic Site in Maryland.
On December 13, 1862, the day of the heaviest fighting,Clara was in the doorway of the Lacy House when an exploding shell severed a soldier’s artery. She applied the tourniquet that saved his life.
Crossing the river again, a Union provost marshall thought she was a civilian and volunteered to escort her to safety, but looking at the thousands of Union soldiers, she politely declined the offer saying she was the best protected woman in the world.
When a shell struck the door of the room she was in, ‘she did not flinch, but continued her duties’ assisting the doctors.
The next two weeks at Chatham, Clara saw ‘hundreds of the worst wounded men I have ever seen,’ occupying every room of the house.
They ‘covered every foot of the floors and porticos’ and stair landings. A man ‘thought himself rich’ if he laid under a table where he would not be stepped on.
Clara saw five men stuffed onto four shelves of a cupboard. Others shivered in the cold muddy yard on blankets, waiting for someone inside to die so they could be brought in.
Clara set up a soup kitchen in a tent in the yard to help them.
The Library of Congress has the letter Clara Barton wrote to her cousin from the Head Quarters of the 2nd Division, 9th Army Corps-Army of the Potomac Camp near Falmouth, Virginia, December 12th, 1862, 2 o’clock a.m.:
“My dear Cousin Vira: Five minutes time with you; and God only knows what those five minutes might be worth to the many-doomed thousands sleeping around me. It is the night before a battle.
The enemy, Fredericksburg, and its mighty entrenchments lie before us, the river between – at tomorrow’s dawn our troops will assay to cross, and the guns of the enemy will sweep those frail bridges at every breath. The moon is shining through the soft haze with a brightness almost prophetic.
For the last half hour I have stood alone in the awful stillness of its glimmering light gazing upon the strange sad scene around me striving to say, ‘Thy will Oh God be done.’
The camp fires blaze with unwanted brightness, the sentry’s tread is still but quick – the acres of little shelter tents are dark and still as death, no wonder for us as I gazed sorrowfully upon them.
I thought I could almost hear the slow flap of the grim messenger’s wings, as one by one he sought and selected his victims for the morning sacrifice. Sleep weary one, sleep and rest for tomorrow’s toil. Oh! Sleep and visit in dreams once more the loved ones nestling at home…”
Clara Bartoncontinued:
“They may yet live to dream of you, cold lifeless and bloody, but this dream, soldier, is thy last, paint it brightly, dream it well.
Oh northern mothers, wives and sisters, all unconscious of the hour, would to Heaven that I could bear for you the concentrated woe which is so soon to follow, would that Christ would teach my soul a prayer that would plead to the Father for grace sufficient for you. God pity and strengthen you every one.
Mine are not the only waking hours, the light yet burns brightly in our kind hearted General’s tent where he pens what may be a last farewell to his wife and children and thinks sadly of his fated men.
Already the roll of the moving artillery is sounded in my ears. The battle draws near and I must catch one hour’s sleep for tomorrow’s labor.
Good night, dear cousin, and Heaven grant you strength for your more peaceful and less terrible, but not less weary days than mine. Yours in love, Clara.”
Clara Barton wrote of the soldiers:
“What could I do but go with them, or work for them and my country? The patriot blood of my father was warm in my veins.”
Clara Barton then went to Europe during the Franco-German War, where she worked with Henri Dunant, founder of theInternational Red Cross.
Henri Dunant was the first recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Henri Dunant founded the Geneva chapter of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) and proposed Jews repopulate Palestine, being one of the few non-Jews to attend the First Zionist Congress in Basel, 1897.
Theodore Herzl first used the term, “Christian Zionist” in reference to Henri Dunant.
Inspired by Henri Dunant’s International Red Cross, Clara Barton established theAmerican Red Cross Society, MAY 21, 1881, serving as its head until 1904.
Clara Barton stated:
“An institution or reform movement that is not selfish, must originate in the recognition of some evil that is adding to the sum of human suffering, or diminishing the sum of happiness.
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. I am well and strong and young – young enough to go to the front. If I cannot be a soldier, I’ll help soldiers.”
Clara Bartonhelped in hospitals in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
She wrote:
“In time of peace we must prepare for war, and it is no less a wise benevolence that makes preparation in the hour of peace for assuaging the ills that are sure to accompany war.”
President William McKinley stated regardingClara Barton in his Second Annual Message, December 5, 1898:
“It is a pleasure for me to mention in terms of cordial appreciation the timely and useful work of theAmerican National Red Cross, both in relief measures preparatory to the campaigns, in sanitary assistance at several of the camps of assemblage, and later, under the able and experienced leadership of the president of the society, Miss Clara Barton, on the fields of battle and in the hospitals at the front in Cuba.
Working in conjunction with the governmental authorities and under their sanction and approval, and with the enthusiastic cooperation of many patriotic women and societies in the various States, the Red Cross has fully maintained its already high reputation for intense earnestness and ability to exercise the noble purposes of its international organization, thus justifying the confidence and support which it has received at the hands of the American people.”
President McKinley continued:
“To the members and officers of this society and all who aided them in their philanthropic work the sincere and lasting gratitude of the soldiers and the public is due and is freely accorded.
In tracing these events we are constantly reminded of our obligations to the Divine Master for His watchful care over us and His safe guidance, for which the nation makes reverent acknowledgment and offers humble prayer for the continuance of His favor.”
President Woodrow Wilson mentioned the Red Cross in his Proclamation of a Contribution Day for the aid of stricken Jewish people, January 11, 1916:
“Whereas in the various countries now engaged in war there are nine millions of Jews, the great majority of whom are destitute of food, shelter, and clothing; and…have been driven from their homes without warning, deprived of an opportunity to make provision for their most elementary wants, causing starvation, disease and untold suffering; and
Whereas the people of the United States of America have learned with sorrow of this terrible plight of millions of human beings and have most generously responded to the cry for help…
Now, Therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States…do appoint and proclaim January 27, 1916, as a day upon which the people of the United States may make such contributions as they feel disposed for the aid of the stricken Jewish people.
Contributions may be addressed to the American Red Cross, Washington, D.C., which will care for their proper distribution.”
Opening the Second Red Cross Drive in New York City, President Woodrow Wilson stated, May 18, 1918:
“Being members of the American Red Cross…a great fraternity and fellowship which extends all over the world…this cross which these ladies bore here today is an emblem of Christianity itself…
When you think of this, you realize how the people of the United States are being drawn together into a great intimate family whose heart is being used for the service of the soldiers not only, but for the long night of suffering and terror, in order that they and men everywhere may see the dawn of a day of righteousness and justice and peace.”
On December 8, 1918, in an appeal of support for theAmerican Red Cross just a month after the fighting in World War I had ceased, President Woodrow Wilson stated:
“One year ago, twenty-two million Americans, by enrolling as members of theRed Cross at Christmas time, sent to the men who were fighting our battles overseas a stimulating message of cheer and good-will…
Now, by God’s grace, the Red Cross Christmas message of 1918 is to be a message of peace as well as a message of good-will.”
On May 1, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt greeted the chairman of theAmerican National Red Cross, Norman H. Davis, in Washington, D.C.:
“The greatInternational Red Cross organization, founded 76 years ago to bring mercy to the battlefield…
I am confident that whatever may be the problems which intensification of warfare may bring, the American people will respond to any appeal for funds when the Red Crossdeems it necessary to call upon them for additional aid.
By such response we can aid in sustaining the spirit and morale of those in distress abroad until the happy day we all pray for, when hostilities shall cease.”
New Congressional Bill Would Stop Secret Abortions on Teenagers | LifeNews.com
New Congressional Bill Would Stop Secret Abortions on Teenagers | LifeNews.com.
by Steven Ertelt
Senator Marco Rubio is introducing a a major pro-life bill, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, today that would stop secret abortions on teenagers.
The bill would require an abortion practitioner to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who resides in a different state. It would also make it a crime for a non-parent to transport a minor across state lines to evade a parental notification law. Read the rest: New Congressional Bill Would Stop Secret Abortions on Teenagers | LifeNews.com.
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To Take a Life
Matthew 5:21
Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
According to
Random House Webster’s College Dictionary to kill means:
killkɪl(v.t.)
- to deprive of life; cause the death of; slay.
- to destroy; do away with; extinguish.
And life means:
lifelaɪf(n.; adj.)(pl.)lives
- (n.)the general condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, a means of reproduction, and internal regulation in response to the environment.
Who decides when it is appropriate to end the life of a being? In a civilized society it is a matter for those who are responsible for enforcing the law, to decide if the crime a person has committed rises to the level of ceding their lives for their crimes. We are no longer living in a civilized society!!!
Somehow we have passed beyond the thin veil of civilization into a degenerate and lawless society where death is appropriated simply on the whim of those doing the killing. And these degenerate ideas spawn the infantile excuse that somehow, just for the fact that you are born a woman, you have some greater empathetic knowledge on who is justified to live or die. All on the very thin excuse that a woman should be able to decide what is best for their own welfare, body and future.
It is simply such a stupid argument, I wonder at the intelligence of those who state it and those who accept it as if it must be true. If a woman was that intelligent, she would never have gotten to the place where she has the choice to make. After all, she is the one who invited the action in which she became pregnant. I am not talking about rape and incest here. I am talking about the women who think that they can sleep with any man who comes along and either not get pregnant, or rid themselves of the product of their carelessness by simply disposing of it like it is so much waste to be flushed down the toilet or tossed with the trash. And yet these are the same people who tell us that they have the right to decide what to do with their body. They seem to think that this is a sign of intelligence. If these same women were foolish enough to get an arm cut off or a permanent mark on their body, these things they would have to live with and explain how foolish they were in their actions.
So how did we get here? We got here by a Supreme Court that made a foolish decision, and gave every woman that comes along and makes a bad mistake, the opportunity to kill. Shall we start saying at some point that these women now have the right to decide that their children don’t have the right to exist if they are handicapped or if in someway they are just a burden to them? Should we give men this same right? If not why not? If you come down to it, the life that begins in a woman’s womb would not be possible without the input from the man. Should that not give them just a much right in the decision? If they decide that a baby is not in their interests, should they not have the right to make that decision?
Or is the woman somehow so much more intelligent and caring? Again I say, for most of them, they wouldn’t be in the position they were in if these were the deciding factors. So since we can say these are not applicable, we take away their reasoning for them to be in the position to make that decision , don’t we?
Abortion is not about the life of the woman, it is about the death of the baby and the denying of the responsibility of the woman for her own actions. Truly, if you follow this argument through, what you will find is that the woman if displaying a lack of intelligence and therefore cedes the very responsibility that she argues gives her the right to make a life and death decision.
I read this the other day and it haunted me:
“Can it be that women know something very deep inside, even deeper than fear and shame? Can it be that women know it is their responsibility to decide when to bring new life into this world? Women are not the enemies of our children–even those we decide not to bring into the world.”
– Quoted in “Good Women have Abortions,” which appeared on the pro-abortion sitewww.rhrealitycheck.org/node/21883
Truly sad, and yet this is the argument that they use!!!! Do they think that they know more than God then? Are they somehow so smart and empathetic that they just somehow know? If this sounds foolish, it is because it is foolish. As foolish as your child telling you that it isn’t their fault that they did something wrong, somebody else started it. Because that is the real excuse this woman is using, it isn’t her fault because some man impregnated her. She was just minding her own business. When do we stop listening to the excuses our children and hold them accountable for their actions?
We must quit letting women murder their own children in order to escape the responsibility of their own actions…
When Planned Parenthood Kills Women Too: A Two for One Deal? via Life News
I have a few questions for people that promote abortions and make the claim that if pro-life people have their way that women will die in back alley abortions. How do you reconcile the fact that women die now in supposedly nice clinics with Dr. available to take care of them? How many of these clinics are even inspected? Abortion proponents don’t even want their premises inspected and when some government agency finally gets around to doing the job of protecting women, the conditions that they find are often so horrific that even if they are pro choice, they are disgusted and sickened by the conditions that they find. If they were truly interested in the lives of the women, perhaps they would truly consider the health of the women that go to these places instead of turning a blind eye. They truly seem more interested in killing the babies than they are life in any form. Please read the article from Life News.com:
When Planned Parenthood Kills Women Too: A Two for One Deal?
Planned Parenthood is in the killing business. They perform approximately 324,000 abortions per year, using various methods on women at various stages of pregnancy.
For example, during a first trimester abortion, they usually suction out the child, or pieces of the child, through a tube inserted into the uterus. But during a second-trimester abortion, where the child has become too large to be killed and then sucked through a tube, Planned Parenthood performs a cervical dilation that allows them to get sharp instruments into the intended safety of the womb and kill the child so that it can then be “evacuated.”
It’s an ugly, immoral job, but by using phrases like “termination of pregnancy,” “pro-choice,” and “women’s health,” Planned Parenthood has been able to maintain both a quasi-respectable public image and their killing fields—all at the same time.
But for many, that all changed in July when 24-year old Tonya Reaves bled to death after an employee at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago aborted Tonya’s baby in the second trimester. Read the rest of the story at Life News.com!
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Prayer Request for Annie
Many of my readers know my friend Annie from Lupus Chronicles and her problems with Lupus and related disorders. She is facing a new challenge and she has asked that we pray for her.
‘The week before last, I had my mammies grammed- negative! Then I came home, showered the gell of me and noticed a lump. Saw the doc that afternoon and she stet me up for a consult w/ a breast surgeon and an ultrasound. Radiologist said US showed either sebaceous cyst or lipoma.
Doc wanted me to see breast surgeon for removal of either; breast surgeon did Ultrasound in her office and I’m scheduled for excision of that has and bx on Monday. That she mentioned lumpectomy, mastectomy, radiation in the same phrase as possibilities spooked me. Up until now, I’ve had a gazillion biopsys– for lupus-related calcifications. But this one scares me. Loopy, can you invoke a little prayer for ‘healthy cells?” I don’t need this on my plate, my cup runneth over.”
The possibility of cancer is always a scary situation and Annie has had so many problems in the last few years. Please add her to your prayer list. God does answer and He is the Great Physician. He is our Healer as well as our redeemer. He has promised that where two or more are gathered together in prayer that He will answer.
Dear Lord, you have promised that if we ask you will answer! Annie needs your help and intervention Lord. Please Lord give her a positive outcome if it be thy will Lord. She has suffered so much Lord, and I know that you will not give us more than we can bear Lord, but Annie is reaching her limit Lord. There has been so much that she has and is suffering Lord. Please if it be thy will Lord, take this burden from her and give her a good report this time. In Jesus name we ask this Lord, thank you and amen.
Act in Faith
Foster Bible Pictures 0084-1 Rahab Helping the Two Israelite Spies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Joshua 2:3-15
So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.”
Then the women took the two men and hid them; ans she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
“And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dart, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.”
(But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordon, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
So before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
and said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
“For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordon, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
“And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
“Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token,
“and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.”
So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.
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- Faith in Action (chasingthewind.net)
Noel Bairey Merz: The single biggest health threat women face
I would like to add a comment to this video and point out that in each new area of research there is more and more proof of the difference between women and men. And I would like to point out for all the feminists out there, that your insistence on having women treated the same as men, puts their health at risk and your attitude encourages that risk. Grow up and accept that men and women are separate entities not equal, but different. God knew what He was doing and trying to change that into equality, simply obstructs every real part of research into the problems that we all face..
I would like to also point out that for those who think that Democrats care more about women, that this was started under a Republican administration and that Democrats are the ones that are currently adding taxes to medical devices and research. They are also doing away with or changing the ability for women to get the tests needed.
