American Red Cross on Delmarva: Nursing, Volunteers, & Junior Red Cross

Beginning with American Red Cross founder, Clara Barton, who famously aided soldiers as an amateur nurse during the Civil War, Red Cross nursing has been at the core of the organization’s priorities, providing professional avenues for women starting as early as the 1890s. Early nursing efforts focused on disaster relief and military support, offering services on an “as needed” basis. By World Wars I and II, tens of thousands of Red Cross nurses served both at home and overseas to aid military and civilian victims of the conflict, and launched several programs that provided medical supplies abroad, veterans services, child welfare stations, and health centers. The Red Cross recruited approximately 153,000 nurses for the Army and Navy Nursing Corps by the end of World War II, with nearly 71,000 serving directly with the military at home and overseas. Nurses’ involvement in civilian and community services expanded considerably following the global conflict, introducing to communities throughout the United States home nursing training, nutrition courses, blood supply programs, and national health emergency services. More than 20,000 nurses are involved today in paid and volunteer service with the American Red Cross, continuing the 140-year tradition of service. 

This page highlights several collections at the Nabb Research Center that relate to Red Cross nursing, volunteer efforts, and the Junior Red Cross.