Who tended to Union soldiers and was known as the 'angel of the battlefield' and founded the American Red Cross?

• A. Florence Nightingale
• B. Clara Barton
• C. Sally Tompkins
• D. Mary Seacole

Answer: (B)

This question tests knowledge of Civil War nursing figures and the founding of the American Red Cross. Clara Barton tended to wounded Union soldiers on and around battlefields, earning the nickname “Angel of the Battlefield” for her tireless care under difficult conditions. Her work organized care in the field and helped lead to a national approach to disaster relief, culminating in her founding the American Red Cross in 1881.

Florence Nightingale is famous for pioneering modern nursing during the Crimean War, but she did not found the American Red Cross. Sally Tompkins was a Confederate nurse who ran hospitals in Richmond, not associated with tending Union troops or establishing the Red Cross. Mary Seacole also served as a nurse in the Crimean War, not connected to Union soldiers or the U.S. Red Cross.