Program Description

This one-woman portrayal of Clara Barton is  performed as a lecture, given by Ms. Barton immediately after the Civil War, about her battlefront nursing experiences.  Ms. Barton was very popular on the lecture circuit after the war, conducting more lectures than Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman.  Known for her fervor when talking about  “her boys” and her poignant reflections about her experiences on the front, her lectures moved and inspired her audiences. 
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    Artist Bio

Cathy Kaemmerlen, professional actress, dancer, and storyteller, is known for her variety of characters, one-woman shows, and for her rapport with audiences.  A performer and “creator of shows” since she can remember, she has toured in schools coast to coast, since receiving a BA in English/elementary education from UNC-Charlotte, and a MFA in dance performance/choreography/theatre at the University of Wisconsin.  She tours through Young Audiences of Atlanta, the Georgia and South Carolina Touring Arts Rosters, Fulton County SAP, and has received numerous grants and honors, including Outstanding New Interpreter for her region with the National Association of Interpreters.

    Background of Art Form

Telling stories is an oral tradition, dating back to when mankind first developed a language or form of communication.  Storytelling is a universal way of passing down information to be saved and remembered for generations to come.  It is an interactive art form in which the storytellers’ passion for the story, material, and information is passed on to the audience, who sorts through, stores, and synthesizes what is heard.

Prepare

Teachers, please read this to your students.

 Today we are going to have a performance by an actress/storyteller named Cathy Kaemmerlen who is going to portray Clara Barton, who nursed soldiers right on the battlefield during the Civil War.  We are going to learn somethings about her life and hear stories about some of the soldiers she nursed during the war.  She will also tell us information about medical treatment and medicines during that time.  You'll have an opportunity at the end of the show to ask questions.

Warm up Questions to set the stage for engaging students:

What were the historic events that led to the Civil War?
Why do you think it was so hard for a woman to be allowed on the battlefield?
What do you think it would be like to be a soldier in the Civil War?
What do you think it would be like to be a nurse on a Civil War battlefield?
Do you have any ancestors that you know of who fought in the Civil War?
Do you think medicine has advanced since the Civil War?
What would it have been like without any antibiotics?
What do you think was the major cause of death in the Civil War?

Vocabulary to review before the show:

phrenology:  the science of feeling the bumps on one’s head to determine personality traits                                   
amputation:  surgical removal of a limb or part of a limb at a joint
secession:  the withdrawal of a state from the union
dysentery:  disease causing cramping and need to evacuate the bowels, usually spread by unsanitary conditions
quartermaster:  the supply sergeant
scurvy:  disease of gums and skin that results from lack of sufficient quantities of Vitamin C
war casualties:  soldiers unavailable for service due to battle wounds or death
gangrene:  mortification of a body part due to extreme infection or frostbite; can spread quickly
sinews of steel:  term meaning must toughen up or grin and bear it in spite of the circumstances
minie balls:  conical  shaped ammunition in most Civil War guns that caused bones to splinter
hemorrhaging:  excessive, uncontrolled bleeding
 
Warm Up Questions for meeting the Georgia Performance Standards for "Listening/Speaking/Viewing":

Describe the perfect audience.
What are some of our class rules for being good listeners?
How do we show someone we appreciate their visit to our school or classroom?
How does being part of an audience help make you a good citizen?
What are some examples of bad audience behavior or attitudes?
How does a negative audience member effect your enjoyment of a show or performance?
How would this make the performer feel?
How do we want the performer to feel when they leave our school or classroom?

Reflect:

Discuss/debate issues such as why a Civil War was necessary.  Discuss reactions to the show/lecture.  What  do you think it was like to be a woman during this time?  What did women like Clara Barton do to make changes in the future roles of women?  What would it have been like to be a soldier?  Would you have fought in the war if you lived then?  What does the expression:  “War is a necessary evil” mean?

Resources:
.CLARA BARTON, PROFESSIONAL ANGEL by Elizabeth Brown Pryor
.IN HOSPITAL, IN CAMP:  The Civil War through the Eyes of Its Doctors and Nurses, edited by Harold Elk Staubing
.AMERICAN WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT SERIES:  CLARA BARTON, FOUNDER OF THE AMERICAN RED CROSS by Eleni Hamilton
.ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD, THE LIFE OF CLARA BARTON by Ishbel Ross
.HOSPITAL SKETCHES by Louisa may Alcott
.IN HOSPITAL AND CAMP by Sophronia Bucklin
REMINISCENCES OF AN ARMY NURSE DURING THE CIVIL WAR by Adelaide W. Smith.
.SPECIMEN DAYS:  THE COMPLETE PROSE WORKS OF WALT WHITMAN
.CLARA BARTON:  THE STORY OF MY CHILDHOOD by Clara Barton
.CLARA BARTON:  HEALING THE WOUNDS by Cathy East Dubowski
.DOCTORS IN GRAY:  THE CONFEDERATE MEDICAL SERVICE by H. Cunningham
.KATE CUMMING:  A JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL LIFE IN CONFEDERATE ARMY OF TENNESSEE FROM THE BATTLE OF SHILOH TO THE END OF THE WAR
.ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD by George Barton
.THE FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE OF THE SOUTHERN ARMY;  EXPERIENCES OF MRS. ELLA K. NEWSON by Jacob Friese Richard
.A SOUTHERN WOMAN’S STORY by Phoebe Yates Pember
.FANNIE A. BEERS:  MEMORIES. A RECORD OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ADVENTURE DURING FOUR YEARS OF WAR
.A CONFEDERATE GIRL’S DIARY by Sarah Morgan Dawson
.THE STORY OF CLARA BARTON OF THE RED CROSS by Jeannette Covert Nolan
.THE SOLDIER’S FRIEND:  BEING A THRILLING NARRATIVE OF GRANDMA SMITH’S F CLARA BARTON:   ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD

Visit Kennesaw Mountain National Park and Battlefield
Visit the Atlanta History Center
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QCC's:  Grade 4 Social Studies: 27; Language Arts:  2; Character Education:  Citizenship:  7, 8, 11; Respect for others:  12.1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Respect for Self:  13.1, 2, 3, 4,
Grade 5 Language Arts:  2; Character Education (same as for fourth grade)