Red Cross, American

Red Cross, American. The American Red Cross has served the U.S. military since 1898. Founded on 21 May 1881 by Clara Barton, who had done humanitarian work in the Civil War, the society is part of the more than 175‐member International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement.

The movement was born in Geneva, Switzerland, in October 1863. Despite centuries of war in Europe and the Civil War raging in America, the humanitarian aspects of war had been largely ignored by most governments. Swiss entrepreneur Jean Henri Dunant brought about a change in that attitude when he volunteered to help the wounded, after a battle between French‐Italian and Austrian armies in northern Italy in June 1859. His Memory of Solferino (1862) graphically portrayed the agonies of the 40,000 neglected wounded, influencing governments to consider establishing voluntary relief societies to supplement the work of army medical units.

In February 1863, the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, precursor to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was established. In October 1863, the first Red Cross societies were formed and a red cross was adopted as a neutral symbol; and in 1864, twelve governments signed the first Geneva Convention. The United States acceded to the treaty in 1882 after years of lobbying by Clara Barton.

The four Geneva Conventions protect the wounded and sick on the battlefield (1863), shipwrecked military personnel (1906), prisoners of war (1929), and civilians (1949). Protocols added in 1977 protect civilians caught in internal conflicts. ICRC primarily monitors the conventions.

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement follows seven fundamental principles: Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality. In addition to the societies, it consists of the Geneva‐based ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which was founded in 1919 by American Henry P. Davison to address peacetime needs.

During the Spanish‐American War, American Red Cross nurses and volunteers served in Cuba, the Philippines, and at U.S. camps. In 1911, President William H. Taft authorized the organization as “the only volunteer society” to render aid to the military in wartime. The U.S. Army began providing transportation and subsistence for attached Red Cross personnel in 1912. The Red Cross sent 8,000 workers to Europe during World War I, providing medical, recreational, and welfare services. It operated fifty‐eight domestic and overseas base hospitals for the military, twenty‐four of them in France. Eight million volunteers at home provided welfare services and produced supplies.

During World War II, the American Red Cross collected 14 million units of blood and produced blood plasma, but provided no other medical services. Aided by 7.5 million volunteers at home, some 40,000 staff worldwide supplied emergency communications, welfare and recreational services, and produced 28 million food packages for U.S. and Allied prisoners of war.

Similar services were provided during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, with the military meeting its own blood needs in Vietnam. The Red Cross continues to staff U.S. bases in Europe and elsewhere; it accompanied military units on missions to Somalia, Haiti, the Persian Gulf, and Bosnia.

In 1998 the American Red Cross had over 1,300 volunteer‐led chapters, providing disaster relief, meeting half of the nation's blood needs, and conducting community programs designed to help Americans prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Over 30,000 staff and 1.4 million volunteers supplied support. The nongovernmental, nonprofit organization has had a congressional mandate since 1900 to provide disaster relief, and emergency communication between the military and their families. A fifty‐member board of governors, eight appointed by the U.S. president, governs the American Red Cross. Past presidents include Clara Barton, William Howard Taft, and George Marshall.
[See also Bosnian Crisis; Caribbean and Latin America, U.S. Involvement in the; Persian Gulf War.]

Bibliography

Foster Rhea Dulles , The American Red Cross—a History, 1950.
Hans Haug , Humanity for All, 1993.

Patrick F. Gilbo