The story of a Western Clara Barton- Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke. Widow of a musician, a brave and struggling Civil War nurse, creator of new homes in Kansas for Chicago's destitutes, champion of women's rights, her story provides not only a swiftly moving account of a colorful life, but a fair picture of the social and political factors of the times. She'd had a rough childhood and little formal education on a farm in Ohio, but she knew a lot about practical medicine. When the Civil War broke but, she was a widow with two sons, living in Galesburg, Illinois, and took as her job the finding of some solution for the horrible conditions of the wounded Union soldiers in southern Illinois. Her story is a worthy addition to the annals of medical history and fine Americana.