Cold Open

It’s June 24th, 1859, on a battlefield in Solferino, Northern Italy.

Henry Dunant kneels in the mud beside a wounded soldier.

A 31-year-old Swiss businessman, Henry, tries his best to tend to the blood-soaked man.

Propping his head up, Henry raises a canteen of water to the soldier’s lips. But as the man sips…he coughs violently and spits out blood. Henry knows he doesn’t have long to live. So, he lowers the canteen to the ground and, gripping the man’s hand, waits for the inevitable.

Hundreds more wounded soldiers lie in the mud all around. Only a few hours ago, a joint French and Sardinian army won an important victory over an Austrian enemy here. But that triumph has come at the cost of thousands either killed or horrifically wounded.

And Henry’s appearance on the battlefield was completely unplanned. He'd been traveling through Italy on a business matter when he stumbled on the carnage. Henry couldn’t ignore what he saw, so he quickly set about helping. But for far too many of the young men lying on this battlefield, it was already too late.

The soldier in the mud beside Henry shakes for a moment, his breath ragged, and then the light in his eyes goes out. Henry fights the feeling of helplessness that surges through him. This young man is not the first soldier to die in his arms today. And he won’t be the last.

The horrors that Henry Dunant witnesses on the battlefield will change his life—and eventually the world too. Building on years of social activism, Henry will help establish an organization unlike any before: a neutral body dedicated to helping people suffering in conflict, whatever side they’re on. It will be named the Red Cross, and it will be founded on October 29th, 1863.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is October 29th, 1863: The Formation of the Red Cross.

Act One: There’s A Place You Can Go

It’s December 1st, 1852, in Geneva, Switzerland, seven years before the Battle of Solferino.

At the breakfast table of his family home, 24-year-old Henry Dunant signs his signature to the bottom of five identical letters. He then places the letters into envelopes between mouthfuls of bread, scattering crumbs on the table around him.

Henry’s mother stares at him over her morning tea. It’s a look Henry has seen many times before, one that silently asks her son that business is not to be conducted while food is on the table. So he quickly finishes his letters and then holds up his hands in mock surrender, waiting for his mother to ask what was so important that it couldn’t wait.

When the question doesn’t come, though, Henry offers up an answer anyway.  

He enthusiastically explains to his mother that he has written to the heads of five branches of the Young Men’s Christian Association. The YMCA is an organization that helps impoverished young men when they need assistance the most. Having been founded in England in 1844, it now has chapters all over the world and, last night, Henry and his friends officially opened the first Swiss branch right here in Geneva.

Born into a devout Calvinist family, Henry was raised by his parents to believe in the power of faith and charity. And they practiced what they preached. Henry’s father worked with orphans and ex-prisoners. His mother cared for the poor and sick. And, to their great pride and satisfaction, Henry has followed in their footsteps.

Six years ago, at the age of 18, he formed a group called the Thursday Association that met every week to study scripture and help the poor. There, he learned about how other similar organizations around the world had banded together to find solutions to the many problems of modern society. These groups are what have ultimately inspired Henry to open the first Swiss chapter of the YMCA.

But Henry now has even bigger plans. As soon as he’s finished his breakfast, he races away from his parents’ home, with the clutch of letters tucked carefully into his bag.

The five envelopes are bound for France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. And each contains a plan to band together every branch of the YMCA under one international umbrella. Henry’s thinking is that by teaming up with other chapters all over the world, they can share information and ideas and encourage even more people to follow their example.

But writing letters is the easy part. It takes three years for Henry to turn his idea into reality, but he finally achieves his goal with the formation of the World Alliance of the YMCA in 1855.

All during this time, Henry continues his charitable work both at home and abroad. And when he’s offered the opportunity to work in Algeria, Henry jumps at the chance. In 1856, he is given a lease of land by French authorities in North Africa, which Henry uses to start his own trading company.

Henry makes sure his new business has what he considers to be his workers’ best interests at heart. He treats his employees with respect and pays them a decent wage. And the business thrives. But when it comes time for expansion, the French colonial authorities stand in his way. For reasons that Henry barely understands, they refuse to grant him the extra land he needs and tie up his business venture in red tape.

Henry spends weeks travelling to and from Paris, desperately hoping to find some French minister who can overrule the colonial authorities and sign off on his expansion plans. But he has no luck. Then Henry is hit with an idea. He decides to go straight to the top. If a minister won’t help him, then perhaps the Emperor will. He writes a flattering biography of the French leader, Napoleon III. Hoping that if he can present the text to the emperor in person, it may persuade him to grant Henry the land he needs.

Armed with this optimistic plan, Henry Dunant will set off in search of Napoleon III. He will discover the French leader is in Italy, attempting to put an end to the Second War of Italian independence. But what Henry will find on the battlefield there will change his plans completely. And give him an entirely new mission in life.

Act Two: Unimaginable Horror

It’s June 27th, 1859, in Solferino, Italy, weeks after Henry Dunant set out to find Napoleon III.

31-year-old Henry wraps the leg of an Austrian soldier in bandages. And once he’s stopped the man’s bleeding, Henry helps the soldier to his feet.

It's been three days since Henry arrived in Northern Italy. And the moment he saw the aftermath of the battle, he abandoned his search for Napoleon III.

And rush to help the thousands of men dying, moaning and crying with pain and fear. The retreating Austrian army had just left their wounded behind, taking all their horses and carts with them. Meanwhile, the French forces had only one doctor for every thousand men and nowhere near enough medical supplies to cope.

But even though he raised to help, on the first evening, Henry simply walked around in shock. Everywhere he looked, men were dying, many of them needlessly through simple lack of care. And shook him badly, he couldn’t stand it. So, the next morning, he jumped into action, and he’s been working in the filth and gore of the battlefield ever since.

But as Henry helps the Austrian soldier hobble away, a local Italian villager steps in their path. She’s a small but fearsome-looking woman, and she jabs an angry finger at Henry, saying there are still hundreds of Italian and French soldiers out there who need help. Henry should be helping them first—not the enemy.

Henry pauses. Then, in a calm voice but laced with anger, he tells this villager that he understands her frustration and pain. But the man he is treating is no longer the enemy. The color of his uniform no longer means anything. The battle is over, and all the young men here are brothers, equally deserving of help.

Reluctantly, the woman steps aside, and Henry helps the injured soldier somewhere safe. He is pleased he saved another life. But Henry knows there are still many more out there who need his help.

Thankfully, by now, Henry is not alone. Although the woman on the path didn’t want to help, each day, Henry has seen more and more strangers come out of their homes with bandages, food, and water. Using the skills he picked up in North Africa, Henry has organized them into teams. Some help the wounded. Some offer comfort to the dying. And others bury the dead.

Finally, after eight days of exhausting and emotionally draining work, there’s no more Henry can do and he leaves Solferino. He didn’t meet Napoleon III. He hasn’t secured the business license he came for. But he goes home with something far greater—a new purpose in life.

In the weeks that follow, Henry tells everyone he meets about the unimaginable horror he saw in Solferino and the impact it’s had on him. But he soon learns that simply talking about it isn’t enough. He’s a passionate and persuasive speaker, but he can’t reach enough people that way. So, he decides to write and self-publish a book, one describing what he witnessed in meticulous detail. He names it A Memory of Solferino. He doesn’t soften the truth—the book is full of disturbing firsthand encounters with men who died in agonizing pain. And despite his own selfless acts, Henry makes sure he includes his own feelings of inadequacy in the face of such overwhelming bloodshed.

Henry then prints 1,600 copies of the book at his own expense and distributes them to influential figures across Europe. A Memory of Solferino soon becomes a major talking point in high society, and Henry travels the continent to promote the book. Second and third editions are soon ordered, in which he revises and expands on his ideas.

Because A Memory of Solferino is not just an account of a battle or its grisly aftermath. It’s a rallying cry to do things differently. Henry knows he can’t abolish war. But he believes more can be done to ease the suffering of those caught up in it. In his book, Henry proposes “relief societies” that can bring aid to the battlefield and help the injured and the dying.

It’s a revolutionary idea, but it will capture the imagination of people all over Europe. Early in 1863, only a few months after the publication of his book, Henry will form a committee with four other men in Switzerland, who are all equally dedicated to making this proposal a reality. They will take as their emblem an inverted Swiss flag—a red cross on a white background. But for this new “Red Cross” organization to make a real difference, they will need help. Luckily, they will find like-minded men and women all over the world.

Act Three: Conventional Wisdom

It’s October 29th, 1863, at a hall in Geneva, Switzerland, almost a year after the publication of A Memory of Solferino.

Standing at a lectern, Henry Dunant reads an excerpt from his book to an audience of dignitaries and decision-makers. They have come to Switzerland from 16 different states around the world to discuss humanitarian care in times of war.

At the front of the hall, Henry describes the horrors he saw in Italy. Men cut open with bayonets or ripped apart by gunfire. Others who were trampled by horses or left blind and paralyzed. And he speaks also of those who could have been saved, if only help had arrived more quickly.

Then, Henry shuts the book, and he sees that some in the audience have been moved to tears. He tells them he knows their pain and their sense of helplessness. But there is something they can do.

Henry puts forward a plan to establish an international organization, one that will coordinate help for the wounded and vulnerable during and after battles. After a short deliberation, the proposal is unanimously approved. And the International Red Cross is born.

But Henry’s involvement in this new organization will not last long. Later, in the 1860s, his businesses will fall on hard times, and Henry will be saddled with debts he can never repay. This controversy will see him leave Geneva for good.

For decades, he will be destitute and almost forgotten, until 1895, when a journalist tracks him down to a hospital in Switzerland. This reporter will write an article about Henry that restores his reputation as the founder of the Red Cross. And six years later, his rehabilitation will be complete when he is awarded the first-ever Nobel Peace Prize.

By then, there will be branches of the Red Cross in countries all across the globe. In the 20th century, its medics and volunteers will be on the front lines of countless regional conflicts as well as two world wars. Thousands of lives will be saved, and it will be all thanks to Henry Dunant and his campaign to change the way the world waged war, which came to a triumphant conclusion with the founding of The Red Cross on October 29th, 1863.  

Outro

Next on History Daily. October 30th, 1811. After a long struggle to be taken seriously, Jane Austen finds a publisher for her first novel, Sense and Sensibility.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Owen Paul Nicholls.

Edited by William Simpson.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.