"I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the immense
service that you have rendered your county today." Thus wrote
Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson to 18 year old Belle Boyd in
appreciation of information she brought him, braving enemy fire
that put bullet holes in her skirt. The year before, Boyd had
shot and killed a drunken Union soldier who was trying to raise
the Stars and Stripes over her house in what was then
Martinsburg, western Virginia. She was arrested and tried for
murder, but was acquitted on a defense of justiciable homicide.
Dubbed "La Belle Rebelle" by a French war correspondent, Boyd
continued to spy for the Confederacy and also served as a courier
and scout for Col. John S. Mosby's guerrillas. Betrayed by a
lover, Boyd was arrested on order of U.S. Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton. She spent a month in Old Capital Prison in Washington
before she was released on an exchange of prisoners. Boyd was
arrested again in June 1863 and was not released until December.
Having contracted typhoid in jail, she sailed to Europe to
recover and to deliver letter for Confederate President Jefferson
Davis.
When Boyd returned to the Confederacy, her blockade runner was
captured by a Union warship. Boyd quickly seduced and fell in
love with Union Capt. Samuel Hardinge, who was placed in command
of the blockade runner to take it to the North. Hardinge
allowed Boyd and the Confederate captain of the blockade runner
to escape to Canada and then to England, and for these actions he
was later court-martial and discharged from the navy. Hardinge
followed Boyd to England, where they were married in August
1864.
While in England Belle published an account of her activities,
Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, and pursued a stage career. Her
husband died in 1865, and in 1868 she made her American stage
debut. She worked for the rest of her life as an actress and
lecturer and died while touring the western United States.
Fascinating Fact: Gen. Stonewall Jackson made Belle Boyd
an honorary member of his staff with the rank of captain for the
intelligence she provided in the capture of Front Royal, Virginia.
Written by Stephen T. Foster.
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Compiled by M. Thomas
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