Fearless and fiercely loyal to the South, Belle Boyd became a Confederate spy at the age of 17, using her flirtatious charms to pry information from Union officers and soldiers posted near her home in Martinsburg, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia).
Fearless and fiercely loyal to the South, Belle Boyd became a Confederate spy at the age of 17, using her flirtatious charms to pry information from Union officers and soldiers posted near her home in Martinsburg, Virginia (modern-day West Virginia).
In July 1861, Boyd shot and killed a young Union soldier after he and others attempted to raise their flag over Boyd’s residence and insulted her and her mother. She was tried and acquitted for the shooting, ruled a justifiable homicide. After her act of rebellion was widely publicized, Boyd became a Southern celebrity, known to the Union Army and the press as La Belle Rebelle.
Boyd later moved to Front Royal, Virginia, taking a room at her aunt’s hotel. From there, she socialized with Union soldiers, collecting intelligence about Union Army forces in the area and passing the information to Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson during his 1862 Valley Campaign. She also operated as a courier between Jackson and other Confederate commanders.
In May 1862, Union General James Shields became a resident at the same hotel as Boyd. On one occasion, when Shields met with his officers, Boyd eavesdropped on the discussion, learning of Shields’ plans and the composition and positioning of his troops. Early the next morning, she set out for a Confederate cavalry camp, traveling fifteen miles to deliver the detailed intelligence in person. The vital information was conveyed to Jackson in time to be factored into his plans.