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Maria Isabella Boyd
Born	May 4, 1844(1844-05-04) Martinsburg, Virginia, United States
Died	June 11, 1900 (aged 56) Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Maria Isabella Boyd (May 4, 1843 – June 11, 1900), best known as Belle Boyd or Cleopatra of the Session, was a Confederate spy in the American Civil War. She operated from her father's hotel in Virginia, and provided valuable information to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson in 1862. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Download high resolution version (1412x2000, 654 KB)TITLE: Belle Boyd CALL NUMBER: LC-BH82- 4864 B [P&P] REPRODUCTION NUMBER: LC-DIG-cwpbh-01990 (b&w copy scan) No known restrictions on publication. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Jan. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... Location of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Lower Dells Intersection between Downtown & The Strip Wisconsin Dells is a city located in south-central Wisconsin, in the United States. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1843 (MDCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Äž: For the film, see: 1900 (film). ... The most useful military intelligence of the American Civil War was probably provided to Union officers by slaves and smugglers. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... A group of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army (CSA) was organized in February 1861 to defend the newly formed Confederate States of America from military action by the United States government during the American Civil War. ... For other uses of Stonewall Jackson, see Stonewall Jackson (disambiguation). ...

She was born in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), the eldest child of Benjamin Reed and Mary Rebecca (Glenn) Boyd. As a teenager, she was a fun loving debutante. Martinsburg is a city located in Berkeley County, West Virginia. ...

Belle Boyd's espionage career began by chance. On July 4, 1861, a band of Union army soldiers broke into her home in Martinsburg, intent on raising the U. S. flag over the house. When one of them pushed her mother, Belle drew a pistol and killed him. She was 17 years old. A board of inquiry exonerated her, but sentries were posted around the house and officers kept close track of her activities. She profited from this enforced familiarity, charming at least one of the officers, Capt. Daniel Keily, into revealing military secrets. "To him," she wrote later, "I am indebted for some very remarkable effusions, some withered flowers, and a great deal of important information." Belle conveyed those secrets to Confederate officers via her slave, Eliza Hopewell, who carried the messages in a hollowed-out watch case. On her first attempt at spying she was caught and told she could be sentenced to death, but was not. She was not scared and realized she needed to find a better way to communicate. is the 185th day of the year (186th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Captain (disambiguation). ...

Belle Boyd was not blessed with a pretty face, but a good body. She was particularly noted for having the best looking ankles known--and she used them to her advantage. She evidently had a "winning way" with the Union troops and was most obliging in taking care of their needs.

Belle Boyd cenotaph

Then, one evening in mid-May of 1862, Union General James Shields and his staff gathered in the parlor of the local hotel. Belle hid upstairs, eavesdropping through a knothole in the floor. She learned that Shields had been ordered east, a move that would reduce the Union Army's strength at Front Royal. That night, Belle rode through Union lines, using false papers to bluff her way past the sentries, and reported the news to Col. Turner Ashby, who was scouting for the Confederates. She then returned to town. When the Confederates advanced on Front Royal on May 23, Belle ran to greet General Stonewall Jackson's men, braving enemy fire that put bullet holes in her skirt. She urged an officer to inform Jackson that "the Yankee force is very small. Tell him to charge right down and he will catch them all." Jackson did and that evening penned a note of gratitude to her: "I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the immense service that you have rendered your country today." For her contributions, she was awarded the Southern Cross of Honor. Jackson also gave her captain and honorary aide-de-camp positions. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 430 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (551 × 768 pixels, file size: 103 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 430 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (551 × 768 pixels, file size: 103 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Cenotaph, London. ... James Shields (May 10, 1810 – June 1, 1879) was an American politician and U.S. Army officer who was born in Altmore, County Tyrone, Ireland. ... For other uses, see Colonel (disambiguation). ... is the 143rd day of the year (144th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Approved by the Congress of the Confederate States on October 13, 1862, the Southern Cross of Honor was meant to honor the officers, noncommissioned officers and privates for their valor in the armies of the Confederate States of America. ...

After her lover gave her up, Belle Boyd was arrested on July 29, 1862, and held for a month in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington before being released. She was later arrested and imprisoned a 3rd time, but again was set free. is the 210th day of the year (211th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about 1862 . ... A photo of the prison The prisons architectural diagram. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

In 1864, she went to England where she met and married a Union naval officer, Samuel Wylde Hardinge, who died shortly after the war's end. After the war, Belle Boyd became an actress in England before returning to the United States. She then married John Swainston Hammond (1869) in New Orleans and, after a divorce in 1884, married Nathaniel Rue High (1885). A year later, she began touring the country giving dramatic lectures of her life as a Civil War spy. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Animated map of secession, Civil War and re-admission:  States of the Union  Territories of the Union (including occupied territory)  States of the Confederacy  Territories claimed by Confederacy During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the twenty-three states of the United States... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ...

While touring the United States(she had gone to address members of a GAR post) she died of typhoid fever in Kilbourne City, Wisconsin (now known as Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin) at the age of 56. She is buried in the Spring Grove Cemetery in Wisconsin Dells. Location of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Lower Dells Intersection between Downtown & The Strip Wisconsin Dells is a city located in south-central Wisconsin, in the United States. ...