Belle Boyd | |
|---|---|
 Boyd in c. 1870 | |
| Born | Maria Isabella Boyd May 9, 1844 Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia), US |
| Died | June 11, 1900 (aged 56) |
| Other names | Belle Boyd, Cleopatra of the Secession, Siren of the Shenandoah, La Belle Rebelle, Rebel Joan of Arc |
| Occupation | Confederate Spy |
Maria Isabella Boyd (May 9, 1844[1] – June 11, 1900[2]), best known as Belle Boyd (and dubbed the Cleopatra of the Secession[3][4] or Siren of the Shenandoah,[5][6] and later the Confederate Mata Hari[7][8][9]) was a Confederate spy in the American Civil War. She operated from her father's hotel in Front Royal, Virginia, and provided valuable information to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in 1862.[citation needed]
- ^ The date in the Boyd Family Bible is May 4, 1844 (Scarbrough, Ruth (1997). Belle Boyd: Siren of the South. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-86554-555-7.), but Boyd insisted that it was 1844 and that the entry was in error. (Sigaud, Louis A. (1944). Belle Boyd, Confederate Spy. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press. p. 224. OCLC 425072.) See also Hay 1975, p. 215. Despite Boyd's assertion, many sources give the year of birth as 1844 and the date as May 10 (Barnhart, Clarence L.; et al., eds. (1954). "Boyd, Belle". The New Century Cyclopedia of Names. Vol. 1. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts., "Belle Boyd: Chapter No. 2620". Belle Boyd Chapter of the Louisiana Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy via RootsWeb of Ancestry.com.)
- ^ Trust, Civil War (2014). "Maria "Belle" Boyd". Civilwar.org. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
- ^ Sullivan, R. B. (October 13, 1940). "Cleopatra of the Secession". Daily News. New York. pp. 60, 61. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Boatner, Maxine Tull (December 18, 1955). "Lady of Intrigue". Hartfod Courant. Hartford, CT. p. 105. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
he devoted his sixth chapter to 'Cleopatra of the Secession,' Belle Boyd
- ^ Kent, Alan E. (March 22, 1955). "Belle Boyd Had Dramatic Career, but Was 'Lightweight' as a Spy". The Capital Times. Madison, WI. p. 21. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
Southerners called her ... 'Siren of the Shenandoah'
- ^ Trimmer, Lillian Franklin (December 10, 1944). "Famed Confederate Woman Spy, Belle Boyd, Will be Heroine of Forthcoming Biography". The Times Dispatch. Richmond, VA. p. 42. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
She was known as the 'Siren of the Shenandoah'
- ^ "Yankee Clears the Name of Confederate Mata Hari". The Tribune. Scranton, PA. March 29, 1945. p. 10. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Unfurl Confederate Banner over Yankee Stronghold in Wisconsin for South's Curvaceous Mata Hari". The Sandusky Register. Sandusky, OH. May 29, 1952. p. 5. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Confederacy's 'Mata Hari,' Buried at Dells, Is Subject of New Book". The Capital Times. Madison, WI. December 24, 1944. p. 5. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
