Belle Boyd's was a Confederate spy in the American Civil War. She worked in her father's hotel in Virginia and provided valuable information to the Confederate general's
Stonewall Jackson and Turner Ashby. Turner Ashby was responsible for guarding fords and bridges across the Potomac River in Maryland. He assisted Maryland men to cross over into Virginia.She served the Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Stone wall Jackson was one of the best know general's. His military career include the Valley Campaign. In the Valley Campaign he employed fearless, daring movements on the interior lines. Jackson's 17,000 men marched 646 miles in 48 days.
Belle's first spy career began by chance. Some soldiers broke into her home in Martinsburg, intention raising the U.S. flag over the house. One of the soldiers insulted her mother, Belle drew a pistol and killed him. In mid May 1862, General James Shield and his staff gathered in the parlor in her father's hotel. Belle hid upstairs. She was eavesdropping in the keyhole. She learned that Shields had been ordered to the east from Front Royal, that would reduce the Union Army's strength. That night she used false papers to get past the sentries. She reported the news to Turner Ashby. When the Confederates was advance to Front Royal she ran to greet General Stonewall Jackson's men, braving enemy fire that put holes in her skirt. She said to 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 wrote her a letter saying "I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the immense service that you have rendered your country today." She was awarded " The Southern Cross of Honor". This was to honor the officers, non commissioned officers, and privates for there valor in armed forces of the Confederate States. In 1862 Union officers suspected her spying and banished her further south in the Shenandoah. Just two months later she delivered information to Stonewall during his campaign in the Valley that help them win the battle against General Nathaniel Banks.The latter general made her a captain and honory aid-de-camp on his staff. In 1862 she got betrayed by her lover, she got arrested at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington. Later in June 1863 while she was on a visit in Martinsburg she got arrested again.
When the time came for the Civil War Jackson was ready. He left VMI to become a colonel and lead a brigade of men in the Battle of Bull Run. This is the battle where he received his nickname. When General Bee saw Jackson holding his position he said, "There is Jackson standing like a stonewall. Rally behind the Virginians." He held his ground at Bull Run so he was promoted to General Jackson.
Lisa Hooker Campbell is an active volunteer in the Nashville area. She has served on numerous boards and chaired several of Nashville's most prominent philanthropic events.
The Valley Campaign of the Shenandoah Valley of 23 March to 9 June 1862 saw the rise of the Confederate Major General (MG) Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The Shenandoah Valley campaign allowed for MG Jackson to incorporate the principles of maneuver, offensive and surprise operations (US Army Center of Military History, 2012) through the use of his cavalry and foot soldiers.
General William Techumseh Sherman’s March through Georgia and South Carolina was the turning point in the American Civil War. After heavy fighting in Tennessee and Kentucky General Sherman requested permission to take a large force of men on a campaign to the Atlantic Ocean through North and South Carolina, Georgia, then turning North back through the Carolinas and Virginia. The goal of the campaign was to divide the Confederate states by going through the middle of them and destroying anything of military value. General Sherman’s March did achieve its goal from a military standpoint but the manner his army accomplished its goal was ethically improper. Perhaps the most famous portion of Sherman’s March was his campaign from Atlanta to Savannah and then to Colombia, South Carolina.
Her espionage career continued when in 1862, a Union troop gathered in her local hotel. Boyd hid upstairs, eavesdropping through a hole on the floorboards where clandestine Union information was revealed. Late that night, Belle rode out acting and bluffing her way past the Union sentries and conveyed this information to Col. Turner Ashby, who was scouting for the Confederates.
McDowell’s opponent at Manassas was General Beauregard, commanding the 22,000 troops facing McDowell, while at the same time General Joseph Johnston commanded the Army of the Shenandoah with some 10,000 troops. When Beauregard determined that the Union forces were on the way toward Manassas, he asked for help, at which time the Confederate Government sent Johnston east via the “Manassas Gap Railroad,” to act as reinforcements for Beauregard. Their arrival at Manassas at a critical time turned the tide in favor of the South,...
She died at Gettysburg. Here's a brief summary of what happened at the battle of Gettysburg. Lee was the general of the confederate side on the battlefield, and he was going against George Meade, who was the general on the union side at the battle. (Google)
While Burnside waited, Lee was positioning himself for the best way to attack. Lee also had help from Stonewall; Stonewall was positioned down stream on the Rappahannock River. Stonewall had two regiments by the creek and two regiments by the railroad. Lee also had help from General Longstreet, who was positioned by the Rappahannock River and the railroad. The position that Lee had set up was good because he was on higher ground looking down on the Union. Lee, with the major adv...
To confuse the confederate defenders commanded by General Pemberston, Grant sent Union cavalry men under the command of Benjamin Grierson to raid the Confederate interior. His raid was highly successful. He successfully crossed the state of Mississippi, destroying railroads and other materials, while avoiding his pursuers.
General Burnside’s “Campaign to Richmond” led the Army of the Potomac to the far side of the Rappahannock River, opposite of Fredericksburg, on the 19th of November 1862. Burnside envisioned pontoon boats stretching twice across the river to allow for a swift and continuous passage of his army. This is where Burnside’s problems began. The pontoon boats arrived several days later and Confederate scouts in the city were able to report the Army of the Potomac’s location. Within days, General Lee’s Rebel f...
At the head of this revival was the memory of Stonewall Jackson, closely followed by Robert E. Lee (who would rise to the prominent position following his death in 1870). Other generals of the Confederacy who had died during the war followed, as did those who would pass on later.
Frederick Douglass corroborated a story about John Parker, one of the black Confederates at Manassas. A Virginia slave, John was sent to Richmond to build batteries and breastworks. After completing this job, he, and his fellow slaves were ordered to Manassas “to fight,” as he said. He was put in an artillery unit with three other black men. On Sunday, July 21, “we opened fire about 10:00 in the morning; couldn’t see the Yankees at all and only fired at random.
Hill and Jackson seldom saw eye to eye. In August, at the Battle of Cedar Mountain, Hill launched a counterattack preventing the Confederates from getting “routed.” Three weeks later, at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Hill held a railroad cut against repeated Union attacks. Hill argues with Jackson over Jackson’s marching orders to Hill.
Lee is very quick; he organized scattered confederate troops into the famed Army of Northern Virginia in just three weeks. Lee’s wisdom urged him to keep the Union as far away as possible from the armament producing center of Richmond and far away from the northern part of the state where farmers were harvesting crops. Lee knows that defeats of such decisive sports will weaken our will to continue the war, and he prevented this at all costs.
Southern Belle’s backgrounds were usually known with wealth, great education and a loving family. A Southern Belle was generally well educated for the purpose of preparing her for a beneficial marriage. They were generally well educated in the areas of reading, writing, arithmetic, music, art, and the French language. Southern Belle rules were not written like many in life, she learns them by listening and observing her mother, aunt or grandmother. A Southern Belle was responsible for all the household matters and supervising the household slaves. They were honorable in the sense that they were faithful to their husbands, who in return would defend their honor if it was ever challenged. A Southern Belle was supposed to entirely exist to support her husband, raise their children, and submit to God.