Belle Boyd was a friend to the Confederate army, and pretended to be friendly with a number of Union soldiers as well to obtain information from them. Few could resist or ever suspect that the lovely 18-year-old southern belle was a Confederate "secret agent". During the famous Shenandoah Valley campaign she supplied information to the legendary Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson. Her help was so instrumental in the capture of Front Royal, Virginia that Jackson made Miss Boyd an honorary member of his staff and the rank of captain in the Confederate army. Carrying her information to the front often exposed Belle to enemy fire and she once rode into Jackson's camp with her skirt full of bullet holes.
A French war reporter gave her the name "La Belle Rebelle" and she led quite an adventurous life acting as a spy, informant and courier for the legendary "Gray Ghost" Colonel John S. Mosby before a lover betrayed her and she was arrested on direct orders from the U.S. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. After being held for a month in Washington's Old Capitol Prison she was released in a prisoner exchange after which she continued her covert activities before being arrested again in June of 1863. This time she was not released for seven months, during which time she came down with typhoid and was sent to Europe to recover and carry some special messages on behalf of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
While attempting to return to the Confederacy her blockade runner was captured by a Union warship. U.S. Navy Captain Samuel Hardinge was put in command of the rebel ship with orders to take the prize to a northern port. Belle didn't think Hardinge was half bad and before long she had the Yankee captain eating out of her hand. She convinced the love-struck sailor to release herself and the Confederate ship's captain to Canada. Belle made it safely to Canada and from there eventually moved to England. Hardinge, however, was court-martialed for allowing the famous spy to escape and was dismissed from the service. However, he gained a much greater prize as he immediately went to England himself, found Belle and married the southern beauty in August of 1864.
It seems though that Belle's strong, southern lovin' was too much for the Yankee captain and after less than a year of wedded bliss Captain Hardinge died in 1865. However, Belle continued to be quite the celebrity. She wrote a popular book about her exploits called, "Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison" as well as becoming an accomplished actress. In 1868 she came back to the United States and performed for the first time. She continued for the rest of her life to act and give lectures about her colorful experiences during the war and died while on a tour out west on June 11, 1900