The Belle Boyd house was built in 1853 by her father, Ben Boyd. It is said to be the finest Greek Revival house in Martinsburg. Ben ran a store in one side of the house. She was imprisioned for the first of four times during the Civil War allegedly for passing information to the Confederates. Later Belle Boyd became an actress of note in the theater in Europe.
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His goals was to capture 100,000 weapons and to use the mountains in the area for guerilla warfare. The marauders captured the armory , but within 36 hours the insurrection was quelled by federal troops, led by Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee and his aide Lt. Most of his men were killed. Brown himself was captured, found guilty of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, and hanged in Charles Town on December 2, 1859. The Virginia Greys guarded Brown, fearing that the slaves would rise up and try to spring him from jail.