Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1862-10-27
MISS BOYD,
~ II REBEL SPY

1QlS JOVnS ldQy nao, "
the Southern cause, called down upon nel
head the anathemas of the entire Yankee
press.
Miss BELLE is the daughter OF Benjamin
B. BOYD of Martinsburg, at which place
he was for a long time prominently en-
gagged 10 the mercantile profession. lie
afterwards removed to Knoxville, Tonnes
see, where be lived about three years, but
returned to Martinsburg about two years
previous to the breaking out OF the present
war. Her mother was the daughter OF
Captain Glenn of Jefferson county. Miss
BELLE is the Oldest child of her parents,
and is about % years of age. An uncle
of Miss BELLE, James ". Glenn, of JEFF
erson county, commanded a company du-
ring the present war, known as the "Vir-
GINA Rangers" until recently, the captain
cy of which he resigned on account of Ill
health. James E.. Stuart, a prominent pol
i~tician of the Valley, and who was a mem
Der of the Virginia Convention of 1850,
married a sister of Miss Bellies mother.
During her early years Miss Belle was
distinguished for her sprightliness and the
v~ivacity Of her temper.
That our readers may have an opportu-
nifty of seeing what the Yankee correspon-
dents say about this young lady, We ex-
tract the following article from the col
umns of the Philadelphia Enquirer"
which was written by the army correspon"
dent Of that sheet
"These women are the most accom-
plished in Southern circles. They are IN
PRODUCED under assumed names to our Of
fcers, SO az to avoid detection or recogni-
ton from those to whom their names are
known, but their persons are known. By
such means they are enabled to frequently
meet combinedly, but at separate times, the
. officers of every regiment in a whole COL
umn, and by simple compilation and com
. parison of notes, they achieve a full knowl-
q edge of the strength of our entire force
t Has modern warfare a parallel to the use
of such accomplishments for such a pur-
e posea The chief of these spies is the eel
o ebrated Belle Boyd. Her acknowledged
4 superiority for machination aud intrigue
= has given her the leadership and control Of
= the female spies in the valley Of Virginia
= She is q resident of Martiusburg, when al
IS home, and has a pious, good old mother
who regrets as much as any one can the
a violent and eccentric course of her daugh-
ter since this rebellion has broke out
Belle has passed the freshness of youth
She is a sharp-featured, ~sharp>eyed woma,
of twenty-five, OF care and intrigue hav,
d given her that appearance. Last summer
Of she wore a revofv + IN her belt, and wa
courted aud tlattersd by every Lieutenan
y and Captain In the service who ever sag
At her. There was a kind of Di Vernon dasl
about her, a smart pertness, a quickuess o
ut ~retort, and utter abandonment of name
IA and bearing which were attractive frou
u their very romantic unwontedness.
f. The father of this r~esolute black-eve,
be vixen is a paymaster in the Southern army
II. and formerly held a place at Washingto
Id under our Government. She has under
lie gone all that society, position and educa
nd lion can confer upon a mind suited to th
u days of Charles the Second, or Louis til
IN Fourteenth-a mind such as Mazarin {
be Richelieu would have delighted to emplo
r. from its kindred afinities.
is WELL, this woman | saw practicing be
a arts upon our young lieutenants and mex
he perienced captains, and in each case l uni
d. formly felt it my duty to call them asid
Ok, and warn them Of whom she was. To on
alto she had been introduced as Miss Andersen
op to another as Miss Falkner, and so to til
aid end of the chapter. She is so well koow
re; now that she can only practice her blau
at dishments upon new raw levies and the
No officers. But from theul she obtains Il
OF number of their regiments and their fore
e a She has, however, trained coadjutors, wi
'ci- report to her daily-girls aged from 16 U
,gy ward-women who have the common sep
The not to make themselves as conspicuous
she, and who remain unknown, save to he
eel and are therefore effective. Thereports tn
m she is personally impure are as unjust
to they are undeseryed. She has a blind dew
ton to an idea, and passes far the bound
~ of her sex's podesty to promote its ST
less cess.
la During the past campaign in the Va
ley this woman has been of immense Sc
his vice to the enemy. She will be now if s
oes can"