Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1899-06-15
THE FIELD OF BATTLE
INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF
THE WAR.
The Veterans Of the Rebellion Tell of
Whist1ins Bullets, Bright Bayonets,
Bursting Bombs, Bloody Battles.
Camp Fire, Festive Bugs, Etc, Etc.

When the war began Belle Boyd, of
"Stonewall' Jackson and Shenandoah
Valley fame, better known as 1.-The
rebel spy" was 'sweet 16" She was
born in Martinsburg, Va, in May, 1914,
and is descended from revolutionary
| ancestors. Being on the frontier that
divided the two opposing armies and
sentiments, the latent fires of her ma
ture were awakened by the fierce storm
that ragged around her. She was edu-
Gated at Mount Washington female col
lege, near Baltimore. While at home
on vacation in the fall of 1859 the
John Brown raid at Harper's Ferry
took place, and on account of the eX-
element caused by this, the country
around her home was filed with sol
diers during the entire winter. Shortly
after this she spent her first winter in
Washington society and spent hour
after hour listening to the debates in
the capitol. AS a result of these she
left Washington a full-fedged seces
sionist. After this quickly followed
the massing of troops at Charleston,
the secession of the States, the bonn
bardment of Fort Sumter and then
Virginia went out Of the Union. Lin
coins call for troops followed, and then
came the concentration of troops in the
valley of Virginia and the appearance
on the scene of Jackson and Johnson.
Patterson's and Cadwalader's armies
from the North invaded Virginia and
swarmed around her home in Martins
burg. One of the Union soldiers, a
drunken fellow, insulted in the grossest
language her mother, who tainted.
Belle was present and drew her pistol
and shot him. She was arrested and
carried to General Patterson's head
quarters and court of inquiry was
held. General Patterson said she did
right, and under the same circum-
stances he hoped every Southern girl
would do the same. The incident got
into the Northern papers, and like a
white elephant" as she expressed it,
she was pointed out as the thousands
of troops came into town as being the
most dangerous rebel in the country.
Jackson discovered her merit as a spy
and gave her a permit to pass any
where through his lines, and she often
rode through the dark lonely hours Of
night to carry news to Jackson and
Stewart of the movements of the
enemy.
At the battle of Front Royal she ran
across the battlefield under the firing of
both armies with important news to
Jackson. This saved the bridge from
being burned and Jackson from being
hemmed in. This led to her imprison-
ment in Washington, from which she
was afterward exchanged, along with
300 Confederate prisoners, and sent to
Richmond.
She was then made captain in the
regular Confederate army and wore a
riding costume. AS captain she was
aid-de-camp on the staff of Stonewall
Jackson on detached service. In the
winter of 1868 she was sent to Knox
vile on secret service, also making a
tour on government business to Mont
gomery, Mobile and Charleston. In
this last place she was a guest for a
week of General Beauregard. She
then returned, in the summer Of 1864
to the valley of Virginia.
On May s, 1864, she sailed on board
the Greyhound, flying the British flag
under Captain George H. Beers, ex-
captain Of the United States navy,
under the name of Captain Henry.
They had a heavy cargo Of cotton, two
To 81
gers, herself and her two servants, one
an Irish girl who was her maid and a
colored maid On the afternoon of
May they were captured by the Uni
ted States man-of-War Connecticut and
she was carried to Boston and kept a
prisoner for few days in the fremont
Hotel. BY court-martial by reason of
her being captured under British flag
she was not shot but banished. She
was carried to Canada and ordered
never to put her foot on United States
soil again or she would be shot without
trial.
A young lieutenant on the Connect
cut, Sam Hardinge, fell in love with his
fair captive. She got his signal book,
which she afterwards gave to the cap
tain of the Greyhound, whom she met
in Canada. She sent the signal book
into the South by way of the blockade
and then sailed for England from Que
bee on board the Damascus and arrived
in London carrying all of her dispatch
es safely through. She was followed
across the ocean by her lover, Lieu
tenant Hardinge, and they were mar
ried at ST. James, in Picadilly. The
Prince of Wales, she says, attended
their wedding. They were afterwards
presented at five different foreign
courts. BY him she had one child
Grace Hardinge.
Toombs' Awful hreat.
A good story is told in the Chicago
Times-Herald of how a soft answer
turned a self-confident, aggressive
young man into an exemplary, obedient