Evening star., 1922-11-19
Confederate Woman Spy Lies in Almost Forgotten Ora

prisonment in one of the best hotels
in the city. the Eutaw House. she
was released and sent back to Mar
tinsburg.
She then went to Front Royal. Va.
where her uncle and aunt had made
their home. When the war began
their southern sympathies were
strong and they thought it wise to
leave Washington. Their fine resi-
dence here was converted Into bar
racks.
Belle found their home in Front
Royal in the possession of Federal
troops. A. council was held by the
Federals in the drawing room. Above
it WAS a bedroom with a clothes
closet In the floor of that closet
she found a hole had been bored
She listened all the evening and took
down in cipher what she heard. 1t
was after / o'clock the next morn
ing when the council ended. but she
saddled her horse and galloped away
toward the mountains to convey the
information she had obtained. She
had some passes which had been
procured for Confederate soldiers re-
turning south. but were supposed
to be of no further use. When she
was challenged by Union sentries.
however, she flourished those passes
and was allowed to go on. She
dashed across fields and marshes and
at the end of a fifteen-mile ride gave
her news to Col. Ashby.
In returning home she galloped
past a sleeping sentry. who wakened
in time to see her horse disappear
around a turn which shielded her
from the bullet he was about to send
after her After a two-hour ride. she
reached her aunt's house. unsaddled
her horse and at daybreak she
turned in," as she expressed it.
On one occasion a picket was sta
toned between their farmyard and
the dairy. The dairymaid was not
allowed to milk the cows without a
pass signed by the officer Of the day.
Belle considered this was a nuisance
and wrote the following pass and had
1t signed:
These cows have permission to pass
to and from the yard and dairy for
the purpose Of being MIXED twice a
day until further orders"
She pasted the pass between the
horns of one of the cows. 1t had the
desired effect. for the cows were not
again stopped Whenever the pass
80 ah
placed it by another.
nELLE was the cause of the dis
ID missal Of a lieutenant OF the
Federal army from the service by
court-martial She had asked Maj.
Tyndale for a pass to Winchester.
He had said he would give 1t to her.
but when she was ready to start and
expected to get the pass the major
had gone "out on a scout" She in
duced the lieutenant to pass her
through the pickets.
A southern man at Winchester gave
her two packages of letters. also a
small note. to convey. II possible. to
Stonewall Jackson or some other Con-
federate officer. She sent to Col. Fille-
browne q bouquet Of flowers with her
compliments and a-reQuest that he
permit her to leave Winchester and
return to Front Royal. He gave her
the desired pass. She wrote on the
less important package. Kindness of
Lieut.. H." and placed 1t in a little
basket She asked the lieutenant to
carry the other package. on which she
had inscribed the same words and
which contained a rebel newspaper.
He put the package in his pocket
Belle retained possession of the little
note"
On their way back to Front Royal
she was arrested and the packages
with. the Inscriptions, Kindness Of
Lieut.. H." were brought to the at
tention of Maj Tyndale. Belle would
have been obliged to dispose in some
ingenious way Of the little note or
ment Maj. Tyndale's attention had not
been diverted to something else. The
major was greatly incensed against
the lieutenant, and his military career
was soon ended.
This youthful spy is credited with
having caused the defeat of Gen.
Banks by Stonewall Jackson in the
valley. When the Con-
federates approached Front Royal
Belle locked in his room, a prisoner,
q reporter for the New York Herald,
whom she did not like and who was
later captured. She then put on q
sunbonnet and ran along the street
formation to Stonewall Jackson. She
wore blue dress and little white
apron. The dress was afterwards
cut up into two shirts for two
wounded Confederate soldiers. The
Federals saw her running and fired
at her, but by a miracle did not hit
her body. although bullet went
through her clothes. She was ex-
posed to crossfire from Federal and
Confederate artillery.
She flew over fences and across
fields. Just before a shell burst near
her she threw herself Nat on the
ground and was unharmed. As she
neared the Confederate lines she
waved her sunbonnet to indicate that
they should go forward. A little
later she gave the little note" afore-
mentioned to the proper officer.
The information she gave Stone
wall Jackson's forces resulted in
Confederate victory. Stonewall Jack
son wrote her q letter, thanking her
for himself and the army for the