On May 9, 1844, a Confederate spy was born. She was born Maria Isabella, the daughter of Benjamin Reed Boyd and Mary Rebecca Glen Boyd. She later shortened her name to simply Belle. She grew up in Martinsburg, Virginia. Her parents were wealthy enough to allow her to attend Mount Washington Female College in Baltimore when she was twelve. The year after she returned home, Martinsburg fell to Union forces. Shortly after the city was captured, she and her mother were attacked by a Union soldier. However, Belle should not be taken lightly. She shot and killed the soldier. After being questioned about the incident, the Confederate commander decided that she was not at fault and faced no consequences. With this, "La Belle Rebelle" began her career as a rebel spy at the age of seventeen. Boyd acted as both an informant and messenger for Confederate forces. She traveled the Union camps, gathering whatever information she could from the soldiers there. According to her memoir, she was able to gather information through a peephole while in Virginia on May 23, 1862. After learning that Union forces were going to march, she went to see General Thomas J." Stonewall" Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. She rushed to the battlefield to inform the general at the last moment of the dispositions of the Union troops, while the general had begun to march on the Royal Front. Boyd later received a personal note from the general himself thanking her for her contribution. However, his flirtations in the Union camps proved most successful. Men at the camps said that while she may not have been physically attractive, she had a good figure and was well dressed, which was somewhat attractive. She had no emotional connection to middle of paper......like. Boyd began re-enacting his life during the Civil War on stage. She later died at the age of fifty-six on June 11, 1900 while on tour in Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Belle Boyd is an adventurous, deceased woman passionate about rebelling against the standards of the time for women. Works Cited • “Biography of Belle Boyd for Children.” Np, and Web. May 19, 2014. .• “Maria “Belle” Boyd.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, nd Web. May 16, 2014. • “National Museum of Women's History”. Education and resources. Np, and Web. May 16 2014. .