Belle Boyd Research Paper

Belle Boyd: Paving the Way for Women for Centuries to Come “Perhaps Miss Boyd wasn’t beautiful, or as beautiful, physically, as some other women, yet there was something beautiful about her… something a man never forgot,” (Snow 90). Maria Isabella Boyd, was one of the most prominent spies for the Confederates during the Civil War. Although Miss Boyd was very young when she started her spying career, she was nothing short of a reputable spy. Throughout Boyd’s life, living as a spy, she was arrested a total of about seven times, but was only incarcerated twice. Boyd may not be the most appropriate model for young women today, but she helped her fellow Confederates in what they might have considered the most important ways. Belle Boyd was one …show more content…
Contrary to all beliefs, especially in the 1800s, women were just as capable and brave as men. Belle is an admirable example, she took many risks and plunged into the world in which only men were supposed to be associated. Of the many risks that Boyd took, there was one in particular that left her imprints on American history. After hearing some valuable information from the opposing, Union army, lead by General James Shields, Belle immediately sprang to action and fearlessly made her way to General Thomas J. Jackson. She delivered the message successfully with only a bullet hole in her skirt and told “Stonewall" Jackson the Union’s plans to burn down the town’s bridges, as their withdrawal from the fight. Belle Boyd audaciously delivered the message, which lead to another win for the Confederates, all credited to herself. Mr. “Stonewall” Jackson thought proudly himself and honorably announced her “Captain and Honorary Aide- de-Camp,” which is an assistant to one of a higher rank (Wallenfeldt 220). This may have been Boyd’s only known major success, but now people know that she was one of the women that took initiative and supported her fellow