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Publication
of PAPA WAS A BOY IN GRAY!
Front
Royal, Virginia: Stonewall
Jackson and the Battle of Front Royal, VA: Belle
Boyd: Belle was just seventeen years
old when her parents sent her to stay with her uncle and aunt in
Front Royal in the summer of 1861. Belle's parents thought Belle
would be safe from the war there. But the war came to Front Royal.
Belle's aunt and uncle owned the Fishback Hotel on historic Chester
Street -- the oldest section of Front Royal. In the Spring of 1862,
Federal forces occupied the town. One evening, Shields held a
council of war in the hotel's front parlor. Belle hid herself in
a bedroom closet above the parlor, and for hours she listened to
the general's plans through a knothole in the closet floor. When
Belle heard the Federal garrison planned to move out of Front Royal,
leaving only a small rear guard, she knew she should alert General
Jackson whom she knew was camped some twenty miles away. On the basis of Belle's message, Jackson decided to attack Front Royal. Several days later, Jackson's skirmishers met the Federal pickets outside the town. Hearing the gunfire, Belle realized Jackson had come. She wanted to make sure the general would know Front Royal was still lightly defended. Throwing caution to the wind, she mounted her horse. Even though Belle was dressed in a bright blue dress with a white apron, she brazenly rode out to encourage Jackson, making herself an obvious target. The Federals opened fire on her as she swept through their lines but all the bullets missed. When the Confederate soldiers saw her coming, they cheered her courage with loud Rebel yells. Belle told a young Confederate officer to give her message to General Jackson. "Tell him to charge right down and he will catch them all," she said.
Belle's spying exploits didn't stop there. During the course of the Civil War, she continued gathering information for the Rebels, becoming the sensation of both North and South. Many newspapers on both sides likened the beautiful young woman to Joan of Arc. General Jackson formally commissioned her as a Captain in the Confederate army and his honorary aide. This was a rare favor from the usually dour general. Belle's spying activities were "reported" in Federal military dispatches thirty times. She was arrested six times by the Federal authorities and imprisoned twice. Each time, she charmed her captors and managed to escape. Before the end of the war, she fled to England where she lived until after the South's surrender in April, 1865. After the war Belle traveled all over the United States giving lectures on her adventures. She died in Wisconsin in 1900, at the age of fifty-six, and was buried with full military honors by her one-time enemies. Today, her grave is cared for by the American Legion. Launch
of the PAPA WAS A BOY IN GRAY Book Signing Tour:
Meet
a PAPA Granddaugther -- Mrs. Margaret Foltz: Robert
E. Goes Home with Suzanne Foltz: Next Stop!
Ulysses: Meanwhile, my report on Grant's Farm in Saint Louis is coming up. Sacagawea: So is my report on the Lewis and Clark Trail, the discovery of the Mississippi, the strange Piasa Bird, and the Cahokia Indian Mounds. Abe: So keep watching this space for lots more interesting things to come. America is truly a Land of Wonders.
NEW: Buy the PAPA BOOK or GIFT SETS
FREE AUTOGRAPHED BOOK PLATE by Prize-Winning Author Mary W. Schaller with your order of PAPA WAS A BOY IN GRAY Book or Gift Set. More
Papa Was A Boy in Gray Reports: More
Education Pages:
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Front
Royal, VA -- June 19, 2001 -- The first stop on the PAPA WAS A BOY
IN GRAY tour was this past Saturday, June 19, at Front Royal, Virginia.
This charming little town was founded in the mid-1700's as one of
the main routes over the Blue Ridge Mountains into the western part
of Virginia. Many of the houses in the center of town have been
standing for over one hundred and fifty years. Their Victorian architecture
gives Front Royal a certain air -- as if you have stepped back into
time. Photo: Mary and me on the Village Commons at Front Royal,
Virginia, on a very rainy and misty day.
In
fact, it looks very much the way it did when Lee's right-hand man,
General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson,
routed a Federal force from the town on May 23, 1862. This Battle
of Front Royal marked the beginning of Jackson's famous Valley of
Virginia Campaign. Photo: A painting of the Village Commons at
Front Royal, Virginia.
The
general was aided by the reports of the South's most famous and
beautiful spy, Miss Belle Boyd. By
the war's end, Belle was known as the "pride of the Southern solider,
the admiration of Northern firesides, and the toast of the British
Empire." Photo: Belle Boyd.
The
Fishback Hotel was used as the headquarters of the Union commanding
officer, General James Shields. Photo: General James Sheilds.
She
quietly returned to the little cottage at the rear of the hotel
that was her home while in Front Royal. She carefully wrote out
the Federal plans on thin paper, then hid her message inside a silver
pocket watch. Belle had removed the watch's works for just this
secret purpose. Then she tiptoed out to the stable, where she saddled
her horse. Belle rode off into the night. After traveling fifteen
miles in the dark, she reached the campsite of the Confederate Cavalry
commander, General Turner Ashby, who carried her message to Jackson.
Dawn's light found Belle back in her bed, sound asleep after her
midnight ride. Photo: General Turner Ashby.
Jackson
didn't hesitate but sent his troops into the town. Later that evening,
from his new headquarters inside Front Royal, Stonewall sent Belle
his note of gratitude: "I thank you, for myself and for the army,
for the immense service you have rendered your country today. I
am your friend. -- TJ Jackson, CSA." Photo: General Thomas J.
"Stonewall" Jackson.
Belle
Boyd's little white cottage in Front Royal was right next door to
the Warren Rifles Confederate Museum (95 Chester Street) where Mary
launched her 
Mary
gave the keynote speech about the Virginia soldiers in her book.
Then she signed and sold all the copies she had with her. Suzanne
Foltz, Altaffer's great-granddaughter, fell in love with me!
I was so honored! At the end of the afternoon, Mary presented one
of my brothers to Suzanne as a memento! This was very special because
Private John Altaffer had the exact same birthday, as did Robert
E. Lee -- January 19! Photo: Mary and Suzanne Foltz, great-granddaughter
of Private John Altaffer, 12th Virginia cavalry, CSA. He is one
of the PAPAs. One of my brothers went home with Suzanne.
