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How many times did Belle Boyd marry?
Likely more an adventurer than a true Confederate ideologue, Boyd married two Union men—first in 1864, Samuel Hardinge, a Union naval officer with whom she had a daughter, Grace, though he exited her life just before Grace’s birth.
Does Belle Boyd have siblings?
Bill Boyd
Mary Jane Boyd
Belle Boyd/Siblings
What was Belle Boyd childhood like?
Early Life Hers was a prosperous family with deep Southern roots. From the start, Boyd was a strong-willed, high-spirited and quick-witted person. She once rode a horse into the family’s home during a party after being told she was too young to attend.
What is Belle Boyd best known for?
Known as the “Cleopatra of the Secession,” Belle Boyd was a spy for the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War and went on to write a book about her experiences.
Was Belle Boyd a good spy?
Maria Isabella “Belle” Boyd was one of the Confederacy’s most notorious spies. She was born in May 1844 in Martinsburg, Virginia (now West Virginia) to a prosperous family with strong Southern ties. Boyd frequented the Union camps, gathering information, and also acting as a courier. …
How many times did Belle Boyd get married?
Boyd went on to marry two more times and had four children with her second husband before divorcing him. Belle Boyd turned her life experiences into memoirs and even began an acting career, but when she passed away at the age of 57 she was living in poverty.
What did Belle Boyd do to support herself?
To support herself, Boyd published her memoir, Belle Boyd, in Camp and Prison (1865), which exaggerated her exploits but sold well. She also became an actress, but gave it up in 1869, after marrying John Swainston Hammond, another former Union officer. They had four children (three that lived past infancy), but divorced in 1884.
Who was Belle Boyd married to in the Civil War?
Following the death of her husband in 1866, she returned to the United States on November 11, 1869. She married John Swainston Hammond in New Orleans. After a divorce in 1884, Boyd married Nathaniel Rue High in 1885. A year later, she began touring the country giving dramatic lectures of her life as a Civil War spy.
How old was Belle Boyd when she died?
Months later, she married actor Nathaniel High, 17 years her junior. She returned to acting in 1886 to reenact her Civil War life. She died on stage in Wisconsin, on June 11, 1900 at age 56. Her childhood home is now a museum. Abbott, Karen.