TAKE BELLE'S PLACE

               

It is late and so dark. People are home in their beds in hopes they will not be disturbed by any sudden gunfire. There are Union sentries all around. One could be behind any tree. Time is most important can you make the difference? You know that the enemy can see in the dark as well as you can. The shadows are thick all around. If one of those shadows moved you have only one choice. You have to keep on moving and hope that one of those hot mosquitoes doesn’t find their mark in the middle of your back.

The message is important. It can keep many Southern soldiers from meeting their Maker to soon. It is your responsibility to see that the General gets the information that you have gleamed earlier in the evening. If it is not delivered it is worthless. The message is in code but the enemy would know that it is espionage.

Can you call-up your courage to make this run? Yes, you are very young girl. The situation is bad. You are by yourself and there are hundreds of Union soldiers in the area. Are you the young girl that dedicated herself to helping the Southern Cause? Will you turn your back on the Southern cause? Or are you willing to take the chance against a large Union army?

La Belle Rebelle

                                          La Belle Rebelle

Belle was a delightful spoiled Southern Bell. They could fill a black board with all the pranks she played as a child and with no reprimands. She was loved by all, family and friends.

Eliza was her personal maid, bodyguard, confidante and friend. She loved Belle as she did her own children. Eliza was not a lot older than Belle. Belle often teased her with pranks she pulled and Eliza was the only one that that would correct her.

One of Belle’s greatest loves was the Shenandoah Valley and she was one of its most loyal inhabitants. She threw the social codes out the window in her efforts to gain information for the South. She did not deviate from their moral code.

She loved all the soldiers in their handsome uniforms. Belle had a gift of conversation. If Belle was there everyone’s focus was on this vivacious girl.

Belle was part of Stonewall Jackson, Beauregard, and Ashby’s spy system. It is said that in her hometown of Martinsburg the military control was exchanged fifty times between the South and the Union. Belle found her life as a spy and courier exciting. She was arrested five times, under house arrest several times, imprisoned twice, and held captive at a hotel. She was never charged or convicted of a crime. She continued her work until she was banished by the Union.