Show American Heroines By LOUISE M. M COMSTOCK Belle Boyd BoydA A crinoline and a white apron were the uniform In which Belle Boyd noyd fought the Civil war Her lIer wits and her way with dashing young oung Union officers were her weapons Yet ret she fought to such purpose purpose pur pose that Stonewall Jackson himself himself him him- self wrote her In May I thank you IOU for myself and for tor the army for tor forthe forthe the Immense service that you ou have rendered your our country today In the spring of 1802 Belle nelle was an year old beauty who except for one visit to Washington bad had seldom sel dom dow been outside tier her native town towa W. W Va Suddenly the Union troops set about driving General General General Gen Gen- eral Jackson out of ot the Shenandoah valley nod and the Civil war descended upon her lien Her own o uncles uncle's house In 10 neighboring Front Royal toral became Union headquarters and Belle nelle visiting there won full run of the bouse house by her ber charming ways and came Into bits of ot valuable information She herself told toM of ot listening In on a council of war through a B hole bored In the floor c a of ofa a closet just above the council chamber chamber cham cham- ber and of carrying the news to the Confederate lines riding horseback through challenging sentries and under onder at least one bullet She told of winning winning win win- ning passes through the lines with bouquets of securing confidence with smiles But Dut Belles Belle's chief feat teat of ot daring one which Is corroborated by other sources occurred on May 23 when she learned that the Yankees expecting s ft a Confederate Confederate erate attack on OD Front Royal Horal were planning to retreat burning bridges behind them so that the southern troops would be trapped In the town Tying on her sunbonnet Belle Delle slipped past the marching troops out of town and Into the open country toward the approaching Confederates Yankee pickets opened fire on her At the same time the bullets of the attackIng attack Ing lag troops sped past her tier Her white apron shone out like a target But nut Buther Buther her ber co courage courage rage kept her ber on till tin she had bad delivered dell her message As A. a result the Confederates reached Front Royal Roal before the bridges were burned and won at least this skirmish and gained Winchester Just beyond It was for this deed that General Jackson sent Belle his personal thanks Belle Belie subsequently was Imprisoned b by the North at Washington But nut when the war was over she married married- a Yankee lieutenant Her lIer second husband bus hus band was a Yankee colonel In 1883 1885 she married a third Yankee and went to live In Kilbourn Wis where she wrote her memoirs and died In to 1000 1900 tier Her grave the Grand Grand' Army of the Republic annually decorated In tribute to a gallant enemy In 1920 1020 however however how bow ever the Daughters of the Confederacy ac acy claimed their own removed her ber remains to and erected a monument there Anna McNeill Whistler TilE TiE little old lady who sits so 80 serenely seI se- se serenely se- se I In James McNeil McNeill Whistlers Whistler's famous portrait popularly known as Mother Is familiar to most of us But few tew of us perhaps know that lady to have been the artists artist's own mother or understand how well she merited the Immortality her son thus won for her ber Jemmie was Anna Whistlers Whistler's eldest son As a n boy he was slender and sickly sickly sick sick- ly Iy Always It seemed to Mrs hire Whistler he be was In need of ot his mother At first James thought he be would be a soldier as his bis father had been before him and his grandfather the Capt John Whistler Whis who had founded Fort Dearborn at Chicago At the end of two unhappy p- p py years at West Point however he decided to to tobe be a painter Instead and andset andset andset set off for Paris to study During all these years Mrs Mra Whistler stayed close t to her son to be on hand band If It needed In 1860 1800 however lemmle returned to Paris for more study and Mrs Whistler crossed to this country for a last visit with her ber family In to South Carolina before settling permanently perma perma- neatly where her son wished to live In London The year 1800 1860 saw Amer ica tea plunged ed Into civil war Communication Communication between mother another and son beame became became be be- came ame wore more and more difficult Finally Final Final- ly came ame word that the artist had returned returned returned re re- turned to London Mrs Urs Whistler became became became be be- came came restless Ilex Her JemmIe needed ber her She must be off to Join him At this time 1804 1864 a Union blockade made It unsafe for any ship to leave leavea a Confederate port lort Friends pointed out to Mrs hips Whistler that to attempt a trip to tn Europe was almost suicidal But nut she was as determined She sailed from Wilmington on the Advance a It blockade runner bound for England with n bales of ot cotton aboard aboard- Th The e ship steamed cautiously out of port trusting the darkness to bIde hide It U fro from m the tro Union ships ship marshaled out side A sudden flash of ot light as 8 the time heavy guns from Fort port Fisher fired Bred o oa on ona ona a Union gunboat revealed td Its position n. n however ho Immediately the the entire Union fleet nert opened fire on the the Advance Ad va vanes vance nee And throughout that frightful bombardment Mrs Whistler according g to one of the crew stood by a porthole s. s and even as a. a shell burst In the rigging rig rl- ging Itlo she smiled confident they thel were a loin to pet get through all right Somehow the i Advance dM IId f r i Rt through the mother joined her bar pow BOW famous son And lived to b be tb tI e. eUna- eUna Ing Ine old lady of the portrait C. 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