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Show American Heroines By LOUISE M. COMSTOCK Belle Boyd ASUXBONXET, crinoline and a white apron were the uniform In which Belle Boyd fought the Civil war. Her wits and her way with dashing young Union officers were her weapons. Yet she fought to such purpose that "Stonewall" Jackson himself wrote her In May, 1SG2: "I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the Immense service serv-ice that you have rendered your country today." In the spring of 1SG2 Belle was an eighteen-year-old beauty who, except for one visit to Washington, had seldom been outside her native town, Martinsburgh, W. Va. Suddenly Sud-denly the Union troops set about, driving General Jackson out of the Shenandoah valley and the Civil war descended upon her. Her own uncle's house In neighboring Front Eoyal became Union headquarters and Belle, visiting there, wod full run of the house by her charming ways and came Into bits of valuable valu-able Information. She herself told of listening In on a council of war through a hole bored in the floor of a closet just above the council chamber, and of carrying the news to the Confederate lines. But Belle's chief feat of daring, one which is corroborated by other sources, occurred on May 23, when she learned that the Yankees, expecting ex-pecting a Confederate attack on Front Royal, were planning to retreat, re-treat, burning bridges behind them, so that the southern troops would be trapped in the town. Tying on her sunbonnet, Belle slipped past the marching troops, out of town and Into the open country toward the approaching Confederates. Yankee Yan-kee pickets opened fire on her. At the same time the bullets of the attacking troops sped past her. Her white apron shone out like a target. tar-get. But her courage kept her on till she had delivered her message. As a result the Confederates reached Front Royal before the bridges were burned and won at least this skirmish and gained Winchester, Win-chester, just beyond. Belle subsequently was Imprisoned Impris-oned by the North at Washingtoa But when the war was over she married a Yankee lieutenant. Her second husband was a Yankee colonel. colo-nel. In 1885 she married a third Yankee and went to live In Kil-bourn, Kil-bourn, Wis., where she wrote her memoirs and died in 1900. Her grave the Grand Army of the Republic Re-public annually decorated in tribute to a "gallant enemy." In 1929, however, how-ever, the Daughters of the Confederacy Confed-eracy claimed their own, removed her remains to Martinsburg, and erected a monument there. Anna McNeill Whistler THE little old lady who sits so serenely In James McNeill Whistler's Whis-tler's famous portrait popularity known as "Mother," is familiar to most of us. But few of us perhaps know that lady to have been the artist's own mother, or understand how well she merited the immortality immortal-ity her son thus won for her. Jemmle was Anna Whistler's eldest eld-est son. As a boy he was slender and sickly. Always, It seemed to Mrs. Whistler, he was in need of his mother. At first James thought he would be a soldier, as his father had been before him, and his grandfather, grand-father, the Capt. John Whistler who had founded Fort Dearborn at Chicago. At the end of two unhappy unhap-py years at West Point, however, he decided to be a painter Instead and set off for Paris to study. During all these years Mrs. Whistler Whis-tler stayed close to her son, to be on hand If needed. In 1S0O, however, how-ever, Jemmie returned to Paris for more study and Mrs. Whistler crossed to this country for a last visit with her family In South Caro Una before settling permanently where her son wished to live, In London. The year 1SG0 saw America Amer-ica plunged Into civil war. Communication Commu-nication between mother and son became more and more difficult Finally came word that the artist had returned to London. Mrs. Whistler Whis-tler became restless. Her Jemmle needed her. She must Join him. At this time, 1804, a Union blockade block-ade made It unsafe for any ship to leave a Confederate port. Friends pointed out to Mrs. Whistler that to attempt a trip to Europe was almost al-most suicidal. But she was determined. deter-mined. She sailed from Wilmington Wilming-ton on the Advance, a blockade runner run-ner bound for England with 2.00(1 bales of cotton aboard. The ship steamed cautiously out of port trusting the darkness to hide It from the 150 Union ships marshaled outside. A sudden flash of linht as the heavy guns from Fort Fisher fired on a Union gunboat revealed Its position, however. Immediately the entire Union fleet opened fire on the Advance. And throughout thnt frightful bombardment Mrs. Whistler, according to one of the crew, stood by a porthole, and even as a shell burst In the rigini. she smiled, confident Ihey were "Goin' to get through all right." Somehow the Advance did get through, the mother Joined her now famous son. and lived to be the charming old lady of the portrait. I l 1532. Western Newspaper Union- |