West Virginia Women During U.S.

West Virginia Women During U.S. Civil War

Wild Western Women: Western Virginian Female Involvement in the Civil War of the United States

The Civil War of the United States of America will more than likely always be remembered as one of the most tumultuous events -- and time periods -- in the history of this country. More so than any other region during this particular epoch, West Virginia embodied the violent dichotomy that characterized this land during those fateful years of 1861 to 1865. It should be remembered that during this particular time frame, West Virginia had not achieved its own statehood and was still very much considered an integral component of Virginia proper, which was inextricably linked to the Confederacy in virtually all ways at the onset of this armed conflict. Yet a rash, unpredictable series of events would rapidly overtake this state in the war's early stages and would render it in the possession of the Union for the duration of the war, thereby leaving it, and its western region in particular, in the throes of a dogged conflict of resistance most ardently demonstrated by an unlikely hero: the West Virginian woman.

To properly understand the extremist measures of resistance which Western Virginia and its assortment of heroines repeatedly mounted for the greater part of the Civil War, it becomes necessary to chronicle Virginia's capture and unwilling participation as a Union loyalist territory as early as 1861. Virginia played a large role in many of the opening salvos of this martial affair -- significantly, it did so as a Confederate partisan. On Aril 17, 1861, a mere five days after the Civil War commenced in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Virginia militia contested possession of the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harper's Ferry by engaging Union forces (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Additionally, it should be noted that West Virginia in particular facilitated much of the state's early involvement in the Civil War by supplying troops for the Confederate forces, and serving as the site of what many consider to be the initial land battle in the War, which took place on June 3, 1861 when Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley and the First Virginia Provisional Regiment (which would later go on to be known as the First West Virginia Infantry) clashed -- unsuccessfully -- with Union forces led by General George B. McClellan (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

The proclivity towards defeat would characterize much of Virginia's involvement (overtly, at least) at the Civil War's onset. Similar defeats were suffered at Rich Mountain in mid-July when Union General William S. Rosecrans succeeded in ousting confederate forces, which were primarily headed up by General Robert S. Garnett, from Laurel Hill. The most decisive encounter which would primarily decide the fate for the majority of the northern territory in what today is known as West Virginia, however, began on July 14th when Confederate efforts were again defeated, this time at Corrick's Ford, and which also gave Unionists valuable control of key transportation routes, making it increasingly difficult to supply Confederate forces. The Union's triumph in West Virginia would be completed by the end of the summer of 1861 when it emerged victorious at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry, which successfully delivered Kanawha Valley and the rest of the northern portion of West Virginia under its control.

Due to the fall of West Virginia and its subsequent occupation by Union troops for the vast majority of the Civil War, a zeitgeist of resentment and sedition was instilled among its citizens. These thoughts and feeling were largely exacerbated due to the fact that many of the common citizens who endured this unwilling occupation had relatives and friends who were actively fighting against the Union forces in the Civil War and even in other parts of Virginia. The efforts mentioned in the latter case were frequently spearheaded by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, whose military campaigns were glorified and revered throughout much of West Virginia as efforts to actively "liberate" it from the capture of Union forces. Many of Jackson's overt, martial efforts, would directly inspire and fuel sentiments which would be attributed to the covert methods of resistance taken up by West Virginian women. Both Jackson's success and defeats served as motivation for seditious acts committed by West Virginia's citizens.

His activities in the region known as Shenandoah Valley were particularly followed and even aided by West Virginian supporters. Jackson actually enjoyed a considerable amount of success in his initial forays in the state of Virginia, culminating in a spring in which he advanced as far as Bolivar Heights, which is located west of Harper's Ferry. Along the way he managed to triumph in the Battle of Winchester, occupy the county seat of Franklin, force Union general John C. Fremont to flee from McDowell into Pendleton County, and capture the small town of Romney and effectively blockade portions of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was a crucial junction for Union supplies (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

While Jackson's campaign throughout Shenandoah Valley served as a figurehead with which civilian patterns of resistance was based upon, other forms of revolt in West Virginia also fueled such sentiment. Unionist forces prevented the Confederacy from controlling portions of West Virginia for any significant length of time, but they were unable to prevent a series of relatively minor raids in the area from taking place -- all of which merely aided in the spirit of resistance which was so influential to civilians living in this particular region. One of the most successful of these raids was impelled by an Albert Gallatin Jenkins of Cabell County, who succeeded in summoning a force of approximately 550 men from Monroe County (who were not necessarily formal soldiers but who comprised a fair amount of civilian involvement) and capturing Glenville, Buckhannon, Ripley, Weston, and Spencer along the Staunton and Parkersburg turnpike-- all the way into Ohio (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Jenkins' triumph was largely attributed to the fact that Kanawha Valley was an area of weakness for Union forces during the summer of 1862 (especially in August), since they had devoted as many as 5,000 troops to the region of eastern Virginia leading up to the second Battle of Bull Run.

Similar efforts to liberate West Virginia from the control of the Unionists occurred in the middle of September of 1862, some of which directly involved Jackson, who succeeded in capturing Martinsburg to the delight of many West Virginians. Jackson's victory at Martinsburg prompted him to attempt to reclaim Harper's Ferry, which was, at the time, occupied by a force of upwards of 12,000 men headed by General Dixon Miles. Jackson devised a three-pronged attack involving General Lafayette McLaws and General John G. Walker, who converged on the neighboring areas of Harper's Ferry known as Maryland Heights and Loudon Heights, respectively. Their success in these respective regions enabled Jackson to successfully reclaim Harper's Ferry from Miles, in one of the most triumphant moments of the Civil War for Western Virginian Confederate loyalists. The magnitude of this victory, and its resulting effect on the dedication to Unionist resistance of West Virginian civilians in particular, should not be overlooked. There have only been two previous occasions, both of which occurred in World War II, in which larger United States armies have been forced to surrender, at Bataan and Corregidor, respectively (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Consequently, these triumphs served to sufficiently fuel the sentiment of resistance in West Virginia natives which would become manifested most dramatically, and perhaps even most eloquently, by a number of choice women during the U.S. Civil War.

Nancy Hart

Up until the time of the Civil War, women had a fairly limited role in their involvement with martial affairs. Most women were relegated to nursing positions, opting to stay away from the fronts of particular battles in order to treat the wounded and provide what limited degree of support that they could for those actively engaged in battle. Despite the fact that there were many women who did participate in these somewhat traditional roles in the Civil War, women in West Virginia and in other regions of the country during this epoch increased their level of participation substantially. For what may have been the first time in the history of this county's military engagements, women participated in deciding the outcome of this encounter in ways both direct and indirect. Female spies, guides, and scouts supplemented the nursing roles, particularly in West Virginia where the lengthy legacy of battles and a history of partisanship for the Confederacy would not be willingly overridden by Unionist occupation. This spirit of defiance was exemplified by Nancy Hart, who was still a teenager when she became dramatically involved in West Virginia's liberation movement.

To properly understand how Hart became a symbol of the country backwoods, rugged terrain which typified most of Virginia, with a fiery defiance which served as an accurate representation of West Virginian citizens' disposition at being subjugated to the colonization of the northern Union loyalists, the prudent scholar should research her background and upbringing, which played no small part in her career as a military activist. The distinction between folklore and fact is not always as lucid as it could be when researching the background of a state heroine, and the humble beginnings of Hart are no different in this respect. She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina either in 1846 or 1843 depending on which source is sought, although most popular accounts tend to credit her birth as taking place in 1846 (Bakeless 1970, 69). By most accounts she was as wild as the Virginian territory she moved to when she arrived in Tazewell county as an infant, and she would never learn to read or write. Descended from Scottish and Irish lineage, Hart was said to have moved in with her sister Mary and her husband William when she was still a child, where she roamed her Roane County environs, perfecting her skill with firearms and horseback riding.

Hart's deadly defiance of Union loyalists was fueled by more than just their arrival in 1861. Due to her brother-in-law's affiliation with the Confederate army, he was eventually taken away from the family and found murdered days later. Additionally, tradition holds that not long afterwards, Hart attended a going away party for a pair of neighbors who were enlisting in the Confederate army. When Union troops were spotted during the festivities, Hart is said to have taken the opportunity to chide them by voicing her support for Confederacy president Jefferson Davis. When the troops responded to her vocalizations with gun shots, Hart barely escaped with her life. A mere three days later, Hart is alleged to have left Mary's residence and taken up with a group known as the Moccasin Rangers in efforts to avenge her brother in law and actively combat the Unionist occupation of her beloved West Virginia.

Hart's activities with the Moccasin Rangers and with the Confederacy liberation movement of West Virginia were manifold. The Rangers were a guerrilla tactic organization with partisan tendencies towards the Confederacy, although they operated distinctly from any official governmental affiliation with the fledgling nation-state. Hart would quickly gain wide acclaim, as well as a fair degree of notoriety, for her active involvement with the Rangers that manifested itself in a variety of ways. As a carrier, the young woman, who was less than 20 years old at the time, transported a variety of messages between different regiments of the Confederacy armies, often undertaking measures of sleeping during the day and traveling alone at night, frequently by herself. Considered taboo for a woman engage in such activity in contemporary times, Hart's behavior was certainly an anomaly for the mid 19th century. Additionally, the young woman is said to have intervened on behalf of numerous Confederate soldiers who were injured in battle by locating residences of Confederate sympathizers and safeguarding the wounded troops in such places until their health improved (Bakeless 1970, 73).

Hart supplemented these activities by acting as a guide for Southern troops who had become detached from their respective regiments due to injuries or other unforeseen circumstances, often leading them back to their units. Yet it is her employment in the trade of espionage for which she is most well-known for, both in contemporary times as well as during the 1860s. She was able to deceive Union forces on a number of occasions as a vendor by offering commerce in the form of much valued food -- only to ascertain their location and report as much of their numbers, strength, and current plans as she could to Confederate forces. Hart is said to have worked directly with Jackson in this capacity, also spying on Union forces in isolated federal outposts in wild, forlorn territory, and reporting her finding back to the general and his men. There are even a number of sources which claim Hart was permitted to ride with -- and even possibly lead -- some of Jackson's cavalry during Civil War engagements.

Yet Hart's beneficence towards the rebellious Confederate cause and its many branches of militia in the Civil War was widely perceived as aggression and malevolence on the part of the Union, which occupied the same territory which the young woman was running rampant in. Her infamous behavior led to a bounty being placed upon her as well as her eventual arrest in the summer of 1862, which was widely attributed to work of Lieutenant Colonel Starr, who is said to have taken Hart unawares at a domicile while she was cooking (Bakeless 1970, 81). Interestingly enough, the seditious Moccasin Rangers operative was incarcerated within a house that was heavily patrolled by Union forces. There are surviving accounts of Hart's imprisonment which were made available largely due to the vigilance of journalist and telegrapher Marion H. Kerner, who was able to interact with Hart and another young woman who was captured along with her.

Yet perhaps the single most compelling incident regarding Hart, and which suggests the extent of her devotion to both West Virginia and to the Confederacy, can be found in her daring escape from prison. Varying accounts have noted that the young woman was a difficult prisoner to manage due to the charms of her aesthetic appeal to war-torn soldiers who were guarding her. The following account is excerpted from a newspaper article in the Charleston Daily Mail, and illustrates how Hart was able to deceive one of her guards and effect escape. "Nancy Hart beguiled the sentry guard, sweet-talked him and late at night by the light of two candles on the table, she played her trumps. She asked for a cup of coffee and invited the young soldier to sit with her. Over the cup of coffee, she leaned across the small table and pressed herself against the youth. He laid his pistol on the table and started to take her into his arms. Nancy grabbed the gun and with the swiftness of a panther, jumped back, fired a bullet between his eyes. Then she dived out the window and stole the Colonel's prize horse (Gwin, 1963)."

Ironically, Hart stole the horse from the same lieutenant who captured her, and escaped riding bareback. She would continue to aid the Moccasin Rangers in their efforts for the duration of the Civil War, reappearing most dramatically approximately a week after her escape from imprisonment at approximately four o'clock in the morning on July 25, 1862, in the same Summersville town which she was imprisoned in. This time, however, she was accompanied by roughly 200 cavalry members, which were said to have either been led by Colonel George Patton's 22nd Virginia Infantry or by Major Augustus, who spearheaded Jackson's cavalry. For her part, Hart was still in possession of and riding Lieutenant Colonel Starr's horse (REFERENCE). The devastation which this company of Confederates was able to exact certainly added to the legend of the young woman, as she and the military unit pillaged Summersville fairly thoroughly, particularly in the non-residential areas which had been taken over by the Unionists. The squadron managed to burn the commissary store house and at least three others, confiscated approximately 12 horses and at least mules, decimated a pair of wagons and managed to secure a number of prisoners, not the least of which was Lieutenant Colonel Starr himself.

The entire incident was a sweeping gesture which not only solidified Hart's resistance to the Union loyalists and her dedication to the Confederate state of the western area of Virginia, but also indicated the full extent of her dedication to a cause which had nearly killed her (some sources claim that she was awaiting her execution while imprisoned). The selfless devotion required to return to the same contingent, in the same town, with the exact same purpose of that which had almost ended her life is an excellent example of the fiery, passionate resistance which flared within residents in the western portion of Virginia during its occupation by Union troops in the Civil War, and also implies how severe the ties had been severed which separated this country during its most tumultuous, and potentially most devastating, time period in its history.

As if to solidify her unquestioned allegiance to the Confederate States of America, Hart's personal life largely reflected her martial activities as a spy, a guide, a scout, and cavalry member. She would eventually marry a former member of the Moccasin Rangers who enlisted in the Confederate army, Joshua Douglas, and go on to sire two sons named George and Kennos, respectively. Several facets of Hart's relationship with Douglas mirrored that of her military involvement in the Civil War, particularly the early stages in their relationship. Douglas was one of the many soldiers whom Hart rescued while working with the Rangers; she subsequently took him under her care and succeeded in nursing him back to health. Douglas returned to his service with the Confederate military, but reunited with Nancy after the South surrendered in 1865. Once married, the pair spent the remainder of their years in Greenbrier County, living in the West Virginia area which they had each labored so diligently for, and risked their lives for, to preserve a way of life that would, despite their best efforts, eventually change -- if not within the hearts and minds of the residents, at least in a legal capacity.

Nancy Hart was highly emblematic of the that West Virginia way of life which was suddenly wrenched from it when Union troops seized that portion of the state and occupied it under the regulations of United States as opposed to that of the Confederate States of America. Hart's bravery, sacrifices, and dedication to southern tradition are endemic to the entire state of Virginia, and were by no means an anomaly. There are other soldiers who may have fought harder, risked more, and certainly lost lives and those of loved ones in this armed conflict which has been recorded as the most devastating one in the history of the country. Yet in many ways, particularly those which exist on a superficial level, Hart had a lot less reason to exert her involvement in as great a capacity as she did, primarily due to the fact that she was a woman. Yet it is this same facet of her character and of her story that makes her such a symbolic representation of the fierce spirit of defiance that encompassed the vast majority of West Virigina and which was embodied so violently, so vehemently, and so doggedly within her.

Nancy Hart would not be content to wash clothes, cook meals, or even address wounds of Confederate soldiers while waiting for them to return to safe, civilian areas. She chose to become actively involved, to undertake numerous daring escapades and to risk her life precisely because the same sentiment, values, and belief system which fueled men to take up firearms and kill one another similarly possessed her, and exerted its influence accordingly. The fact that Hart did so in a civilian capacity and as a woman who was not obligated to do anything in the Civil War demonstrates the extent to which Hart and the west Virginia territory which she fought to preserve and restore openly defied and resented its occupation of Union forces.

Marie Isabella Boyd

Boyd's career in espionage, which was undertaken due to a fundamental belief in the Confederacy and the traditional southern way of life which it propagated, was also highly influenced by her familial environment, similar to, but in a far greater extent, than that of Nancy Hart. In many ways, Boyd embodied several qualities which Hart did not. The former came from a considerably wealthy family, was formally educated at a prestigious institution, and was possessed of a degree of self-assurance and glibness of conduct and of speech which Hart's country backwoods personality never could match. Yet both of these women personified the intense spirit of West Virginia loyalty and adherence to Southern tradition in ways that endured them not only to their fellow citizens in the region, but in the case of Boyd, also to national and even international audiences as well. Boyd's father, Benjamin Reed, was a well-to-do shopkeeper who married Mary Rebecca Glenn Boyd; both parents came from fairly prestigious families with a proud, lengthy lineage and a degree of eminence in the southern region of the country. Their affluence allowed them to own several chattel slaves and lavish upon "Belle" the sort of attention and largess which was endemic to way of life which the Confederacy sought to preserve by partaking in the Civil War.

Boyd's allegiance to her southern roots for the duration of the military conflict was further cemented in the fact that her father would go on to enlist in the Rebel military as part of the 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment, which would go on to comprise part of what was referred to as the Stonewall Brigade, a reference to Stonewall Jackson's unit of infantry and artillery battery which participated in some of the most devastating battles in the history of the Civil War. Additionally, at least three other relatives of Boyd were engaged in espionage work on the behalf of the Confederacy during the duration of the war, all of which served to influence Belle's sympathies with this partisan group and possibly influence her to take up action on its behalf herself.

The extent to which Boyd's southern upbringing affected her later activities as a Confederate affiliate should not be estimated, and can be illustrated best by a series of anecdotes regarding both her personality and initial foray into the conflict between the Northern and Southern states. Boyd was born in Martinsburg on May 9, 1844. As is similar to the case of Hart, the delineation between folklore and fact surrounding the former's exploits is not always as lucid as it could be. Most accounts agree that she was a an extremely strong-willed child, intrinsically reared and attuned to the Southern spirit of defiance which would go on to typify West Virginia's resistance towards the Union for much of the war. As a child Boyd is regarded as having ridden a horse into a room full of guests after being denied permission to attend the gathering because she was too young. It is noteworthy to mention that Boyd defended her dramatic entrance by asserting that her mount was old enough to attend even if she was not, and that even as a child her charm, recklessness, and conviction earned her the right to stay at the function and even avoid punishment (Scarborough 1983, 26).

Her social graces, such as they were, as well as her degree of secular education were greatly honed and augmented by a critical period spent in the area surrounding Washington D.C., where Boyd spent the formative years of her adolescence. She was formally educated at Mount Washington College in Baltimore, Maryland, and received training every bit as invaluable to her future pursuit of espionage by remaining in D.C. In early 1861, prior to the advent of the Civil War, as a debutante. This experience in particular attuned the young woman's sensibilities for "society" outside of her native West Virginia environs, where she was able to refine the arts of coquetry and command of human nature, particularly those belonging to members of the male population, granting a thorough education in the intangible aspects of espionage which are otherwise difficult to be taught.

Yet it would remain clear that her West Virginia set of mores and principles would typically manifest themselves foremost in most of her career. Boyd initially gained employment as a nurse upon her return to Martinsburg, where she supported the Confederacy in roles typical of women of her time period, caring for the wounded and perhaps raising funds for the martial effort. Despite her familial background, West Virginian ties, and formal education, one event in particular would serve to galvanize Boyd into a more active role in defense of the region which she soon saw inhabited and changed by Union troops in the late spring and early summer of 1861. Following the Unionist occupation of the town of Shenandoah Valley on July 3, Boyd did not fail to display her displeasure with that particular development by adorning her residence with a number of Confederate flags. When Union troops attempted to surmount the young woman's efforts by raising their own banner over the domicile, an altercation occurred between Boyd's family and some of the soldiers. To virtually everyone involved, save for Boyd herself, that particular result must have come as a jolting shock. What may have been even more shocking is the fact that Boyd was later justified for slaying the combative soldier by his commander. With one fell shot, Boyd succeeded in superseding the conventional role of female supporters in times of war, and also declaring herself an ardent Confederate partisan, and potential Union foe, to her very adversaries.