On June 8th and 9th the battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic took place, victories for the Southerners. The Confederates moved on to Brown's Gap, a point a bit nearer Richmond. "The success which the Confederates had achieved was undoubtedly important. The Valley army, posted at Brown's Gap, was now in direct communication with Richmond. Not only had its pursuers been roughly checked, but the sudden and unexpected counter-stroke, delivered by an enemy whom they believed to be in full flight, had surprised Lincoln and Stanton as effectively as Shields and Fremont."
Thus the plan of McClellan to fall upon Richmond had been postponed and a division of the Northern forces was made necessary to protect the Federal capital and to supply Banks with troops.
Later in the month Jackson's division moved with great secrecy to join General Lee near Richmond—but that is a story for another time.
Belle Boyd, the Spy
"In a pretty storied house, the walls completely covered by roses and honeysuckle in luxuriant bloom" according to Belle Boyd herself, lived one of the most beautiful women and one of the most famous spies in all history.
Martinsburg, her home in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, was only a village then and she tells us about her neighbors and her childhood—"It was all golden and I was surrounded by devoted and beloved parents and brothers and sisters ... our neighbors are some of the best families of the Old Dominion descended from such ancestors as the Fairfaxes and Washingtons."
When Belle was only twelve she was sent to Mount Washington Seminary in Washington. At sixteen her education was finished and she made her début. She wrote how brilliant were the Congressional and Senate balls where both Northern and Southern belles met and learned to love each other as sisters.
Then came the dark days of Secession. Belle's own father was among the first to enlist in the defense of Virginia. Belle returned home where with other ladies she helped raise funds with which to equip the Confederate soldiers. The colors were raised and on them one read these words, "Our God, Our Country and Our Women."
Things were dull for Belle after her father and the boys marched away to Harper's Ferry. Soon she went to visit them where she enjoyed the social life until messages came saying the Federal troops were approaching. She was sent home and scarcely had she arrived before the Southern troops withdrew to Falling Waters, near her home. She heard the distant boom of cannon and quickly there followed the battle of Martinsburg. After a skirmish of five hours, Belle saw General Jackson's troops retreat.