Civil War Style Icons: The Sexy Spy

She was the sexiest traitor in American history.

Belle Boyd was a beautiful, self-obsessed 17-year-old living with her lower middle-class parents in West Virginia when the Civil War broke out.

Her father, a proud southerner, joined the armed forces, even though he was well into his 40s. Belle showed her support by decorating her bedroom with as many Confederate flags as she could get her hands on.

One night, however, a drunk Union soldier arrived at her doorstep, because he had heard the attractive teenager kept the illegal flags in her room. He tried to force his way into the house and shouted insults at her mother. Blinded by fury, Belle grabbed the nearest rifle and shot the soldier to death.

There was a trial held, and with fake tears and heart-breakingly beautiful smiles, Belle walked away from her crime with no charge.

Warily, however, the Unions decided to post a gaurd at her house, just in case she decided to strike again.

Bad move. The young Union soldier was mesmerized by the gorgeous young creature he was sent to keep an eye on. She flirted with him shamelessly, and he soon became powerless to her femenine charm and womanly figure. Drunk with love, he told the manipulative teenager important Union secrets. In her first espionage, Belle messaged those secrets directly back to the Confederate army. And she realized that even though she couldn't fight in the war with her father, she could use her hot body and pretty face to help her team win.

She began seducing every Union solder she could get her pretty, manicured hands on. She would send any information through her slave girl, who would pass it along to the Confederates.

But, she got caught. Unsure what to do with the beautiful siren, the Union commanders turned a comfortable hotel in Baltimore into her prison. Quite cozy, Belle soon had every prison guard at her beck and call. They would fluff her pillows and laugh heartily at her naughty jokes. They adored her.

One night, however, Belle hid in the closet at the hotel and overheard that the Union army was only planning to send a small fleet out to battle that day. Unable to trust anyone else with the news, Belle jumped on a horse and galloped out to the battlefield, braving enemy fire which put bullet holes in her skirt. She informed General Stonewall Jackson that the Union army was significantly smaller than normal, so his soldiers should move forward now to capture them.

Her tip worked. The general sent her a thank-you note and she was awarded a Confederate medal of honor.

A year later, however, she was caught again and locked up for real this time. Ironically, Belle fell in love with her captor, a Union officer. He helped smuggle her to England, and drunk with love, he immediately switched sides and began spying for the Confederates.

The world was captivated by not only Belle's adventures, but the passionate, twisted Civil War love story. Every detail was published in newspapers around the globe.

Unfortunately for Belle, her husband was captured by the Union, and put in prison for being a traitor. He fell incredibly ill in prison and died, leaving Belle a widow at 21. She had to sell her jewelry, clothes, and wedding presents to stay afloat in England.

She wrote several best-selling memoirs about her Civil War adventures. After the war she even had a one-woman show where she traveled around the U.S., dramatically telling details of her espionages.

She died in 1900, a not very rich, but a very self-satisfied woman.

Here is an outfit I put together, which was inspired by the vampy Belle:

What do you think of Belle's story?