The scarcity of records makes it difficult to learn of the illegal activities of Confederate spies.  What documents that did exist were lost or deliberately destroyed as the Union Army approached Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate Capital.  Years after the War, Jefferson Davis discouraged any revelations about the South’s spies.  Belle and her family were friends with Jefferson Davis after the War and that may be why more was not written about her. A book on her diaries and letters was finally published in 1990.

          Belle lived in Memphis, Tennessee, which was captured by Union troops in June 1862.  After that time Belle would conceal supplies in her clothing while crossing Federal lines to leave Memphis.  Smuggling contraband through the lines was considered treason.  Two published accounts mention Belle’s smuggling activities.  One was in a book by a Federal soldier in 1863.  According to his account, a “Miss Edmonton” was ordered banished through the lines for waving a Confederate flag at a boatload of prisoners.  He related that she smuggled three pairs of fine cavalry boots before being expelled from Memphis.  Belle later presented the boots to Confederate Generals Sterling Price, Earl Van Dorn, and John Pemberton.

          In addition to providing supplies, Belle and other residents of occupied Memphis also furnished information about enemy activities.  Spies and their contacts kept the Confederate commanders informed of the location and movements of Union forces.

          After the fall of Memphis, Belle met the Missouri troops she later adopted.  She and a friend designed a flag for General Sterling Price.  His note of appreciation and the flag design are among her papers.  Belle also received letters from Missouri officers telling her that their troops would hold her name in “sacred honor” and that her self sacrifice and patriotic devotion would “make your name a household word to the Army of the West.”

          In her photograph album there is a photo of Jefferson Davis. Autographed on the back, it says “To Miss Belle from her friend and faithful servant – 21 May 1870”.

The above was taken from “A Lost Heroine of the Confederacy – The Diaries and Letters of Belle Edmondson” by William and Loretta Galbraith, published by University Press of Mississippi, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211.