Nancy Hart

Nancy Hart. A Spy's Lasting Legend. In July 1862 a dramatic scene unfolded on the courthouse grounds in front you. The notorious Confederate spy known as Nancy Hart, who had been confined here by Union Lt. Col. William Starr of the 9th West Virginia Infantry, tricked a guard into letting her examine his gun. She immediately shot him dead and fled on a stolen horse. Historians debate this event and many aspects of Hart's life. Her exploits are a jumble of fact and fiction, including her name, which may be a pen name., It is known that she grew up in Roane County, where she learned to shoot and ride horses: When the Civil War began, she joined the local Confederate guerrilla group, the Moccasin Rangers. She used her charms to gather intelligence about enemy troop movements while peddling goods or tending to officers in camps., Hart returned to Summerville on July 25, 1862, with Robert A. Bailey of the 22nd Virginia Infantry and hundreds of cavalrymen. The Confederates stormed the town at dawn, burning buildings and capturing two companies of the 9th WV, including Starr. Hart's undercover activities trailed off after the raid and in 1864 she married fellow Moccasin Ranger Joshua Douglas. They settled in West Virginia and raised two sons., (captions) , A photograph of Nancy Hart taken during her Summersville confinement. Courtesy West Virginia Division Of Culture and History., The original Nancy Hart, illustrated here, was on American heroine and spy during the Revolutionary War. Her legend is also hard to distinguish fact from folklore and the name Nancy Hart has become synonymous with female spies, possibly including the West Virginia legend. During the Civil War, a band of Georgia women also formed a militia unit named in her honor. - Courtesy Library of Congress