Civil War Figure.
Born Mary Virginia Wade, she was known by her family and contemporaries as merely "Jennie." Arguably the "greatest battle ever fought on American soil" commenced in the environs of her native Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1863.
The three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, and, fearing the effects of it, Jennie sought haven at the home of a relative. The "Jennie Wade House," as it is now known in the borough of Gettysburg, was the home of her married sister, Georgia Wade McClellan. It was there that Jennie found refuge from the rapidly-escalating battle.
In a short time, the locality of the McClellan home became a battlefield with Union and Confederate forces frequently dueling within site of it. Throughout this ordeal, Jennie repeatedly offered comfort in the way of foodstuffs and water to the Union soldiers who were combating the Confederates outside the home.
Keystone Tombstones, vol. 1, by Farrell and Farley, states that her last words to her sister were: "If there is anyone in this house that is to be killed today, I hope it is me," because her sister had a baby. The 20-year old fell dead after a rifle ball penetrated the home's doors on the morning of July 3 and struck her while she was preparing bread dough.
With the cessation of the battle, she was buried in her sister's garden on the 4th of July. In January 1864, her remains were relocated to a cemetery "near the German Reform Church" in Gettysburg. A later reinterment in the Evergreen Cemetery occurred in November 1865.
Within this burial ground is another tragic story intertwined with her own - the one of Corporal Johnston Hastings Skelly, Jr. He was a friend, beau, and presumed fiancé of Jennie's. He died on July 12, 1863, of wounds received in a Virginia battle and is now buried in close proximity of her plot. The two died without knowing the other's fate.
For several years, her grave was marked with a non-descript gravestone, however, through the tireless efforts of her sister Georgia, an elaborate marker stands today in the remembrance of Jennie, "the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg."
Born Mary Virginia Wade, she was known by her family and contemporaries as merely "Jennie." Arguably the "greatest battle ever fought on American soil" commenced in the environs of her native Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1863.
The three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, and, fearing the effects of it, Jennie sought haven at the home of a relative. The "Jennie Wade House," as it is now known in the borough of Gettysburg, was the home of her married sister, Georgia Wade McClellan. It was there that Jennie found refuge from the rapidly-escalating battle.
In a short time, the locality of the McClellan home became a battlefield with Union and Confederate forces frequently dueling within site of it. Throughout this ordeal, Jennie repeatedly offered comfort in the way of foodstuffs and water to the Union soldiers who were combating the Confederates outside the home.
Keystone Tombstones, vol. 1, by Farrell and Farley, states that her last words to her sister were: "If there is anyone in this house that is to be killed today, I hope it is me," because her sister had a baby. The 20-year old fell dead after a rifle ball penetrated the home's doors on the morning of July 3 and struck her while she was preparing bread dough.
With the cessation of the battle, she was buried in her sister's garden on the 4th of July. In January 1864, her remains were relocated to a cemetery "near the German Reform Church" in Gettysburg. A later reinterment in the Evergreen Cemetery occurred in November 1865.
Within this burial ground is another tragic story intertwined with her own - the one of Corporal Johnston Hastings Skelly, Jr. He was a friend, beau, and presumed fiancé of Jennie's. He died on July 12, 1863, of wounds received in a Virginia battle and is now buried in close proximity of her plot. The two died without knowing the other's fate.
For several years, her grave was marked with a non-descript gravestone, however, through the tireless efforts of her sister Georgia, an elaborate marker stands today in the remembrance of Jennie, "the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg."
Civil War Figure.
Born Mary Virginia Wade, she was known by her family and contemporaries as merely "Jennie." Arguably the "greatest battle ever fought on American soil" commenced in the environs of her native Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1863.
The three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, and, fearing the effects of it, Jennie sought haven at the home of a relative. The "Jennie Wade House," as it is now known in the borough of Gettysburg, was the home of her married sister, Georgia Wade McClellan. It was there that Jennie found refuge from the rapidly-escalating battle.
In a short time, the locality of the McClellan home became a battlefield with Union and Confederate forces frequently dueling within site of it. Throughout this ordeal, Jennie repeatedly offered comfort in the way of foodstuffs and water to the Union soldiers who were combating the Confederates outside the home.
Keystone Tombstones, vol. 1, by Farrell and Farley, states that her last words to her sister were: "If there is anyone in this house that is to be killed today, I hope it is me," because her sister had a baby. The 20-year old fell dead after a rifle ball penetrated the home's doors on the morning of July 3 and struck her while she was preparing bread dough.
With the cessation of the battle, she was buried in her sister's garden on the 4th of July. In January 1864, her remains were relocated to a cemetery "near the German Reform Church" in Gettysburg. A later reinterment in the Evergreen Cemetery occurred in November 1865.
Within this burial ground is another tragic story intertwined with her own - the one of Corporal Johnston Hastings Skelly, Jr. He was a friend, beau, and presumed fiancé of Jennie's. He died on July 12, 1863, of wounds received in a Virginia battle and is now buried in close proximity of her plot. The two died without knowing the other's fate.
For several years, her grave was marked with a non-descript gravestone, however, through the tireless efforts of her sister Georgia, an elaborate marker stands today in the remembrance of Jennie, "the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg."
Born Mary Virginia Wade, she was known by her family and contemporaries as merely "Jennie." Arguably the "greatest battle ever fought on American soil" commenced in the environs of her native Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1863.
The three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, and, fearing the effects of it, Jennie sought haven at the home of a relative. The "Jennie Wade House," as it is now known in the borough of Gettysburg, was the home of her married sister, Georgia Wade McClellan. It was there that Jennie found refuge from the rapidly-escalating battle.
In a short time, the locality of the McClellan home became a battlefield with Union and Confederate forces frequently dueling within site of it. Throughout this ordeal, Jennie repeatedly offered comfort in the way of foodstuffs and water to the Union soldiers who were combating the Confederates outside the home.
Keystone Tombstones, vol. 1, by Farrell and Farley, states that her last words to her sister were: "If there is anyone in this house that is to be killed today, I hope it is me," because her sister had a baby. The 20-year old fell dead after a rifle ball penetrated the home's doors on the morning of July 3 and struck her while she was preparing bread dough.
With the cessation of the battle, she was buried in her sister's garden on the 4th of July. In January 1864, her remains were relocated to a cemetery "near the German Reform Church" in Gettysburg. A later reinterment in the Evergreen Cemetery occurred in November 1865.
Within this burial ground is another tragic story intertwined with her own - the one of Corporal Johnston Hastings Skelly, Jr. He was a friend, beau, and presumed fiancé of Jennie's. He died on July 12, 1863, of wounds received in a Virginia battle and is now buried in close proximity of her plot. The two died without knowing the other's fate.
For several years, her grave was marked with a non-descript gravestone, however, through the tireless efforts of her sister Georgia, an elaborate marker stands today in the remembrance of Jennie, "the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg."
Bio by: Deleted User
Inscription
Aged 20 years 2 months
KILLED WHILE MAKING BREAD FOR THE UNION SOLDIERS
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Wade memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
