The Only Civilian Casualty: The Tragedy of Jennie Wade

Only a few hundred yards from the main battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, stands a modest brick duplex scarred by over 150 bullet holes.

This is the Jennie Wade House Museum. It is a somber reminder that war doesn’t just happen in fields; it happens in kitchens and parlors.

During the three bloody days of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), the town was torn apart by shells and crossfire. Yet, miraculously, only one civilian was killed directly by the fighting: a 20-year-old seamstress named Mary Virginia “Jennie” Wade.

The Girl Who Stayed Behind

Jennie Wade was born in Gettysburg in 1843. By 1863, she was living with her mother and working as a seamstress.

When the battle began on July 1, most civilians fled or hid in their cellars. Jennie, however, went to the home of her sister, Georgia McClellan, located on Baltimore Street.

• The Reason: Georgia had given birth just five days earlier. Her bed had been moved to the parlor, and she could not be moved.
• The Danger: The house was situated between the Union and Confederate lines. A picket line of Union soldiers was stationed just feet from their back door.

Despite the danger, Jennie spent the first two days of the battle baking bread and carrying water to the exhausted Union soldiers outside.

The Fatal Shot

On the morning of July 3, 1863, the fighting intensified.

• 7:00 AM: Confederate sharpshooters began firing at the north side of the house. Bullets struck the bedpost where Georgia lay with her newborn baby.
• 8:30 AM: Undeterred, Jennie went to the kitchen to knead dough for biscuits.
• The Moment: As she stood at the dough tray, a stray Confederate bullet pierced the wooden door, passed through a second interior door, and struck Jennie in the back, killing her instantly.

Hearing her fall, Union soldiers rushed in and helped carry her body to the cellar. Her mother and sister remained there with the body for another 18 hours until the battle ended. Remarkably, on July 4, her mother finished baking the very bread Jennie had been preparing when she died.

A Tragic Romance

Jennie’s death is made even more tragic by the story of her fiancé, Corporal Johnston “Jack” Skelly.

Skelly was a childhood friend who had joined the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry. Unbeknownst to Jennie, Skelly had been mortally wounded two weeks earlier at the Battle of Winchester.

• The Letter: Skelly gave a letter to his friend, Wesley Culp (a Gettysburg native fighting for the Confederates), asking him to deliver it to Jennie if he ever got back to town.
• The Fate: Wesley Culp was killed on Culp’s Hill during the battle, never delivering the letter.
• The End: Skelly died of his wounds on July 12, just nine days after Jennie. Neither knew the other had died.

The House Today

The house on Baltimore Street has been a museum since the early 1900s and remains remarkably preserved.

• The Bullet Holes: The north wall is riddled with bullet marks.
• The Door: The original wooden door with the fatal bullet hole is still there.
• The Shell: A 10-pound artillery shell that crashed through the roof and lodged in the wall (without exploding) remained there for 15 years. It is now on display in the museum.
• The Floor: A floorboard stained with Jennie’s blood is preserved under glass.

A Rare Honor

Jennie Wade is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, near the grave of Jack Skelly. In 1910, a perpetual American flag was raised over her grave. By special authorization, the flag flies 24 hours a day—an honor shared by only one other woman in American history: Betsy Ross.

If You Visit

• Location: 548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
• Tours: The house is open for guided tours daily. Because the house is small, tours are intimate and offer a visceral connection to the civilian experience of the Civil War.
• Ghost Tours: Due to its tragic history, the house is a popular stop on local ghost tours, often held in the evenings.

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For More Information

• Jennie Wade House Museum (www.gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com)