Gettysburg - Jennie Wade House
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Gettysburg - Jennie Wade House
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Jennie Wade, the only civilian casualty of the Battle of Gettysburg, died in this home. Today, the house is a museum and there is a life-sized statue of her out front.
Jennie’s oldest sister, Georgia, and her husband, John McClellan, lived on the left side of this brick duplex on the hillside of Cemetery Hill. John joined the Union Army, and Georgia was pregnant with their first child. Just about the same time the Confederates rode into town on June 26, 1863, Georgia went into labor, and Jennie, who was two years younger, and their mother, Mary, went to help with the birth.
By the time July 1 arrived, the Union troops had retreated through town, forming a line in the hills on the south side of Gettysburg while the Confederate troops had set up camp to the north. The family and the rest of Gettysburg found themselves between the battle lines. Mary and Jennie busied themselves caring for the new baby and feeding the nearby Union soldiers while there was a constant barrage of gunfire outside their door.
On July 2, a shell hit the house, going through the dividing wall between the two apartments and lodging in the eaves on the south side.
Early morning on July 3, the fighting intensified, and another stray bullet came in through the parlor window, hitting the bedpost where Georgia and her son were lying. No one was hurt, although they were frightened. Jennie was said to have commented, “if anyone was to be killed that day, it should be me since Georgia had a new baby to look after.” Less than an hour later, Jennie, who was in the kitchen preparing dough at the time, was struck in the back by a bullet that had passed through two doors and lay dead on the floor.
Jennie’s mom found her and returned to the parlor to tell Georgia, “Your sister is dead.” Georgia’s screams alerted the Union soldiers who came to investigate. When they found the dead girl, they took the family down to the cellar by crossing over to the neighbor’s apartment via the artillery shell hole in the upstairs wall so they could use the south entrance to access the cellar. A short time later, Mary returned to the kitchen to finish baking.
On July 4, Georgia’s twenty-second birthday, they buried Jennie in the backyard. She was later laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery.
Georgia and the family moved to Iowa, but Georgia returned to Gettysburg in 1901, when a life-sized statue of Jennie was placed at her grave.
Copyright 2023 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
March 9th, 2023
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