Yesterday I got to visit this home — it is where one Jennie Wade was shot and killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. You can actually still see the bullet hole in the doorway, made by the .58 caliber that killed her. Jennie Wade was 20 years old and (remarkably) the only civilian killed at this battle. About 51,000 soldiers died in the epic three-day event that marked the turning of the American Civil War to Union (anti-slavery) forces.
Jennie had taken refuge at her sister Georgia’s home that July of 1863, erroneously guessing that it would be safer than other places to stay. She was making bread (the stand where she was kneading still remains _in situ_) when the bullet went through two doors and killed her instantly. The entire place endured over 100 shots before the battle was over, (the second photo shows a 10-lb “parrot” shell that hit the house) but there were survivors — they stayed in the cellar until the battle had ended.
Today tourists can visit the home and see furnishings (like the lumpy rope-bed and quilt) that date to the second half of the 19th century. From there, it is just a short walk to Jennie Wade’s memorial — it turns out that only two American women’s gravesites have “eternal flags” (that never are put at half mast or are taken down), a tradition Jennie Wade’s shares with Betsy Ross’.
