A great guide named Leon gave us a really nice tour of the Jennie Wade House. I almost don't want to tell the story again (it's probably the most well known story associated with Gettysburg). Anyway, Jennie was baking break for the Union soldiers coming through town at her sister's house. She was shot and killed by a bullet that went through two doors before reaching her. She is the only civilian that was killed during the three days of fighting at Gettysburg.
Her sister's home is now known as the Jennie Wade House, and it is a very famous place to visit while in Gettysburg. They have tours, and a nice gift shop.
The exact area where she was baking is on the tour..... You can literally look, and stand where it happened.
I was VERY moved to see the two bullet holes through the doors leading to the kitchen area. You can see one bullet hole looking through the other one (see photo).
AND, there is something very sweet and humble about the fact that she was making bread to help the soldiers when all of this happened.
There is actually much more to the story (and the home). There is a romance and lost letter. There is a baby born in the house. An Artillery shell penetrates the home....
Towards the end of our tour, we saw a display case containing a floorboard from the site where Jennie fell.
This was a great house tour, and Jennie Wade's story is one of the more interesting (and tragic) ones relating to civilian life during the battle.
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