PA Historic Places

Exploring the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg

A photo collage from the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Top left is the house's exterior with the statue of Jennie Wade. Top right shows a tour guide in period attire inside the house. Bottom left depicts a bedroom with a bed and a quilt. Bottom right is the establishment sign of the Jennie Wade House from 1901.

If you’re looking for information about visiting the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, you’re in the right place!

A bronze statue of Jennie Wade holding a bread loaf stands in front of her house in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a plaque that reads 'Jennie Wade, aged 20 years 2 months, killed here - July 1863 while making bread for the Union soldiers.' The red door of the brick house and a pot of yellow flowers create a poignant historical memorial scene. — Sculpture of Jennie Wade outside the house where she was felled by a Confederate bullet.

The Jennie Wade House is a historic landmark that memorializes the life and untimely death of Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.

An informational display at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with the headline '...your sister is dead.' It includes text about Jennie Wade's death as the only civilian fatality during the Battle of Gettysburg, a photo of Jennie, and an image of the house, set against a backdrop of bricks and pine branches. — Informational signage outside the house.

Mary Virginia Wade, better known as Jennie, was a young woman of just 20 when she was caught in the crossfire of a war that would shape America’s future.

A framed portrait of Jennie Wade displayed at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The black and white photograph shows her with a serious expression, wearing a dark dress with a white collar and a brooch, indicative of the mid-19th century fashion. — Portrait of Jennie.

On July 3, 1863, while diligently making bread for Union soldiers, Jennie was struck by a stray bullet, sealing her place in history and in the hearts of many.

The gravestone of Jennie Wade at Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with an inscription detailing her age at death, 20 years and 2 months, and noting she was killed on July 3, 1863, while making bread for Union soldiers. The stone is carved with her name and a relief of an anchor, symbolizing hope. — Inscription on monument at Jennie’s grave.

Today the house where Jennie Wade was killed is operated as a shrine to Jennie and as a museum, offering a poignant glimpse into the impact of the Battle of Gettysburg on civilians.

The Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, viewed from the street. The historic brick house, featuring a red front door and shutters, is accompanied by a bronze statue of Jennie Wade in the foreground. The house is a significant landmark of the Civil War, situated under a cloudy sky. — The Jennie Wade house on the southern edge of Gettysburg.

Directions | Hours | Admission Prices

The house is located at 548 Baltimore Street, Gettysburg, PA 17325.

The museum’s days/hours of operation vary with the seasons, but it is generally open March-December – check out the Jennie Wade House OFFICIAL WEBSITE for the most up-to-date days/hours.

The sign for The Jennie Wade House, established in 1901, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, featuring an illustration of the historic red-brick house. Below the main sign is an additional one indicating 'Museum & Gift Shop'. — The Jennie Wade House is now operated as a museum, open March – December.

Admission prices as of 2023 are: Adults: $12.00 | Children ages 6-12: $9.00 | Children 5 and under: Free.

A corner of a kitchen in the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with a brick fireplace and a wooden mantle holding vintage kitchen tools. A traditional wooden table with blue patterned dishes, a wooden ironing board, and a black Windsor chair complete the historical setting, all against a backdrop of floral wallpaper. — Kitchen inside the house.

Touring the Home

A tour guide, dressed in period attire, welcomes you inside, ready to share stories that bring Jennie’s world to life.

A woman in a historical costume stands contemplatively in a room at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The room is decorated with floral wallpaper and furnished with a red shelf displaying antique kitchen items. A green door and a framed story about the house's legend complete the scene. — Tour guide portraying Jennie Wade’s mother.

Each room of the Jennie Wade House is preserved to reflect the era accurately.

A woman in 19th-century dress stands in a historical bedroom at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The room features a large bed with a plaid quilt, a brick fireplace with a wooden mantle decorated with period items, and vintage portraits and a clock on patterned wallpapered walls. — Touring the Jennie Wade House.

From the kitchen where Jennie met her untimely end, the setup is such that you can almost hear the echoes of 1863 Gettysburg.

An interior view of a kitchen at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, featuring a red shelf filled with antique kitchenware and a table covered with a red and white checkered cloth adorned with bread and fruit. The room has floral wallpaper and a wooden cooking range, capturing the essence of a 19th-century home. — The spot where Jennie Wade was kneading dough when she was killed.

The guides do an excellent job of narrating the events leading up to Jennie’s death, providing context to the artifacts and bullet holes that mark the walls.

A costumed tour guide, dressed in period-appropriate attire, is speaking and gesturing in a room of the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The room is decorated with vintage wallpaper and contains a red shelf with old-fashioned kitchenware. On the green door, there is a framed legend and letter about the house's history. — Guide recounting the final moments of Jennie’s life.

At approximately 8:30 am on July 3rd,1863, a stray bullet passed through both an exterior and interior door of the home, killing Jennie while she was kneading dough.

The exterior of a red door with a bullet hole in the upper panel at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The door is set within a white frame against a brick wall, with red steps leading up to it, symbolizing the house's Civil War history. — The fatal bullet created the hole on the center-right portion of the door.

Union soldiers carried Jennie’s body to the cellar, wrapped in a quilt.

A rustic stone basement room at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, featuring stone walls and wooden beams. The room is furnished with a wooden bench, a rocking chair with a plaid jacket, a quilt-draped bed, a wooden barrel, and a chest, evoking a historical atmosphere. — Quilt showing where Jennie Wade’s body was taken after being killed by a stray bullet.

It’s estimated that more than 150 bullets hit the house during the three days of fighting.

Close-up of a vintage green-painted wooden fireplace mantle with a visible bullet hole, in the Jennie Wade House, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Above the mantle hang an old-fashioned oil lamp and a wooden clock, set against a floral-patterned wallpaper, evoking a 19th-century home interior. — Bullet hole in a fireplace mantle.

A Confederate shell came through the roof of the home and knocked a hole in an interior wall.

A photo from the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, displaying a black Civil War-era shell lying on a wooden floor against a wall with patterned wallpaper. Beside it, a sign explains that this is the type of shell that came through the roof and knocked out the wall visitors have just passed through. — Example of the type of shell that came through the roof of the home during the battle.

Today you walk through that hole as part of the tour.

Interior view of the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, showing a damaged wall with exposed bricks where a Confederate shell impacted. The surrounding walls are covered with patterned wallpaper, and a hardwood floor leads to a door, illustrating the house's history and the intensity of the Battle of Gettysburg. — Hole created by Confederate shell that pierced the roof of the home.

The Legend Lives On

One of the most unusual aspects of the house is the legend which says that if an unmarried woman passes her ring finger through the bullet hole in the interior door, she will be proposed to within a year.

A framed display at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, featuring a legend that suggests an unmarried girl will receive a marriage proposal within a year if she puts her ring finger through the bullet hole in the door. Accompanying the text is a testimonial letter from a visitor who experienced this legend come true, alongside a photo of the happy couple. — The Jennie Wade House legend pertaining to unmarried women, bullet holes, and marriage proposals.

Whether you’re superstitious or not, this odd tale adds a peculiar layer of human interest to the Jennie Wade story.

A close-up image of a weathered green wooden door with a round, dark bullet hole through it, found at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, illustrating the impact of the Civil War on this historic home. — Hole in the interior door through which the fatal bullet passed before striking Jennie Wade.

Reflections at the Grave

A visit to the house wouldn’t be complete without paying your respects at Jennie’s final resting place in nearby Evergreen Cemetery.

The burial site of Jennie Wade at Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, marked by a statue of a woman and a gravestone that reads her name, age, and the fact that she was killed while making bread for Union soldiers. American flags are placed at the base of the monument, with mature trees in the background. — Jennie’s gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery.

A monument marks her final resting place, as well as a perpetual American flag that flies day and night.

Jennie Wade's gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, featuring a white monument with a statue on top, and her name inscribed on the base. An American flag flies on a pole in the background, with the cemetery's landscape of headstones stretching out under an overcast sky. — Perpetual flag flying over Jennie Wade’s grave.

The only other woman to claim that honor is Betsy Ross.

Exploring the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. — Betsy Ross is the only other woman in America honored by a “perpetual flag” flying over her grave day and night.

Jennie Wade Birthplace

You can also visit the house where Jennie Wade was born, just a few blocks from where she died.

The historic weatherboard house identified as the birthplace of Jennie Wade in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The two-story gray house has shutters on the windows, a small plaque next to the door, and is located on a street corner with a signpost for Baltimore Street and Palmore Street visible in the bright daylight. — Exterior of the Jennie Wade Birthplace.

While you cannot tour the inside of the house, there is an informational display in front of the house.

An informational plaque at Jennie Wade's birthplace in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, providing historical details about her life and death. The sign includes an old photo of the weatherboard house where she was born and a family portrait. Text recounts her early years, her death during the battle, and the dedication of a plaque by John White Johnston in 1922. — Informational signage in front of the house.

If you’d like to see the Jennie Wade Birthplace, it’s located at 242 Baltimore Street in Gettysburg.

Two commemorative plaques on the exterior of Jennie Wade's birthplace in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The top plaque identifies the building as a Civil War building from July 1863. The larger plaque below states Mary Virginia Wade was a heroine of the Battle of Gettysburg, born in this house on May 21, 1843, and that the tablet was unveiled by her sister in 1922. — Historical markers on the front of the Jennie Wade Birthplace.

Final Thoughts

A visit to the Jennie Wade House is a reminder of the personal stories woven into the fabric of our nation’s history, often overshadowed by the grand narratives of battles and generals.

A reenactor in 19th-century attire is making a bed in a vintage bedroom with patterned wallpaper, antique wooden furniture, and period-appropriate decor including a framed portrait, a classic wall clock, and decorative items on a mantelpiece, all part of a historical exhibit at the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. — The Jennie Wade House is a testament to the individual lives changed and lost during the tumultuous days of the Civil War.

For anyone looking to immerse themselves in Civil War history or gain a better understand the civilian sacrifices during this pivotal moment in American history, a visit to the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg is a must.

The statue of Jennie Wade at her gravesite in Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The monument includes an inscription with her name, age, and the date of her death while making bread for Union soldiers, flanked by an American flag and set against a backdrop of lush trees and clear blue sky. — Jennie is recognized as a hero to this day for dying in the service of her country.

Nearby Attractions

29 Must-See Attractions in Adams County highlights more sights and experiences near the Jennie Wade House.

A collage of scenes from Adams County, PA including the Gettysburg National Military Park, the Round Barn, the World War II American Experience Museum, and the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.

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