Jennie Wade House

The home where 20-year-old Mary Virginia "Jennie" Wade became the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 3, 1863, a stray bullet pierced two wooden doors and struck her in the back while she was kneading bread dough for Union soldiers.

Twenty-year-old Mary Virginia "Jennie" Wade holds the tragic distinction of being the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. On the morning of July 3, 1863, she was baking bread for Union soldiers in her sister Georgia's kitchen at 548 Baltimore Street. Georgia had just given birth on June 26, and Jennie and their mother had moved in to help care for her and the newborn during the battle raging around them.

As Jennie kneaded dough, a stray bullet from a Confederate sharpshooter pierced two doors before striking her from behind. The bullet passed through her shoulder and became lodged in her heart, trapped by her corset. She died instantly. At the moment of her death, a photo of her beloved fiancé Jack Skelly was found tucked in her dress pocket. Jack had been wounded at the Battle of Winchester just days earlier—he would die nine days after Jennie, never knowing of her fate, and she never learned of his injury or death.

The house was struck by over 150 bullets during the battle. Today it serves as a museum, authentically furnished from cellar to attic, preserving artifacts from that fatal day including the artillery shell that punctured the roof and a floorboard still stained with Jennie's blood.

Jennie's spirit apparently never left. Visitors and staff report seeing her apparition walking through the house and wandering the surrounding countryside. Her ghost has been spotted so frequently that Travel Channel's Most Haunted singled out the Jennie Wade House as the most haunted location in all of Gettysburg. Ghost Adventures and Ghost Lab have both investigated the property and captured evidence of paranormal activity.

Witnesses describe feeling sudden cold spots, hearing footsteps, and seeing shadows moving through the rooms. Some report the smell of baking bread drifting through the house, as if Jennie continues the task that occupied her final moments. Her story—young love cut short by war, a devoted daughter helping her sister, an innocent victim of senseless violence—makes the Jennie Wade House one of Gettysburg's most poignant and enduring haunted landmarks.