GDG- Jenny Wade, the Heroine of Gettysburg

[Dennis Lawrence]

At 11:50 AM 12/1/2006, you wrote:
>Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
><< Her sister Georgia was instrumental in the fundraising for the 
>monument.  She lived in Iowa by that time but still made it a priority to 
>honor her sisters' memory.  >>
>
>
>Didn't Tillie Pierce have some rather uncomplimentary things to say about 
>the Wade family?  Or am I confusing her with somebody else?
>
>I seem to recall her commenting on the fact the family were southern 
>sympathizers, and that it was no cooincidence that Jenny (or Ginny) was 
>short for "Virginia", and that her sister was named Georgia.


Here is what Tom Desjardin said in an archived GDG discussion on 
her:  http://www.gdg.org/Discussions/dtindi.html#culp



"In her account of the battle, Tillie Pierce Alleman wrote of a young man 
living with her family on Baltimore Street. His name was Sam and he was 
Jennie's brother. Jennie lived diagonally across B'more street in the house 
now occupied by the GBPA. Jennie was worried about her brother who tried to 
take and hide the Pierce horses.

"About this time the boy's sister, who was standing a short distance off, 
screamed at the top of her voice to Mother: 'If the Rebs take Sam off, I 
don't know what I'll do with you folks!' Thus holding us responsible for 
her brother Sam's safety even in times like that."

Later in the day (July 1) Jennie apparently told CSA soldiers that Tillie's 
father was a "black Abolitionist; so black, that he was turning black; also 
that he had two sons in the Union army, whom he supposed had taken as much 
from the South as they were now taking from him." Tillie believed that this 
caused the CSA men to keep the Pierce's horses.

"I am afraid her (Jennie's) sympathies were not as much for the Union as 
they should have been. She certainly manifested a very unkind disposition 
toward our family, who had been doing all we could for her brother. It 
would surprise a great many to learn who this person was, but as no 
detraction is intended, I will dismiss the subject at once."

John Burns once made a sort of flippant comment about Jennie as well...

"I knew Miss Wade very well. The less said about her the better. The story 
about her loyalty, her being killed while serving Union soldiers, etc., is 
all of fiction, got up by some sensation correspondent. You can refer to 
any loyal citizen for the truth...I could call her a she-rebel."

Most of these statements could reasonably be attributed to either 
schoolgirl jealousies or Burns jeaolousy over Jennie as a competitor for 
local hero status. It is interesting, however, that so many claim she was 
promiscuous or "loose" as if any criticism of a 19th century woman must be 
really about that.

Enjoy

Dennis