GDG- Jenny Wade, the Heroine of Gettysburg

[Walter Wells]

Wayne Wachsmuth called her "the unluckiest person in Adams County" during
the battle.




> [Original Message]
> From: Richard M Kadas <rkadas at sbcglobal.net>
> To: GDG <gettysburg at arthes.com>
> Date: 12/1/2006 9:45:06 AM
> Subject: Re: GDG- Jenny Wade, the Heroine of Gettysburg
>
> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
> Might it not be more accurate in line with th historical reality of her
death to categorize it as collateral damage. 
>   Dick
>
> Ginny Gage <lewandginny at emailmv.com> wrote:
>   Esteemed GDG Member Contributes:
>
>
> >From the Adams Sentinel and General Advertiser &shy; December 1, 1863:
>
> The country has already heard of John Burns, the hero of Gettysburg‹of how
> the old man sallied forth, a host within himself, ³to fight on his own
> hook,² and how he fell wounded after having delivered many shots from his
> trusty rifle into the faces and the hearts of his country¹s foes. John
> Burns¹ name is already recorded among the immortal, to live there while
> American valor and patriotism have an admirer and an emulator. But there
> was a heroine as well as a hero of Gettysburg. The old hero Burns still
> lives‹the heroine, sweet Jenny Wade, perished in the din of that awful
fray,
> and she now sleeps where the flowers once bloomed, and the perfume-laden
air
> wafted lovingly over Cemetery Hill. Before the battle, and while the
> national host were awaiting the assault of the traitor foe, Jenny Wade was
> busily engaged in baking bread for the national troops. She occupied a
> house in range of the guns of both armies, and the rebels had sternly
> ordered her to leave the premises, but this she as sternly refused to do.
> While she was busily engaged in her patriotic work, a Minnie ball pierced
> her pure heart, and she fell a holy sacrifice in her country¹s cause.
> Almost at the same time a rebel officer of high rank fell near where Jenny
> Wade had perished. The rebels at once proceeded to prepare a coffin for
> their fallen leader, but about the time that was finished the surging of
the
> conflict changed the position of the armies, and Jenny Wade¹s body was
> placed in the coffin designed for her country¹s enemy, and thus the
heroine
> of Gettysburg was buried. The incidents of the heroine and the hero of
> Gettysburg are beautifully touching, noble and sublime. Old John Burns was
> the only man of Gettysburg who participated in the struggle to save the
> North from invasion, while innocent Jenny Wade was the only sacrifice
which
> the people of that locality had to offer on the shrine of their country!
> Let a monument be erected on the ground which covers her, before which the
> pilgrims to the holy tombs of the heroes of Gettysburg can bow and bless
the
> memory of Jenny Wade. If the people of Gettysburg are not able alone to
> raise the funds to pay for a suitable monument for Jenny Wade, let them
send
> a committee to Harrisburg, and our little boys and girls will assist in
> soliciting subscriptions for this holy purpose. Before the summer sunshine
> again kisses the grave of Jenny Wade; before the summer birds once more
> carol where she sleeps in glory; before the flowers again deck the plain
> made famous by gallant deeds, let a monument rise to greet the skies in
> tokens of virtue, daring and nobleness.‹Harrisburg Telegraph.
> __ 
>
>
> We find the foregoing paragraph going the rounds of the press,
> credited to the Harrisburg Telegraph. It is a pity to spoil a pretty
story,
> but the claims of truth sometimes require it. Aside from the simple facts
> that Miss Wade was killed b a stray bullet, amid the crash of shot and
shell
> which rained over and through our town, during the terrible conflicts of
> July, and that Mr. Burns, an old and patriotic citizen, signalized his
> patriotism by gallantly fighting with the 1st Corps, there is scarecely a
> word of truth in the whole paragraph‹certainly more of falsehood than
truth.
> The friends of Miss Wade have the deep sympathy of our people, while Mr.
> Burns¹ patriotism receives its full mead of praise, and no community has
> given evidence of its willingness to render both promptly and fully-ribald
> newspaper correspondents to the contrary notwithstanding We do not know
> that it is necessary for our people to go abroad to seek inspirations of
> patriotism or duty. At all events, we feel assured, they would hardly go
to
> Harrisburg for lessons in this respect, if one fourth of what has been
> written and printed of the doings of the goodly citizens of that place
> during the memorable days of June and July, be true.
>
> We refer to the above article, however, as it furnishes
> occasion, once for all, to correct some mis-statements, which have been so
> often reiterated, that their continued repetition, uncontradicted, may
carry
> with them some semblance of truth. The Telegraph has seen fit editorially
to
> rehearse these miserable slanders, as offensive as they are silly, and in
so
> far accredits them.
>
> 1. While doing justice to the patriot impulses of JOHN BURNS &shy; an old
man
> of 70 years &shy;it is not necessary to utter the falsehood that he ³was
the
> only man of Gettysburg who participated in the struggle to save the North
> from invasion.² Gettysburg has sent to the field, since the beginning of
> the War more than one half of its voting population. The blood of her sons
> has freely mingled with that of the heroes of the Republic on more than
one
> hard-fought field. Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville, Malvern Hill, South
Mountain,
> Antietam, Donaldson, Shiloh, Stone River, Vicksburg, Port-Hudson,
> Winchester, Newbern, Blackwater and Chickamauga, attest their devotion to
> the national cause. One of our companies (Capt. Bailey¹s) was in the
battles
> of Gettysburg, and suffered severely in the terrible fight on the left of
> the National lines. The 165th Regiment from this County (Col. Buehler), as
> the time of Lee¹s invasion was lying at Suffolk, Va., their term of
service
> about to expire. As soon as the purpose of Lee to invade Maryland and
> Pennsylvania developed itself, this Regiment, unanimously, through its
> officers, requested to be ordered at once to the defense of our
> State‹tendering their services as long as the State or National Government
> should require them for that purpose. The War Department, however,
> preferred to retain the Regiment at Suffolk. Besides all this, in June
> last, in response to the Governor¹s call, two companies were organized
here
> for the emergency, to ³save the North from invasion,² one of which (Capt.
> Klinefelter¹s) promptly marched to Harrisburg and reported for duty, while
> the other (Capt. Bell¹s) for ten days contested the passes of the South
> Mountain, falling back only when the enemy came in overwhelming force.
This
> company is still doing efficient service to the State. Can the Telegraph
say
> as much for Harrisburg?
>
> 2. The death of MISS WADE is made the occasion of another equally
> malicious assault on the reputation of our people, in the statement that
> this ³was the only sacrifice which the people of that locality had to
offer
> on the shrine of their country.²‹Possibly it might have suited the fancy
of
> the Telegraph editor to have recorded the slaughter of more of our
innocent
> women and children by rebel bullets. Fortunately, we can boast of but one.
> But if Mr. Bergner means to affirm that the ladies of this community‹town
> and country‹made few or light sacrifices during the terrible scenes of
July
> last, he simply lies &shy; as thousands of suffering, wounded soldiers,
and
> hundreds of Christian men and women, summoned here on errands of love and
> mercy, can well attest. Fortunately, the fair fame of our people in this
> respect is not in the keeping of venal newspaper correspondents. It may be
> a very easy and agreeable task for newspaper scribers, in the security of
> cozy editorial sanctions, far removed from the theatre of danger, toil and
> suffering, to pen ribald assaults upon those who, in the midst of personal
> danger, deprivation and suffering, have exemplified the highest claims of
> Christian sympathy and duty; but it is neither kind nor manly.
>
>
>
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