The 150th anniversary of the
start of the Civil War was recognized around the nation this past April with
hundreds of communities sharing lectures, speeches, artifacts and even some
remembrances from those whose ancestors participated in the historic conflict.
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1- 3, 1863 was a turning point in
that war.
Roughly 160,000 soldiers from Union and
Confederate regiments gathered in the small crossroads town and participated in
one of the seminal events in American history. Brutal fighting in places with
colorful names like the Devil’s Den, Little Round Top and the Peach Orchard
would in subsequent years be material for hundreds of books whose authors tried
to decipher the reasons for the bloody conflict- and the many ways in which it
changed America.
The small town of Chadds Ford holds an
important artifact from this important battle. A tiny change purse sits in a
case at the Christian C. Sanderson Museum on Creek Road, not far from the
historic Brandywine Creek, where another great battle occurred in the
Revolutionary War nearly 86 years earlier. The purse rests quietly among the
many Civil War artifacts displayed nearby—several bullets, a shred of the
bandage wrapped around Lincoln’s head and a piece of the gallows from which
John Brown was hung—but it links us in a very personal way to one of the most
tragic events of that battle. The purse belonged to Jennie Wade, the only
civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Jennie Wade was 20 years old in July 1863
and a supporter of the Union cause, baking bread and distributing it to Union
soldiers as they swept into the town on the first day of the battle. Although
Jennie lived blocks away on Breckenridge Street, she decided to move her family
to the center of town into her sister’s brick house on Baltimore Street, which
she felt would be a safer place to stay.
After spending much of the day on
Wednesday, July 1 making bread for the soldiers, she planned to do more to help
the troops. On Thursday, July 2, she and her sister prepared another batch and
left it to rise overnight. On the morning of Friday, July 3, Jennie stood in
the kitchen kneading dough, her purse in the pocket of her dress, when a
Confederate sharpshooter’s bullet pierced the wooden door and hit her in the
back, killing her on the spot.
Chris Sanderson was an avid collector of
Americana, gathering thousands of artifacts during his 84 years of life from
people and places around the country and around the world. He met Jennie Wade’s
sister, Georgia Wade McClellan in Gettysburg in 1913 on the 50th anniversary of
the battle. Having correspondence
with her, she later sent him Jennie’s purse as a remembrance of the conflict.
Chris treasured the purse, as he did most everything in his massive collection,
but this one item holds a special place in the hearts and minds of people who
have studied this tumultuous event.
There were nearly 600,000 casualties from
this war, with fathers fighting sons, brother against brother and families torn
apart forever. The South would slowly rise again, but only after many decades
of effort to rebuild and move away from its blistering past. Memories of the Civil
War—a strange name for a conflict that was so devastating—remain with us in
simple things, items that people used to live their lives in peace, despite the
maelstrom raging around them.
Jennie Wade’s purse is one of those items
and it is worth seeing. It’s on a shelf in a small cabinet at the Christian
Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford.Visit
the Sanderson Museum - A Man's Life, A Nation's History at 1755 Creek Road (old
Route 100) in Chadds Ford, just north of Route 1 or on-line atwww.SandersonMuseum.org.
* Gene Pisasale worked as a petroleum geologist, then
later as a portfolio manager/analyst for 24 years in the investment industry.
He retired in 2010 to pursue his writing career and lecture tours. He is the
author of several historical novels including "Abandoned Address- The
Secret of Frick's Lock" and "Lafayette's Gold- The Lost Brandywine
Treasure." Gene is married and lives in Kennett Square. Contact Gene at [email protected]
or www.GenePisasale.com.
About Gene Pisasale
Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pa. His eight books and historic lecture series focus on the history of the mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is Alexander Hamilton: Architect of the American Financial System, which delves into the life and many accomplishments of this important Founding Father who almost single-handedly transformed our nation from a bankrupt entity into the most successful country in the history of mankind. Gene’s books are available on www.Amazon.com. His website is www.GenePisasale.com; he can be reached at [email protected].
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