The story you have just read is based on actual historical records. We have, to the best of our ability, culled all the relevant facts from the most reliable sources and used them in our narrative. But, as in all historical fiction, imagination has been used to link those facts together to create a story which is both entertaining and informative. We hope you feel that history and invention have blended seamlessly in our novel.
Wesley Culp left his home in Gettysburg to work for Mr. Hoffman in Shepherdstown, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1856. A member of the Hamtramck Guards, he joined the Confederate forces when war broke out and fought in the battle of Manassas with the Stonewall Brigade. He was later captured by Union forces and subsequently exchanged. Eventually, he was killed in Gettysburg on his family’s property, an irony which in pure fiction might seem a bit far-fetched. Wes and Ginnie were probably killed about the same time, 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 3, 1863. The official record states that Culp’s body was never found. The conclusion reached in this book is one of several alternate stories which still circulate to this day.
Virginia (Ginnie) Wade was the only civilian to be killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. She died under the circumstances described in the book. Neither the gunman’s identity nor his position when he fired the shot have ever been definitely established. Although she has been known to history as “Jennie” Wade, her name was Mary Virginia. It appears that her family and friends called her “Gin” or “Ginnie.” The misnomer “Jennie” seems to have been a newspaper error in one of the earliest published accounts. There is no documentation which would indicate that Ginnie was pregnant. However, some who have researched the story and are familiar with its details feel that there is a possibility that she was. For the purposes of our narrative, this possibility serves the plot well. We have tried to treat this part of the story sympathetically, so that it would elevate and not demean her reputation.
Johnston H. (Jack) Skelly was probably engaged to Ginnie. He was wounded in the Union ranks in Winchester, Virginia on June 15, 1863, and died on July 12, 1863. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg not far from Ginnie’s monument. Before Skelly died, Culp, who had known him when they were boys in Gettysburg, happened upon him in Winchester and, at his request, promised to carry a message to Ginnie. He failed in his attempt to reach her the night before they both were killed, although he did get to see his two sisters. There is no record of what the message to Ginnie contained.
Julia Culp was the younger sister of Wesley, and had a close bond to him even after he became a Confederate soldier. Julia and Ginnie were the same age and were undoubtedly acquaintances in their youth. Julia visited Wes in Virginia before the war, and worked in the courthouse-turned-hospital on July 1. She was later married to John C. Welliver, but died only five years after the Gettysburg battle, in August 1868.
Mary Ann Filby Wade, Ginnie’s mother, later received a financial grant from the government as recompense for the financial hardship caused by the death of Ginnie. Born in 1820, she continued to live in her Breckenridge street home until her death in 1892. She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery, as was her husband, James, who died in 1872. He spent his last years in the Adams County Alms House.
Georgia Wade McClellan, Ginnie’s older sister, began serving as a nurse to wounded soldiers in the Adams County Courthouse and elsewhere by the end of July 1863. She was invited by President Lincoln to sit on the platform when he delivered his Gettysburg Address in November 1863. Georgia and Louis had five children, the second of whom was named Virginia Wade McClellan. They lived for many years in Iowa, and Georgia could often be found in Gettysburg when significant anniversary events of the battle were celebrated. She lived until 1927.
Louis Kenneth McClellan was born to Georgia, Ginnie’s sister, on June 26, 1863. The birth took place in the McClellan residence an hour before the Confederates entered the town. Ginnie was helping out in her sister’s home on July 3 when she was killed. Louis, “the youngest veteran of the Battle of Gettysburg,” died on Lincoln’s birthday in 1941.
The house in Gettysburg in which Ginnie was killed has been converted into a museum called the Jennie Wade House.
David J. Sloat – sloat111@gmail.com
John W. Sloat – sloat437@gmail.com