History & local legend
The Jennie Wade House Museum in Gettysburg preserves the home of Jennie’s sister, where Jennie was killed while preparing bread on July 3, 1863. The house’s best-known tradition centers on a bullet hole in an interior door.
According to the museum, an unmarried woman who places her ring finger through the opening will soon receive a marriage proposal. The operator says visitors have sent letters and messages describing engagements that followed their visits. Some tellers connect the custom with the idea that Jennie, whose own hoped-for marriage was cut short, would want others to find happiness.
