A forensic examination of Jennie Wade's death yields intriguing new revelations

Yes it does, thank you. I'm ( again ) not arguing or challenging your theory. Heck, how could I? I'm not an academic nor have done investigations. One thing about the book photo that bugs me is why only one hole has been circled? There are several. The others make more sense if snipers were on an upper floor? Is it possible no doors were glass in 1863? Only asking because one photo seems to be before they preserved the home ( looks like roof and cellar door sure needed attention ).

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I believe the hole is circled b/c the author was simply discussing it in his paper without knowing that the doors had been moved about. Once the doors were switched (~35-40 years after the battle) when the house became a museum and perhaps within a few years of when this photo was taken (est. 1905-1910) based on the size of the tree to the right of the photo, the focus was the bullet that slayed Ms. Wade. The hole in the current northern door is about the same height as the parlor door hole and a natural choice for drawing crowds - in my opinion, it was circled so that readers knew which hole the author was referring to. (Also refer to Figure 3 of my paper - see arrow - same hole same door 1897 and prior to the house becoming a museum.) Also keep in mind that Jennie was standing. I also explained the issues of the rising projectile over such a short distance (current northern door and parlor door). As for the glass-bearing door, it exists in the early photos and still today (southwestern corner of museum). Glass-bearing doors were also utilized in the 18th century as well. Thanks again for your input - it is welcome and well received.
 
A really interesting article that is very informative. Not being a scientist, I had a little trouble trying to convert the metric measurements :nerd: but other than that it was very easy to understand your theory.
Regards
David
 
Yes it does, thank you. I'm ( again ) not arguing or challenging your theory. Heck, how could I? I'm not an academic nor have done investigations. One thing about the book photo that bugs me is why only one hole has been circled? There are several. The others make more sense if snipers were on an upper floor? Is it possible no doors were glass in 1863? Only asking because one photo seems to be before they preserved the home ( looks like roof and cellar door sure needed attention ).

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There is an additional thing to consider. When you examine the placement of the Minie ball holes in the current front door (the one you posted with the circled hole) and the inner parlor door, they are far too low for a projectile that struck Jennie just below her left shoulder blade. According to her mother, Jennie was standing when she was shot kneading dough (her poor mother watched her sink to the floor). Perhaps that is more helpful than anything I've posted to help address your question.
 
A really interesting article that is very informative. Not being a scientist, I had a little trouble trying to convert the metric measurements :nerd: but other than that it was very easy to understand your theory.
Regards
David

Thank you David. For discussion purposes, one inch is about 2.5 centimeters and one yard is approximately equal to one meter. Hope this helps. -John
 
Oh no problem as I used my phone to convert the Metric to the English measurements. I am one of those Americans who has enough difficulties doing math with the system I learned let alone the Metric!!
You are doing great with your articles as I am attempting to understand the calendar paper now.
Regards
David
 
For those who are interested, I published a paper that reexamines Jennie Wade's death scene. The results will surprise you. Enjoy!

-Dr. John Anton
Hello Dr. Anton. Welcome to CivilWarTalk - the best place on the internet for Civil War discussion. I enjoyed reading the article, viewing the photographs, and taking a look at your evidence. I appreciate very much your bringing it here. Again, welcome aboard!
 
Oh no problem as I used my phone to convert the Metric to the English measurements. I am one of those Americans who has enough difficulties doing math with the system I learned let alone the Metric!!
You are doing great with your articles as I am attempting to understand the calendar paper now.
Regards
David

A lot of folks struggle with metric units, so you're not alone there. And thank you for your compliments.
 
Hello Dr. Anton. Welcome to CivilWarTalk - the best place on the internet for Civil War discussion. I enjoyed reading the article, viewing the photographs, and taking a look at your evidence. I appreciate very much your bringing it here. Again, welcome aboard!

Thank you for your generous compliment. I'm grateful for the support I have received, but more so for meeting interesting people from all over the country.
 
Welcome aboard @Antongeoresearch from the Mid-19th Century Life forum. This forum covers everything Victorian, from how our 19th century friends celebrated holidays to how they lived their daily lives. Hope you'll stop by for a visit! Your article was quite interesting. I enjoyed it immensely.


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https://civilwartalk.com/forums/mid-19th-century-life.201/
 
Thank you! And how interesting - I am still a novice so I appreciated that you reached out to me and let me know about your forum! Now I have a link (or something to that effect) and look forward to reading you posts and those who also contribute to the mid-19th century life forum. Are you an artist or enjoy art? Is that a special area of interest? Or more particularly, flowers? I appreciate art immensely and almost became an artist rather than a scientist. Not much separates the two fields.
 
Excellent article! Thanks for sharing the link!
 
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For those who are interested, I published a paper that reexamines Jennie Wade's death scene. The results will surprise you. Enjoy!

-Dr. John Anton

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/20...etation-slaying-mary-virginia-wade-gettysburg
nice work - i do have a question i don't understand, though. doors that old normally don't have the same meassurement which means swapping them is major work as they most likely needed to exchange the frames, too. is there anything that proves that kind of work?
 
nice work - i do have a question i don't understand, though. doors that old normally don't have the same measurement which means swapping them is major work as they most likely needed to exchange the frames, too. is there anything that proves that kind of work?

Excellent question. I observed that the northwestern door frame appears to have been modified slightly. Overall though, the outer door dimensions are similar enough that I'm guessing that there was enough room in the original frames to allow them to be switched without too much modification or effort. Also keep in mind that the switching occurred about 40 years after the war. The degree of warping (or whatever changes they experienced) was far less than today. Thanks for posing that query - terrific inquiry. Best, John
 
Do you think her death was intentional or act of war? Has the fatal Minnie ball ever been retrieved?

I believe Jennie was killed intentionally but only because she was mistaken for a Union picket. But I believe your question relates to motive. I evaluated the possibility that Jennie was targeted for aiding the Union. Although this is possible, I do not feel that she was assassinated. There were a number of young women who also baked bread for Union troops in Gettysburg and in adjoining towns but they were ignored by the Confederates. One Alabamian account indicates that they did not know women (Jennie, mom, sister) were occupying the residence and both sides (Feds and Confeds) had urged the women to vacate the premises for safety during the early phases of the battle. There were also articles of war that forbade soldiers from injuring civilians or damaging or stealing goods. While not every soldier followed command, I believe the percentage was quite high and there are accounts of Confederates aiding each other and even opposing troops. Hope this helps and great question. Best, John
 
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