Who was the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg?

The only civilian killed directly during the Battle of Gettysburg was Jennie Wade.

Wade, whose given name was Mary Virginia and who was also called Ginnie, was a 20-year-old Gettysburg resident. On July 3, 1863, she was preparing bread at her sister’s home on Baltimore Street when a Minié ball passed through two doors and struck her. The bullet pierced her heart, killing her instantly.

Wade’s death occurred amid the battle’s fighting in town, where buildings were hit by hundreds of bullets. Her family temporarily buried her in the McClellan house’s yard, using a coffin originally intended for Confederate General William Barksdale. She was later reburied in Evergreen Cemetery, where her grave remains a well-known Gettysburg site.

The wording “only civilian killed” needs care: Wade is generally identified as the only direct civilian casualty. Other civilians died indirectly, including people killed by exploding ammunition or the effects of battle-related trauma. That distinction explains why some accounts use “only direct civilian death” rather than simply “only civilian death.”