87th Pennsylvania Infantry

A Son of Gettysburg and Confidant of Jennie Wade

By Enrica D' Alessandro. Published by Schroeder Publications, Lynchburg, Va., 2012, 128 pages, illustrated, maps, and includes five previously unpublished letters from Jennie Wade to Jack Skelly. Brand new condition. Never read. This excellent book is out of print.

This is the first book written about Jennie Wade's beau, Corporal Jack Skelly. At the age of 20, Jack Skelly, a Gettysburg resident, said to his mother, my country needs me, Mother. May I go? He left his home to volunteer in the Union Army from April of 1861 until June 1863. He initially served in the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry before joining the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry, the unit he was serving with when he was mortally wounded on June 15, 1863, at the Second Battle of Winchester, Virginia. Skelly died on July 12, 1863, in a Confederate hospital while a prisoner of war. His confidant, Jennie Wade was the only civilian fatality during the battle of Gettysburg, dying nine days earlier. The story of Jack Skelly and the Skelly family family includes 17 letters written between Jack and his mother Elizabeth, during the Civil War years.

The book also discusses the relationship between Jack and Jennie. Also included are letters of Jack's brother, Charles, who also served in the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry and his father Johnston Skelly, Sr., who served in the 101st Pennsylvania Infantry.

The book contains 36 letters, revealing social situations and life in war time Gettysburg, and what it was like for the Gettysburg citizens turned soldiers in the field.