Johnston Hastings "Jack" Skelly Jr. (August 4, 1841 – July 12, 1863) was a Union soldier – a corporal in the

87th Pennsylvania Infantry The 87th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 87th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at York, Pennsylvania and mustered in for a three-year enlistment ...

– who died as a result of wounds sustained at the Second Battle of Winchester. He was the friend, and possibly fiancé, of

Jennie Wade Mary Virginia Wade (May 21, 1843 – July 3, 1863), also known as Jennie Wade or Ginnie Wade, was a resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Battle of Gettysburg. At the age of 20, she was the only direct civilian casualty of the battle ...

, the only civilian to die in the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

, near Wade's grave.

Biography

Skelly was born to parents Elizabeth and Johnston Skelly Sr. in Gettysburg. He joined the Union Army, made the rank of corporal, and he and his brother Charles joined Company F of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry, along with childhood friends William T. Ziegler and William Hotzworth. During the Battle of Carter's Woods near

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

, Jack, his brother, and their two friends were captured by enemy soldiers. After they were called upon to surrender, they attempted to flee, and Skelly was shot in the upper arm on June 15, 1863. He died a month later. The

Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...

post in Gettysburg was named after Skelly.

Book

The book ''My Country Needs Me: the story of Johnston Hastings Skelly Jr.'', by Enrica D’Alessandro, includes five previously unpublished letters from Jennie Wade to Jack Skelly and is the first book about their relationship.

References

Notes

* * Petruzzi, J. David, and Steven Stanley, ''The Complete Gettysburg Guide'', Savas Beatie, 2009, .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skelly, Jack 1841 births 1863 deaths Union military personnel killed in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania)