This is my story....

[tomjiggy]

So, I'm talking with my supervisor about my hobby and he tells me that his grandfather left behing a whole bunch of odds and ends(collectibles) that he's(my supervisor) has been luggin around for years now. He's gotten rid of a few things here and there, but still has some stuff. So I tell him to bring in whatever he has questions about and if I don't know I can get some answers here on T-Net He brings me this bullet, 58 cal Union bullet(common variety) but it has a small hole in it in the middle(from the side) that has what looks like a glass bead poking through on the other side. It's also been made into a pendant with a small clasp going through the conical point. I don't have a pic of it yet, but will be posting that in the near future.
So, anyway, my supervisor let me hold onto it for a few hours and after a while my curiosity got me. I picked it up and looked through the bead with a ceiling light in the background. Sure enough, the bead held an image in it. I told my supervisor and he retrieved it and said he was gonna do some research on it when he got home. He said that when he got home he handed it to his wife and asked her what she could see in the bead(he has poor eyesight). She said she could see the name "Geenie Wade" and 2 pics, one of a woman and the other of a house scene. He googled Geenie Wade and found out that she was a nurse killed by a stray bullet during the Civil War in Gettysburg. This sparked a few questions and so he called a friend of his in Virginia who told him the rest of the story.
There was a man living in Gettysburg during the Civil War named C. A. Blocher who crafted what are known as Stanhope Bullets(which is what I think my supervisor's bullet is). He, like hundreds of other scavengers, wanted to turn a profit right after the Gettysburg battle, selling souviniers. He was a jeweler, and the majority of relics he used were bullets. While the majority of the Stanhope bullets have famous generals, he also commemerated other lesser known individuals who participated in that particular battle. The story retrieved by my supervisor is that a stray bullet travelled through 2 doors when it struck and killed Geenie Wade(you can google her story as well).
Before I post this, my supervisor also promised to bring in a musket w/bayonet, and a buckle. I will take pics of all 3 items and will use them to update this post. I may not be finding these items at this time, but it is a pleasure for me when I can help someone else ID something they have.
Note: He was ready to "give" me the bullet before I pointed out that the bead had an image, but I am not too disappointed as I was able to learn a little history myself. Besides, just coming within close proximity of something that has been involved in a famous event such as the Battle of Gettysburg is indeed a privilege.

 

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[Woodland Detectors]

Great story indeed Tom. Way to go one fantastic research. I cant wait to see the pics now

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

This was a really great story Tom!
Here's what I found out about "Geenie Wade".

Thanks for posting,
Dave

Mary Virginia "Ginnie" (or "Jennie") Wade (May 21, 1843 – July 3, 1863), a seamstress, was the only Gettysburg civilian killed directly during the Battle of Gettysburg. The house where she was killed became a popular tourist attraction and museum called the "Jennie Wade House." Wade was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She worked as a seamstress with her mother in their house on Breckenridge Street while her father was in a mental asylum. She may have been engaged to Johnston Hastings "Jack" Skelly, a corporal in the 87th Pennsylvania, who had been wounded two weeks earlier in the Battle of Winchester. He died from his injuries on July 12, 1863, unaware that Wade had died days earlier.

Wade, her mother, and 2 younger brothers left their home in central Gettysburg and traveled to the house of her sister, Georgia Anna Wade McClellan at 528 Baltimore Street to assist her and her newborn child. It was July 1, 1863, during the first day's fighting of the Battle of Gettysburg. More than 150 bullets hit the McClellan house during the fighting. About 8:30 a.m. on July 3, Wade was kneading dough for bread when a Minié ball traveled through the kitchen door of her sister's house and hit her. It pierced her left shoulder blade, went through her heart, and ended up in her corset. She was killed instantly. While it is uncertain which side fired the fatal shot, some authors have attributed it to an unknown Confederate sharpshooter.

Shortly afterward, three Union soldiers discovered the body and told the rest of the family. They temporarily buried Wade's body in the back yard of the McClellan house, in a coffin originally intended for a Confederate officer. In January 1864, her body was relocated to the cemetery of the German Reformed Church on Stratton Street. On July 4, her mother baked 15 loaves of bread with the dough Wade had kneaded. In November 1865, Ginnie Wade's remains were reburied in the Evergreen Cemetery near Jack Skelly. A monument to her, designed by Gettysburg resident Anna M. Miller, was erected in 1900 that includes an American flag that flies around the clock. (The Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia is the only other site devoted to a woman to share this distinction of the perpetual flag.

 

[mjc_lakedweller]

The history of this story is absolutely amazing to me. Relics of the Civil War seem to turn up in the darndest places. I would love to see a picture and more of your supervisors relics providing he is on board of course. Sounds like you did him real favor and perhaps he has genelogical ties to Ms. Wade. Way to go, I love hearing about these types of stories!

 

[flakefinder]

That's why I like the site so much you get to learn so much about our history and stories like this are so cool. Thanks for sharing this with us Can't wait to see some pics.

 

[Mzjavert]

Fascinating.

 

[lost hunter]

 

[tomjiggy]

Great update on the history of Jennie Wade, Antiquarian I am still waiting on my supervisor to bring those artifacts in to work so I can take and post some pics, hopefully this coming week. Until then, HH to all.

 

[Jersey Hunter]

Tom, thank you for posting this story, it is very interesting. Dave, thank you for the additional information. I love this site, and all the education I get here.

 

[Threshold]

Very interesting story... Cant wait to see pics

 

[mikusek]

Not all history comes out of the ground.... I want to see the photos when you get them.

 

[cgull]

Nice story!! So interesting I've been trying to find images contained in these Stanhope Bullets. Image @ bottom! I find that there are also knives, charms, letter openers, etc.

http://www.stanhopemicroworks.com/library/stanhopesworldinmini.htm

Talk about the 23rd Psalm on the head of a pin; well, how about the Lord’s Prayer on a piece of glass of similar size? Stanhopes, peep-holes or peep-eye viewers, are just such items. They contain all sorts of pictures, places and things and truly provide a view of the world in miniature. Of note, it was the “world of knives” that served as my introduction to the “peep-holes.” Though our discussion will include knives, it will not be limited to them. As it turns out, knives are but only one variety of a very diverse group of collectible items.
These items (e.g. knives, charms, letter openers, etc.) are all related in that they each contain a Stanhope lens. The lens itself is a polished glass rod approximately 7 mm in length and 3 mm in diameter. One end is convex, outwardly curved, to allow high magnifications for a short focal length. Fixed to the flat end is a small disc of glass (same diameter and less than 2 mm wide) with its picture (See Picture #1). By holding the lens with the convex side towards you very close to the eye, one can see the image contained in the lens. This is all quite amazing since the picture covers only about one-third of the cross-sectional area. In addition to single images of famous people or places, some show multiple views on a particular subject such as scenes of St. Louis or views of Niagara Falls.
The name Stanhope comes from the lens’ inventor, Lord Charles Stanhope, third Earl Stanhope of England (1753-1816). He was both inventor and politician. Not until 1860, however, with the invention of the miniature camera did the Stanhope lens enter the public eye.
Rene Dagron, a French chemist, was the father of microphotography on collodion film (See Picture #2). This involved the use of iodides and nitrates to produce light-sensitive glass and hence, the transparent black and white image seen in the Stanhope. Techniques such as these gave rise to modern microfilm know to us all.
As an interesting aside, discounting the obvious commercial application of Stanhopes in souvenir items, microphotography was put to practical use in 1870. Paris was under siege during the France-Prussian War. Dagron set up the “Pigeon Post.” Having smuggled his equipment out of Paris, he photographed important dispatches as well as private mail on his tiny film. Peeling the collodion off the glass, it was rolled up, placed in a quill, fixed to a pigeon’s leg and, thusly, “delivered” into Paris. Once recovered, the film was unrolled, placed between glass slides and projected to allow recipients to read their messages (See Picture #3).
Some sources have suggested these tiny images were produced directly on the end of the magnifying rod; however, there are several “arguments” against this being the case. Firstly, many implements are found with the glass rod in place but no picture. Secondly, when viewing some pictures one sees many irregularities in the glass, particularly bubbles. This has the appearance of some type of glue used to fix the photo containing disc to the flat end of the glass rod. Mr. Phil Condax of Eastman House, Rochester, NY, informs me this “glue” was Canada Balsam, a non-streaking, clear drying adhesive of the day. Apparently many images were produced on a 1” x 3” glass slide, cut up and then applied to the individual lenses. Lastly, having recently removed a lens from a glass barrel, the separation into two pieces was evident.
Having access to a pathologist’s microscope (i.e. one with a camera attached) has allowed for actual photos of these miniature wonders.
One must focus from the flat side since no image is seen when viewed through the microscope with the convex side up. A backwards negative is obtained and then printed “emulsion side up” to right it again. Film used is professional black and white ASA 100.
Objects about ½” thick will fit under the microscope lens and allow focusing. Knives are particularly well suited for this treatment. Some other objects are simply too thick to be photographed in this manner. In fact, the motivation to obtain a picture of the lens in the barrel – “views of Niagara
Falls” – is what led to the confirmation that Stanhopes are in two pieces. While gently pushing the lens out the top of the barrel, the discovery was made.


This link contains lead mini-ball with Stanhope image of Gen. Hancock at Gettysburg Pickett's Charge!

http://www.prices4antiques.com/phot...Gettysburg-Picketts-Charge-Relic-D9868028.htm