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Gettysburg "Witness Tree" Goes Down


Subdeacon Joe

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http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=11826

 

Last Thursday, while in the process of removing sections of a fallen oak tree from a boulder near the 66th Ohio Infantry monument, National Park Service maintenance employees discovered bullets within the trunk. They were alerted to the presence of the bullets when their chainsaws had trouble cutting through the oak. Today we’ll show you how to get to the tree and take a look at what remains on the scene.

There are photos in that article.

 

http://www.kmov.com/news/off-beat/250-year-old-tree-falls-at-Gettysburg-National-Military-Park-127439938.html

 

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A tree that stood during the Civil War didn't make it long into the 21st century. Workers at the Gettysburg National Military Park were cutting up a fallen tree, when their chain saw struck bullets. Park officials say the oak tree was probably 250 years old. Bullet-finds at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, are a rarity these days. The key Civil War battle was fought there in 1863. Officials say bullet-containing sections of the tree will be preserved and added to the park's museum.
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My pleasure, Slim. I figured that people here would enjoy it.

 

When I heard of it, and saw the cut with the minie' ball section, I did the "If only that tree could talk" mind game.

Among other thngs, it'd probably be sayin' "Ouch!" ^_^

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I know of another "witness tree", in Stafford County, Va., if it's still there. It's a huge old beech tree I ran across back in the early '80's. I was hunting for Civil War relics with my metal detector in a large tract of woods west of I-95 and north of Courthouse Road (Rt. 630). I was finding a few things, a bullet here and a uniform button there, nothing spectacular but enough to keep me interested. I wound up working along the north bank of a no-name stream that is south of Austin Run. About 250 yards or so west of I-95 on the north bank of that stream, I ran across this beech tree. It was at least 200 years old or more, and there were numerous names, initials and dates carved in the bark, the newest being 1955 as I recall. The oldest one that was still legible however was the one that said simply "C O Gill 1863". I made a several trips back into those woods over the next several years and always visited that tree, but like a dummy, neglected to take a camera to take a picture of that carving.

 

Fast forward to about 9 or 10 years ago when rosters of Civil War soldiers became available on-line. I looked up C. O. Gill and found a Charles O. Gill, who was a member of the 5th Ohio Infantry. Further searching turned up the fact that his unit had been camped in the Stafford Courthouse area from late January 1863 to April 27, 1863. Stafford Courthouse is a mile or so south of the tree's location.

 

7 or 8 years ago, those woods were destroyed to make way for a huge housing developement full of high-dollar homes and townhouses. I don't know if that beech tree survived the chain saw and bulldozer onslaught or not. I've driven through there several times and have noted that the trees in that stream bottom seem to have been spared for the most part, so I'm hopeful that it's still there.

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I saw that peice on the tv world news last night.

 

 

Just wished I could have seen the battle, and not have fought in it !

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Great story Greg. Especially that you followed up on the name and got some information. Did you by any chance follow up with census records or anything to find out more about Mr. Gill?

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No, never did. I could also send for his record and see what happened to him, if he survived the war or not. If he survived and applied for a pension, there would be a record of that as well.

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Will be there in October. Family fought on both sides but mainly Southern.

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Will be there in October. Family fought on both sides but mainly Southern.

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I had Rebs and Yanks on both sides of mine too. My maternal great-grandma was the daughter of a Mississippi Confederate veteran, and she married the son of a Tennessee Union Veteran in 1895.

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