Civil War Witness Trees

[togor]

Nice story.

[Merc]

Great story. Thanks for sharing.

[JB White]

Thanks for the story.

I wonder how many Minie balls are in that tree alongside the stone bridge?

[barretcreek]

Thank you. Forwarded to some friends.

[tmark]

Thanks for sharing; I much enjoyed the video.

[Merc]

The Gettysburg Battlefield is a national treasure and should be near the top of your “To Do” list. My first visit was in 1999 and I’ve been hooked on the Civil War ever since. The Battlefioeld is a massive cemetery where the soldiers from both sides were buried where the fell. Some were later moved to the National Cemetery and to cemeteries in the South, but many remain in their original graves. It’s beautifully preserved by the National Park Service and the various state and unit memorials is the largest collection of outdoor artistic sculptures in the world. You could spend hours just studying the very elaborate Pennsylvania Memorial. Most of the town is preserved with early 1800s architecture. I visit the Battlefield every year to search the many antique shops and to march in the Remembrance Day Parade in November.

[Former Cav]

if those trees could talk !!!

[JB White]

Gettysburg. My first visit there as a lad I got separated from the family. They kept walking while I stopped to watch a reenactor giving a musket demonstration.
When Johnny Reb asked if anyone cared to take a try loading and firing a blank round, I raised my hand and jumped up and down along the rope. He asked the couple next to me if it was OK. The man simply shrugged and said he didn't care. So, I ducked under the rope.
Meanwhile my family was looking for me when my siblings spotted me away from the crowd. "THERE HE IS!"---------KABOOMMM. And there I was with a big s***-eating grin on my face.
Johnny Reb was a little embarrassed and apologetic when his discovered his mistake, but I have been a fan of front stuffers ever since.

[Merc]

The Battlefield trees sucked up lots of minie balls, canister balls and cannon balls, but so did the fence rails. The Picket’s Charge rebs had to cross the Emmitsburg Road on their way to Cemetery Ridge and it was well within musket range. The .58 caliber rifled Springfields were surprisingly accurate. Each fence post and rail that lined the road was imbedded with hundreds of minie balls. Those guys walked into a wall of lead from the Yanks behind the stone wall and flanking fire from both sides. It’s surprising that any survived.

[kj47]

Amazing history, thanks for posting.