Civil War Witness Trees

Gettysburg Witness Trees Main Battlefield Witness Tree Map - Gettysburg Witness Trees

Gettysburg Witness Trees Home - Gettysburg Witness Trees

• 1. Robinson Grove
• 2. Herbst Woods
• 3. Shultz Woods
• 4. West Confederate Avenue
• 5. West Confederate Avenue (south)
• 6. South Confederate Avenue
• 7. Big Round Top
• 8. Saddle (Between the Round Tops)
• 9. Little Round Top
• 10. Sedgwick Avenue
• 11. Rose Woods
• 12. Sickles Witness Trees
• 13. Hancock Avenue
• 14. Culp’s Hill
• 15. In Town

Witness Trees | American Battlefield Trust

Witness trees, like the land we save, have seen things we cannot imagine, and bear the marks of our nation's history.  

"Witness trees are those flora of historic landscapes that remain in place decades or even centuries after noteworthy events unfolded there. Often the trees were young when the event took place, and have now grown to be massive, silent sentinels of history. These trees often evoke strong emotions when we see them, knowing they were present during some of our nation's most harrowing times. Nor is ours the first generation to attach significance to these trees; last year a tree was lost at George Washington's Mount Vernon that was known to have witnessed the General's life and had been carved with corps insignia by Union troops stationed on the property eager to leave their own mark on that piece of the past. So meaningful are these trees that great efforts may be taken to protect them. In 2006, the National Park Service created the Witness Tree Protection Program to safeguard 24 historically and biologically significant trees in the greater Washington, D.C., area, including the famous 1910 Japanese Flowering Cherry Trees and the Grant Memorial Bull Oak. In instances where a notable witness tree is lost to age, lightning strike or other cause – as in the case with the famous Charter Oak of Colonial Connecticut or Wye Oak of Maryland – its scions, intentionally gathered and planted, may take on near-mythic stature as well.

"Below are stories of some of the documented witness trees that still stand on America's battlefields. In many cases, they provide essential context and markers on battlefields, allowing us to better identify where parts of chaotic battles occurred. The trees, like the land we save, have seen things we cannot imagine, and bear the marks of those events." ... More...