02 Alabama Monument Tree
How to Find Witness Tree 02
Enter South Confederate Avenue from the Emmitsburg Road; just past the picnic area stands the unmistakable Alabama State Monument. About 15 to the left and behind the monument you can see three tightly grouped trees. The tree with the clear fork in it leaning distinctly toward the right is Witness Tree 02.
What This Tree Witnessed
The five Alabama regiments of Brig. Gen. Evander M. Law’s Brigade had been marching all day, and when they finally reached Gettysburg, they were deployed on Warfield Ridge, right where the modern South Confederate Avenue passes the Alabama State Monument (the 15th and 44th Alabama Infantry stood about where the monument is today). At 4 PM, July 2, 1863, the tired men were ordered to advance. These Alabama men and boys would go on to attack the Union forces at Devil’s Den, the Slaughter Pen, and Little Round Top, at tremendous cost: over a quarter of these men in grey became casualties on this day.
Witness Tree 02
We have an astonishing trio of trees standing behind and to the left of the Alabama Monument on South Confederate Avenue. Firstly, what were three individual trees a century ago have grown together at their bases, so that the trees now appear to be growing out of a single trunk. But more remarkable is the mind-blowingly slow growth of Witness Tree 02, which has been taking over 14 years to grow each inch of diameter for the past century. The slow growth of the trees is due to the fact that several trees are all growing in pretty much the exact same spot, so their roots are in heavy competition for whatever water and nutrients exist in the likely rocky soil below.
Witness Tree 02 Statistics
Tree Species: white oak
Circumference 2023: 47.5”
Diameter: 15.1”
Calculated Average Growth Rate: 14-16 years / inch diameter
Estimated age: 200-240 years
Estimated diameter in 1863: 4-5”
Then and Now Comparisons
The Alabama Monument was, unsurprisingly, photographed quite a lot when it was dedicated in 1933.
As you study these comparative photographs, you may notice that the point at which Witness Tree 02’s trunk forks or separates into two stems seems to be higher in the tree today than it was in 1933. This is due to the fact that as the two stems have grown in diameter, they fill in the open space between them over time.
This 1933 photograph was likely taken on November 12, 1933, the day the Alabama Monument was dedicated. The monument was sculpted by Joseph Ulmer at a cost of $12,000. The 1933 photograph appears courtesy of Licensed Battlefield Guide Tim Fulmer. Tim’s website, www.GettysburgSculptures.com, features detailed descriptions of much of the sculptural art on the Gettysburg battlefield.
Another image from late 1933. The tree labeled “A” matches up in both images, but it is unclear if it is a witness tree. It is certainly old, dating back to the late 1800s at least. There are three white oak trees growing very close together, one of which is the easily discernible Witness Tree 02. However, a hickory tree (label “B”) has grown up directly in front of the other two trees in the group in the nine decades since 1933, making it difficult to reckon the ages of those trees. The 1933 photo appears courtesy of the National Park Service, GNMP, Museum Collection, Gett #41135, 16M-1500A.
This unique amateur photo was taken from behind the crowd that appeared for the dedication of the Alabama Monument. The elderly man sitting closest to the camera may very likely have been a veteran. Witness Tree 02,with its distinct fork, makes yet another appearance here. Photo courtesy of Joe Maroney, administrator of the Facebook page, Gettysburg in Vintage Snapshots.
Once again, we see that a large hickory (label “A”), not present in the 1933 photograph, has seen fit to grow directly in front of 2 of the 3 white oaks standing so close together. Photo courtesy of the Adams County Historical Society.
Other Photographs
The trunks of the three white oaks standing behind and to the left of the Alabama Monument have merged over the past century. This is exactly what happened to the famous honey locust tree in the National Cemetery which had been thought for years to have been a witness tree, but turns out to have been three separate trees that merged together, and in fact was only about 157 years old in 2022, not quite a witness tree.
This amazing photo from 1933 shows workmen from Gettysburg’s Conservation Civilian Corps planting trees around the Alabama Memorial. The image wonderfully captures the three white oaks discussed on this page. If you examine the base of the trunks of the tree closely, you can them already beginning to merge. The CCC divided its teams of workmen by color. The team that worked at Gettysburg was all African-American. The supervisors of the team would have been a white. The man on left, who is wearing a lighter colored uniform than the rest of the crew, is likely the foreman for this project. Photo courtesy NPS, GNMP, Museum Collection, Gett #44135, 30W-151.