02 Big Round Top Summit Tree

Old granite steps lead to the site of the old observation tower and witness tree 02.

How to Find Witness Tree 02

Hike to the top of Big Round Top. Find the monument to the 5th Pennsylvania Reserves. Near it are two flank markers and the granite base of the northwest corner of the old observation tower that once stood here. Witness Tree 02 is across the path and just a few feet away from the base.

What This Tree Witnessed

When the Confederates commences their attack in the afternoon of July 2, 1863, two units – the 15th and 47th Alabama – chased the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters up Big Round Top. When the federals retired to the east side of the hill, the Confederates turned north and descended Big Round Top to attack Little Round Top.

After the fighting of July 2 has wound down, several 5th Corps units were sent to occupy the Big Round Top. At the summit, these units included the 12th and 5th Pennsylvania Reserves, the 119th Pennsylvania, and the 20th Maine. The Union occupied Big Round Top throughout July 3.

Witness Tree 02

Growing as it does at the summit of Big Round Top, Witness Tree 02, a chestnut oak, is one of the highest altitude trees in Gettysburg. In fact, the upper reaches of Big Round Top is a veritable forest of ancient chestnut and red oaks, many of them certainly witness trees, except that they were never photographed in the park’s early days, making it impossible to confirm their witness tree status.

Witness Tree 01 Statistics

Tree Species: chestnut oak
Circumference 2024: 77”
Diameter: 24.5”
Estimated age: 210-225 years
Estimated diameter in 1863: 6”

Then-and-Now Comparison

A single National Park Service photograph from 1935 taken at the summit of Big Round Top provides our evidence for the witness tree status of this page’s feature chestnut oak.

Figure A.

Figure A above: A 60-foot-tall observation tower, constructed in 1895, once stood at the summit of Big Round Top. Little used, due to the fact that visitors could only access it after making tan already-arduous climb, the tower was removed in 1968. This north-facing view captures the base of the tower. The stone pad on which the tower’s northwest leg rested (label “B”) remains on the summit, and can be seen today, making for interesting ruins. Witness Tree 02 is easily identifiable in the two images.

Here is the uncropped version of then-and-now comparison from above. Label “C” marks another chestnut oak that can be matched up in the two images, but it is not clear that it is old enough to be a witness tree. Label “D” points to the flank markers standing near the monument to the 5th PA Reserves.

Other Photographs