01 02 03 White Oak Trio
Where to Find Witness Trees 01, 02 and 03
Make your way to the summit of Little Round Top. From about the middle the parking lot, face west. Just above the stone wall, you should see a small, old cast iron sign which reads, “Little Round Top.” Witness Tree 01 is just to its right. To the tree’s right, an old path, no longer in use, winds its way to the ledge. Alongside the path, a wee-bit up the slope, are Witness Trees 02 and 03. All are large white oaks.
What These Trees Witnessed
Many of the Union troops that fought on Little Round Top on its south and southwest sides would have passed by these trees on July 2, 1863.
Then-and-Now Comparisons
Because Little Round Top has always been a popular place to take photographs, these three oaks appear in numerous images from the late 19th- and early 20th- centuries. The first two then-and-now comparisons are based on a pair of 1897 photographs taken by William Tipton. Interestingly, there is no single old image in which all three of Witness Trees 01, 02 and 03 appear clearly.
Figure A: No doubt, most people who saw this photograph over the past 127 years probably assumed that trees 02 and 03 grew right next to each other, or perhaps were the same tree with a double-trunk; however, Witness Tree 03 stands about 40 feet beyond and below Witness Tree 02. Tree “A” is Witness Tree 05 of the summit. The monument portrayed here was originally dedicated to the 91st Pennsylvania – note the badge, or symbol, of the 5th Corps, a Maltese cross, on the front face – but then, after the 91st placed a much larger monument on Little Round Top, this monument was repurposed to serve as a memorial to Union officers Brig. Gen. Stephen Weed and Lt. Charles Hazlett, who were killed here on July 2, 1863.
Figure B: This photograph was taken facing east from the ledge of Little Round Top, and captures the four cannon that represent those of the 5th U.S. Artillery that were brought here to support the Union cause in the evening of July 2, 1863. Tree “C” is tupelo Witness Tree 05, and tree “D” is a chestnut oak, a beautiful and very large tree today, but not a witness tree.
Figure C: These images, facing north, were taken from the sidewalk that runs parallel to the stone wall on the west side of the parking lot at the summit of Little Round Top. The large boulder protruding through the wall remains a notable feature to help you orient yourself at the summit. The trees in the background marked by “B” are witness tupelos.
Figure D: These southwest facing photographs, taken from the very northern end of the parking lot, contain a number of interesting common features. Aside from Witness Trees 01 and 02, Witness Tree 03 is blocked from the viewer’s vision by the tree “D”. Label “E” marks the Hazlett-Weed monument. Tree “F” is tupelo Witness Tree 04. Tree “G” is a chestnut oak tree that, despite its massive size today, is not a witness tree. Tree “X” is no longer extant.
Figure E: Another south-facing pair of images. If you take a close-up look at the photos, you can make out many of the matching rocks above the wall surrounding the trees.
Other Photos
The first three photographs below present an interesting feature of each tree: (1, left): Witness Tree 01 has an unusual series of holes arranged vertically on its north side; (2, center): Witness Tree 02 has one of the old, bronze identification tags attached to the east side of its trunk, about 8 feet above the ground; and (3, right) The bark of the lower trunk of Witness Tree 03 is imprinted with a wide and flat band, rising diagonally for the first 10 feet or so.
