02 03 04 05: 5th Corps Headquarters Trees

How to Find Witness Trees 02-05

The white oak witness trees are arrayed directly behind the cannon tube representing the 5th Corps headquarters (see the photo at right).

Witness Trees 02 and 04 are inside of the wood line, and may not be easily picked out in the summertime.

Witness Trees 03 and 05 are closer to the headquarters tube, and should be easier to discern; they both also lean significantly, especially Tree 05.

Then-and-Now Comparison

This 1913 photograph of the 5th Corps headquarters marker was taken by William Tipton; little did he likely consider that four of the trees he captured would still be alive 112 years later!

The tree labeled “A” was also still alive well into the 21st century. It died and was cut down in 2022. It proved to have been 200 years old. The National Park Service lumberjacks left the remains of the tree in the woods, and visitors may pause to count the rings on the stump (label “B”) should they desire to do so.

Other Photographs

Growing out of a collection of boulders, Witness Tree 05 is a slower growing tree.