06: 37th MA Position Marker Tree

Witness Tree 06, a white oak, stands 10 feet to the right of the small position marker for the 37th Massachusetts.

How to Find Witness Tree 06

Behind the tube representing the 5th Corps Headquarters, there is a small granite marker indicating the position of the 37th Massachusetts; Witness Tree 06 stands about 10 feet to the right, or south, of the marker.

What this Tree Witnessed

Not much: the position marker tells us that the 37th Massachusetts was actually stationed 100 yards to the east, by the Taneytown Road!

Then-and-Now Comparison

A 1913 photograph of the 5th Corps monument (which is different than the upright cannon tube representing 5th Corps Headquarters) provides the evidence for the witness tree status of Tree 06.

William Tipton also captured several other witness trees in his south-facing view – Witness Tree 01 and Witness Trees 02 and 04.

Label “A” marks the small position marker for the 37th Massachusetts. Note that the position marker is exactly the same shape and size as a typical battlefield flank marker.

At label “B”, we see the remains of yet another witness tree; the trunk and stump remain on the ground to be studied by the interested visitor.

Witness Tree 06 Statistics

Tree Species: white oak
Circumference 2024: 62”
Diameter: 20”
Estimated age: 200-210 years
Estimated diameter in 1863: 4

Other Photographs