03 – Stone Wall Gap
How to Find Witness Tree 03
Just to the south of the Purcell Artillery, there is a space or gap in the stone wall on the east side of West Confederate Avenue. Witness Tree 03, a massive white oak which has been leaning noticeably towards the road for at least a century, stands just to the left of the gap.
Witness Tree 03 Statistics
Tree Species: white oak
Circumference 2024: 116”
Diameter: 36.9”
Estimated age: 250+ years
Estimated diameter in 1863: 15”
Then-and-Now Comparison
Witness Tee 03 can be identified in a vintage photograph that was published in William Storrick’s 1931 booklet, Gettysburg: The Place, the Battles, the Outcome. The image shown to the right is a cropped version of the original photo. The picture was taken from perhaps 100 yards to the south of the tree, the camera pointing in a northerly direction.
Label “A” identifies the bronze and granite tablet for Pegram’s Battalion. The battery denoted by label “B” is Crenshaw’s Battery. Tree “X” is no longer extant.
<–go to Witness Tree 02 go to Witness Tree 04 –>
Other Photos
Witness Tree 03 has a notable vertical discoloration near the base of its trunk, a scar or slash resulting perhaps from an old lightning strike.
