Witness Tree B
How to Find Witness Tree B
White oak Witness Tree B stands jut behind and to the right of the Pegram’s Battalion marker.
Also Known as “The Pender Wounding Tree”
Witness Tree B does not appear in any known old photographs, at least not yet. Hence, we do not number it – we only assign numbers to surviving witness trees which were caught on camera a century or so or more ago.
However, given its great size, there is little doubt that the tree is easily a witness tree. If nothing else, its many interesting features – a bronze identification tag, and scarring, and still-hanging lightning suppression cable – make it a worthy addition to our catalogue of notable trees.
The tree is affectionately and by tradition referred to as “The Pender Wounding Tree.” Supposedly, the tree marks the approximate location where Confederate General Dorsey Pender, a rising star in the galaxy of great Confederate commanders, was wounded in the thigh by a shell fragment during the artillery firefight of July 2. Pender survived for two weeks, finally dying on July 18, during the Army of Northern Virginia’s return trip to Dixie from Gettysburg.
<–go to Witness Tree 05 go to Witness Tree 06 –>
About 8 feet from the ground, a long time ago, a bronze identification tag (#D195) was nailed onto the trunk of Witness Tree B. Who placed it there, and when or why, is unknown.
Witness Tree B Statistics
Tree Species: white oak
Circumference 2024: 112”
Diameter: 35.5”
Then-and-Now Comparison
As of yet, no vintage photograph has yet been discovered which captures Witness Tree B.
Other Photographs
Witness Tree B is one of the last few trees remaining on the battlefield from which hangs a copper lightning suppression cable. The tree was struck by lightning in the summer of 2010, and was saved by the lightning suppressor system, though the tree did suffer some burning and additional scarring from the strike. Note how the tree’s bark has grown around and engulfed the cable at one location on the trunk.
