Witness Trees

[BarryBobPosthole]

This is, admittedly, a very strange subject. But its one of those deals that sucked me down the rabbit hole so fast before I knew it I had links open all over the place. Its about trees that have witnessed events in hostory that are still alive. Like the tree in that Chris Stapleton song, ‘Sticks That Make Thunder’ that witnessed Gettysburg.
Anyways, there a whole bunch of folks I guess that are interested in the subject. Check this out. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/head-tilting-history/witness-trees

You’ve always heard people say ‘If these walls could talk’. A tree is like a wall I guess, but they’re alive. Which as humans we look at with our short livesand wonder what the hell its like to live that kind of span. There a bunch of groups on FB about witness trees. And there are books written about the ones on Cemetary Ridge at Gettysburg.
My first wife and I were headed out to the Smokies and stopped at the Natchez Trace and saw an old pecan that was alive during the War of 1812. Its dead now I guess and they’ve removed it. It was friggin YUGE.
And I read that there are Revolutionary War Witness Trees still alive.

Anyways. Its strange, but kinda cool to think about, these old trees standing there. Knowing stuff.

BKb

[quercus alba]

Unlike most people who profess to be christians I'm not quick to dismiss things I don't understand. The bible speaks of giving rest to the land and in Romans 8:22 it speaks of "all Creation" groaning or struggling in life. Just because I might question some things don't mean it ain't so. It's not wise to try to limit the power of the Almighty.

[Thumper]

That is cool. We lived in Vicksburg, MS as well as Memphis, TN as I was going through high school. Civil war relics were constantly being found around town, but the ones that fascinated me the most, were the cannon balls that would be found embedded in old trees around the various battlefields. I had a buddy whose dad had a tree that had died, removed in their yard. When they cut it down, they discovered a cannon ball embedded in it. I believe it ended up in a museum, but can't really remember for sure.

Cannon balls, musket balls, etc. were always being found. I personally found an old mini-ball down on the bank of the Mississippi River and have to assume it was from the Civil War. Last I remember, I kept it with my rock collection. My rocks, as well as that mini-ball disappeared at some point over the years and I have absolutely no memory at all of whatever happened to that stuff. I assume it got thrown out during one of my parent's moves while I was in the military. (?)

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[DeputyDog]

We have very close friends that live about 15 miles from Gettysburg and we have been to the battlefield there many times. My son is a big history buff and wants to visit there every time we go out for a visit.

There is an entire Facebook group dedicated to “witness trees” at Gettysburg and they are constantly posting “then and now” photos of the trees and looking to try to find ones that haven’t previously been identified.

Talk about a niche hobby.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BarryBobPosthole]

I follow some backroads type groups on FB for Ok and Ark. There are some really interesting posts about ‘indian trail marker trees’.
99% of those are from an ice storm or some other injury, although I’m sure real ones exist. Folks have been traipsing all over this country and its human nature I think to leave a track of some kind in the mud, as our little hairy brother used to say. Maybe some of those bent over trees are just graffiti of a sort.
BKB

[BarryBobPosthole]

Just for shits and grins.


https://youtu.be/8WJSwqngedY?si=lowC7oQNu2QQ3fwf

[quercus alba]

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