Civil War History - Gettysburg ForumGettysburg! It's not just a National Park. It's a Civil War Battlefield. For some it's historic and storied past are almost an obsession! All related discussions are welcome here!
What is holding up the battle fields reconstruction?
I was pleased to hear a few years ago the the park service was reconstructing the park to its 1863 condition. My question is why is it taking so long? I would think that 10 able bodied men with Sthil chain saws could remove the 500 plus acres of woods that don't belong in short order. What is the time line that the park service wants to have the park back to its 1863 condition. I would like to visit soon , but would like the park to have it reconstruction complete . Thanks.
Sorry, first post here . I thought I posted in the Gettysburg part of this site. Any ways I'm referring to the reconstruction of the Gettysburg battle field. Sorry for the confusion.
Can't answer your question, buildingmaint, but you might recognize that you're observing your government in action. Eight-seven different panels must pass on the price of pencils and you ask why they can't just cut down a few trees? I'll guess the EPA is involved and environmental impact statements have to be filed. Then the requisit paperworks has to be filed and approved. The price of chain saws must be put out for bids and appropriate forms filed to hire workmen with appropriate work credentials. Insurance must be sent out for bids with appropriate forms which must be filled out by a qualified clerk with--you guessed it--appropriate credentials. I'm frequently amazed that the Rangers actually get regular paychecks.
I live close enough to visit the Gettysburg battlefield several times a year. Each time I go back, I'm amazed by how much has been done and how quickly they have done it.
That said, I really don't know what the timetable is for cutting down all of the trees they intend to cut down.
I would mention that, while they are cutting down a lot of trees, they are also planning to plant new ones, specifically in the Peach Orchard, where the existing trees were all diseased and had to be removed. New trees are scheduled to be planted this September. Of course, it takes a lot longer to grow a tree than to cut one down, so I don't know how long it will take for the new plantings to grow into full-sized peach trees.
After thinking about it, I remembered something I heard during a Pennsylvania Cable Network show this week.
This week, PCN has been sending camera crews out to record some of the Gettysburg park rangers' battlefield walks, then broadcasting those recordings on a delayed basis.
During one of those programs, the ranger discussed the difference between "woods" and "woodlots."
A number of the farmers around Gettysburg at the time of the battle maintained woodlots, stands of trees grown specifically to be harvested for the wood. The farmers would manage their woodlots very carefully, clearing out any brush or other unwanted vegetation that started growing in their woodlots, so that only the trees they really wanted were left.
Because the woodlots were carefully managed, at the time of the battle, a soldier could stand on one side of a woodlot and see other soldiers moving around on the other side. There was enough space between the trees to allow this.
In the years after the battle, as the farmers died, moved away, or for other reasons ceased to take such meticulous care of the woodlots, the woodlots gradually turned into woods, with all sorts of underbrush and other odd varieties of trees that hadn't existed in the original woodlots. Once that happened, you couldn't see from one side to the other the way you could in 1863.
The Park Service, in trying to restore the battlefield to its 1863 condition, does not want to simply clear out the woodlots and leave nothing standing in those locations. They want to restore the woodlots to the 1863 condition also.
That means they can't just send a guy out with a chainsaw with instructions to cut down the first tree he sees, and after that cut down the second tree he sees, and so on until every tree is removed from the area. They have to trim out the underbrush and then pick and choose which remaining trees should be cut down and which should be left standing.
That, I would imagine, is one reason why the whole process is taking more time than might otherwise be expected.
Hoosier makes a very good point. I think another factor is the fact that Gettysburg is one of the most visited Civil War sites in America, if not the most visited. You have hundreds of people walking through the park during any given day. You would have to close of sections so that the men could do the work. But they don't need to cut down too many trees I don't think, just clear out a lot of the undergrowth. I have trudged through some of those woods, and it really isn't too bad, though not like 1863. Nothing like the Wilderness, where you don't dare go off the trails its so tangled.
They are also going to tear down the old visitor center and restore Zeigler's Grove to its 1863 look too. Can't wait for that to happen.
__________________ "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
I gotta believe Mr. Ole to be correct. In some parts of this country, youll get off lightly after running over your Lt. than if you ran over a desert tortise in 29Palms! But I can only observe...I recently had a run to the town of Gettyburg...Im drive 18 wheelers..man, I thought the whole area, battlefield and the surrounding areas, were really kept up very well...looks to me like due respect is given, and I think any visitor will catch a very good idea of what it must have been like. That is the most breathtaking battle field Ive been to so far...and the irony was not lost on me when I was trying to snake my rig around those little historical streets! No mean feat, if I say so myself! I hate any scarring of any of our hallowed grounds! I feel guilty everytime Im driving anywhere near Richmond! I felt guilty just being there, in Gettysburg. But life must go on, I suppose...
Have to appreciate Hoosier's observation on the difference between woods and woodlots. Woodlots would have been kept fairly clear of undergrowth and brush, primarily because (presumably) they would have been in areas accessible to farm animals -- specifically, one end of the pasture.
Woods would be found on ground that wasn't worth clearing. Does anyone know if the old practice of turning hogs out in the woods (only the ugly ones--they kept the pretty ones closer to the house) was practiced in Gettysburg? Or was that a hanger-on only in more mountainous areas or rougher areas?
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
the old practice of turning hogs out in the woods (only the ugly ones--they kept the pretty ones closer to the house) Ole
Golly whiskers, Ole, you've given me an idea for the Civil War book that will make me a respected scholar... "Standards of Hog Beauty in Mid 19th Century America." That'll make 'em squeal for joy!
Zou
P.S., yes, I do believe that hogs were given the run of the countryside in the area of Gettysburg. I'll try to remember where I read that so I can supply a reference.
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What is holding up the battle fields reconstruction? 
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