Better views minus the trees in Gettysburg

infomanpa

1st Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 18, 2017
Location
Pennsylvania
It's nice to be able to better see the views of the artillery men when firing on nearby hills.

One image is from Benner's Hill and the other from Power's Hill.

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Well done! There are no "bad" season to visit Gettysburg. The colors of spring and fall are spectacular. The green of summer is not only historically accurate, but the lushness of the Pennsylvania foliage is spellbinding. But there is something about the late fall through early spring that really brings the battlefield to life via increased sight lines. The NPS has done a tremendous job in Battlefield rehabilitation but it is still falls short of what they saw in July 1863. As your photos documents, more work needs to be done, however we can never expect the NPS to maintain the underbrush like it was in 1863. Thus the "off leaf" season is our best opportunity to better visualize the Battle. I am so glad the weather cooperated allowing you to visit in the winter season.
 
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Excellent. It's very instructive to actually see where one battery was and what they were shooting at. I tried to do that in as many places as possible when I did my grand CW trip in 2016. Photos like yours make it really clear who far away batteries were from their targets. Feet and meters numbers just don't have the same effect for me as a visual reference.
 
Can you name both batteries where the picture where taken?

There were four batteries posted on Benner's Hill south of the Hanover Road, the area where the pictures were taken: Raine's, Dement's, Carpenter's, and Brown's. Carpenter's battery was located where the first picture was taken, and Raine's on the far left where the second picture was taken. The NPS unit plaques are positioned incorrectly. They have Carpenter's battery on the right near the Hanover Road, with Brown's to its left, when these units' actual positions were reversed.
 
Here is a short American Battlefield Trust vide on the artillery of Power's Hill. I thought it would be a good follow up to Mike's second photo.


Both Power's Hill and Benner's Hill are well worth visiting, although the actions there are little known. Of course, Power's Hill has now been cleared of trees as it was in 1863. Standing at the top and looking towards Spangler's Meadow, it's quite a revelation to see how the artillery batteries posted there could pound Confederate infantry units attacking Culp's Hill from the rear as they took fire from Federal infantry in front.
 
Thanks for the update. My so and I have been following the cleanup of the battlefield. Glad to see some of the trees going away.
 
There were four batteries posted on Benner's Hill south of the Hanover Road, the area where the pictures were taken: Raine's, Dement's, Carpenter's, and Brown's. Carpenter's battery was located where the first picture was taken, and Raine's on the far left where the second picture was taken. The NPS unit plaques are positioned incorrectly. They have Carpenter's battery on the right near the Hanover Road, with Brown's to its left, when these units' actual positions were reversed.
So as your driving toward the turn around, it would be Rockbridge ( Graham) , Chesapeake (Brown) ,
Alleghany (Carpenter), 1st MD (Dement) and Lee (Raines) ?
 
@infomanpa Thank you for those great photos! And the red identifiers. Clearing the trees over the years has made a big improvement for me in trying to understand the battle. Quite a change from my first visit in August of 66.

John
 
Well done! There are no "bad" season to visit Gettysburg. The colors of spring and fall are spectacular. The green of summer is not only historically accurate, but the lushness of the Pennsylvania foliage is spellbinding. But there is something about the late fall through early spring that really brings the battlefield to life via increased sight lines. The NPS has done a tremendous job in Battlefield rehabilitation but it is still falls short of what they saw in July 1863. As your photos documents, more work needs to be done, however we can never expect the NPS to maintain the underbrush like it was in 1863. Thus the "off leaf" season is our best opportunity to better visualize the Battle. I am so glad the weather cooperated allowing you to visit in the winter season.
I am not meaning to be contradictive at all to what Wallyfish posted, but could not pass without mentioning the presentation of a utopian view of a pristine battlefield would only come by the entry of Heth on the Cashtown road. To underscore my point, the destruction of battle occurring to the foliage, undergrowth, and tree-line would be devastating and by the second day there would be no obvious sign of wholesome rural countryside to gaze upon.
Lubliner.
 
I am not meaning to be contradictive at all to what Wallyfish posted, but could not pass without mentioning the presentation of a utopian view of a pristine battlefield would only come by the entry of Heth on the Cashtown road. To underscore my point, the destruction of battle occurring to the foliage, undergrowth, and tree-line would be devastating and by the second day there would be no obvious sign of wholesome rural countryside to gaze upon.
Lubliner.


Modern day visitors to any Civil War battlefield will only get a utopian view of a "pristine" battlefield. It is impossible to replicate the Battle damage and carnage that occurred there. We are fortunate to have several post battle photos of the Gettysburg battlefield to remind us of what really happened there. But all we ask of the NPS is to give us the opportunity to see the battlefield in a pristine condition as it was immediately before the battle.
We are forced to use those few historic "then" photos to give us a brief glimpse of post battle damage.

Mike's original post in this thread gives us different views of the battlefield and points out what details can be seen with no foliage on the plant's and trees. I strongly believe that it is important for battle aficionados to see the battlefield in the different seasons. I belong to most of the Gettysburg Facebook groups. There are many members of those groups and they post Gettysburg battlefield photos daily. The vast majority of those photos are taken in the summer. I am afraid that too many people don't know what they are missing by not making year round visits to Gettysburg (or any battlefield).

@pamc153PA, What is your thoughts on the importance of visiting battlefields year round? For those that don't know, Pam is a very frequent contributor in Gattysburg photography both here and on Facebook. She is a heck of a photographer too and she visits the field frequently year round.

Despite being a huge Gettysburg fan, I am not into the blood and gore that a war leaves in its wake. I would much rather see this.
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Than this.

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Modern day visitors to any Civil War battlefield will only get a utopian view of a "pristine" battlefield. It is impossible to replicate the Battle damage and carnage that occurred there. We are fortunate to have several post battle photos of the Gettysburg battlefield to remind us of what really happened there. But all we ask of the NPS is to give us the opportunity to see the battlefield in a pristine condition as it was immediately before the battle.
We are forced to use those few historic "then" photos to give us a brief glimpse of post battle damage.

Mike's original post in this thread gives us different views of the battlefield and points out what details can be seen with no foliage on the plant's and trees. I strongly believe that it is important for battle aficionados to see the battlefield in the different seasons. I belong to most of the Gettysburg Facebook groups. There are many members of those groups and they post Gettysburg battlefield photos daily. The vast majority of those photos are taken in the summer. I am afraid that too many people don't know what they are missing by not making year round visits to Gettysburg (or any battlefield).

@pamc153PA, What is your thoughts on the importance of visiting battlefields year round? For those that don't know, Pam is a very frequent contributor in Gattysburg photography both here and on Facebook. She is a heck of a photographer too and she visits the field frequently year round.

Despite being a huge Gettysburg fan, I am not into the blood and gore that a war leaves in its wake. I would much rather see this.
View attachment 342638

Than this.

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Here's a photo of Benner's Hill taken about 20 years after the battle. The view is looking south-west, with Culp's Hill in the left background and Cemetery Hill in the center background. Not only is the country much more open than it is today, but the trees are a lot less tall. It's much easier to visualize the artillery duel that occurred here on July 2.

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