Plum (Bloody) Run Then and Now

Gettysburg Greg

First Sergeant
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Location
Decatur, Illinois
plum run final.jpg

On my first trip to Gettysburg back in the early 1990's, I parked in the Devil's Den parking area and got out of the car with Frassanito's Journey in Time in hand. I was excitedly hoping to find the location of some of the photos in the book for my own then and now photos. I had not gone more than a few steps when I saw this scene shown in the photo below and immediately knew I had made my first "discovery" of many more to come. The original is Gardner's July 6th image of two fallen Confederate soldiers next to Plum Run. This is only a few yards downstream from the modern walking bridge.
 
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If you look closely, you can see the signs of 150 years of weathering and erosion. Very interesting!

I'm no geologist, but it looks like the split down the center of the boulder in the far right of the old photo is wider in the modern photo. It looks like the two rocks to the left of the left most soldier have also shifted since then, with the space between them widening.

Interesting, in any case.
 
I'm no geologist, but it looks like the split down the center of the boulder in the far right of the old photo is wider in the modern photo. It looks like the two rocks to the left of the left most soldier have also shifted since then, with the space between them widening.

Interesting, in any case.

Exactly. Rocks that split, often widen with time. The two rocks on the left would have shown the most shift in position because of the soil erosion caused by the water runoff into Plum Run.
 
Rocks in the north can change Rather quickly. Water will penetrate rock cracks and during the winter will freeze. Over time that relentless water freezing expansion will open up cracks causing massive cracking. You can see some rocks on the ground around Devil's Den and can determine how they broke off from their mother rock.

Greg posted months ago this photo and its companion photo trying to determine if the body laying closest to the back rock was moved between the photos. I think it was and on my last trip in April, I took a tarp and assorted string and yardsticks to see if I could prove my theory. My wife was going to play the dead body. However I made the mistake of making DD my last stop of the day. We were tired and no parking was available at DD. So we didn't do my experiment.

We are planning to go back in early December for another attempt. Here is the second photo of the rear body.

IMG_0092.jpg
 
My Avatar photo actually was a double dog dare from a buddies wife. As long as double dog dare doesn't include snakes or something stupid to eat, I will typically do it. Plus I have thousands of Gettysburg photos but very few with me in it. Maybe it is time to change it as I have no fascination with dead Confederates.

@Jimklag, you are correct in saying there are two radically different camera angles on those 2 historic shots. I wanted to see if the different angles are causing the illusion that the body was moved or if the body was actually moved. I wanted to have my wife lay on the tarp similar to Greg's photo above. I planned to lean pink yardsticks against the rock. Then I was going to move southeast and see if my wife's head was similar to the crack in the photo I posted above.

Ever since Greg posted that first thread a while back, I want to come to my own conclusion if the crack/head change is solely due to camera position or if that body was actually moved.

My wife just rolled her eyes when I put the tarp in the trunk. She asked what that was for. I told her she was going to play a dead confederate. She said that a nice dinner was her paycheck for her reenactment. Needless to say, we ate while driving home after a quick Sheetz stop.

I encourage everyone to visit this incredibly easy to find photo location so you can draw your own conclusion. I know we all enjoy Greg's photo posts as they scratch our Gettysburg itch when we are not on the battlefield. I do hope his posts and others, motivate visitors to actually visit these photo locations. They really add value to the Gettysburg experience.
 
My Avatar photo actually was a double dog dare from a buddies wife. As long as double dog dare doesn't include snakes or something stupid to eat, I will typically do it. Plus I have thousands of Gettysburg photos but very few with me in it. Maybe it is time to change it as I have no fascination with dead Confederates.

@Jimklag, you are correct in saying there are two radically different camera angles on those 2 historic shots. I wanted to see if the different angles are causing the illusion that the body was moved or if the body was actually moved. I wanted to have my wife lay on the tarp similar to Greg's photo above. I planned to lean pink yardsticks against the rock. Then I was going to move southeast and see if my wife's head was similar to the crack in the photo I posted above.

Ever since Greg posted that first thread a while back, I want to come to my own conclusion if the crack/head change is solely due to camera position or if that body was actually moved.

My wife just rolled her eyes when I put the tarp in the trunk. She asked what that was for. I told her she was going to play a dead confederate. She said that a nice dinner was her paycheck for her reenactment. Needless to say, we ate while driving home after a quick Sheetz stop.

I encourage everyone to visit this incredibly easy to find photo location so you can draw your own conclusion. I know we all enjoy Greg's photo posts as they scratch our Gettysburg itch when we are not on the battlefield. I do hope his posts and others, motivate visitors to actually visit these photo locations. They really add value to the Gettysburg experience.

do you also encourage everybody to bring their wives and tarps? and couldn't that be misconstrued? kinda?
 
do you also encourage everybody to bring their wives and tarps? and couldn't that be misconstrued? kinda?

Everyone should bring their spouses. There is something for everyone at Gettysburg. I encourage people to bring a tarp but only if it is for laying on the wet ground for historic photo recreations.
 
Rocks in the north can change Rather quickly. Water will penetrate rock cracks and during the winter will freeze. Over time that relentless water freezing expansion will open up cracks causing massive cracking. You can see some rocks on the ground around Devil's Den and can determine how they broke off from their mother rock.

Greg posted months ago this photo and its companion photo trying to determine if the body laying closest to the back rock was moved between the photos. I think it was and on my last trip in April, I took a tarp and assorted string and yardsticks to see if I could prove my theory. My wife was going to play the dead body. However I made the mistake of making DD my last stop of the day. We were tired and no parking was available at DD. So we didn't do my experiment.

We are planning to go back in early December for another attempt. Here is the second photo of the rear body.

View attachment 143100
Your wife is certainly a very accommodating supporter of your obsessive hobby....
 
Your wife is certainly a very accommodating supporter of your obsessive hobby....


I love to fish and I enjoy landscape photography. Compared to where she has gone on fishing and photography adventures, Gettysburg is a walk in the park. Having said that, I hear her say "where are you taking me now" way too frequently. But Gettysburg, fishing spots and National scenic parks all have something in common. You have to get away from the "touristy" pull off spots to really experience the trip.
 
I love to fish and I enjoy landscape photography. Compared to where she has gone on fishing and photography adventures, Gettysburg is a walk in the park. Having said that, I hear her say "where are you taking me now" way too frequently. But Gettysburg, fishing spots and National scenic parks all have something in common. You have to get away from the "touristy" pull off spots to really experience the trip.
Thanks for your response.
I hear ya!
 
Everyone should bring their spouses. There is something for everyone at Gettysburg. I encourage people to bring a tarp but only if it is for laying on the wet ground for historic photo recreations.
First time I brought my wife to Gettysburg she looked around very interested. listened to all the presentations in the old visitors center. read the NPS boards with interest and had a very good time. On the way home she said that was very interesting now that I've been there I never need to go back lol. she then said but I definitely see why you and your friends return here constantly, and I think it's great you do.
 
Rocks in the north can change Rather quickly. Water will penetrate rock cracks and during the winter will freeze. Over time that relentless water freezing expansion will open up cracks causing massive cracking. You can see some rocks on the ground around Devil's Den and can determine how they broke off from their mother rock.

Greg posted months ago this photo and its companion photo trying to determine if the body laying closest to the back rock was moved between the photos. I think it was and on my last trip in April, I took a tarp and assorted string and yardsticks to see if I could prove my theory. My wife was going to play the dead body. However I made the mistake of making DD my last stop of the day. We were tired and no parking was available at DD. So we didn't do my experiment.

We are planning to go back in early December for another attempt. Here is the second photo of the rear body.

View attachment 143100

I wounder if that poor man and the other casualty next to him were killed by artillery fire. The damage to his head looks like it may have been caused by shrapnel.
 
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