Culp’s Hill Rehabilitation Project

pamc153PA

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I’m sure some of you know that the NPS at Gettysburg is in the midst of a rehab project on Culp’s Hill which involves cutting trees in the wooded area near the saddle or traverse. The idea is to take the woods back to how it would have been at the time of the battle. Whether you agree with the idea or not, it is interesting to see the changes and hear the thinking and history behind the rehab.

There have been a couple “update” videos by the park. I was there last weekend and took some pics as well, which I’ll post. My thinking is that, although you can definitely see a thinning of the trees, it’ll be even more noticeable when the trees leaf out.

Here is the first “update” video from the NPS. Sorry about the quality—it’s how the NPS posted it.

 
Dear wife have a reservation for 3/12 to 3/14 in GB. Culps Hill is one of my favorite spots on the battlefield and we'll be sure to visit. With the recent bad weather in that part of PA, one has to wonder how much outside work is going on? As far as restoration to what the field of battle looked like in 1863, I have no issue whatsoever.
 
Pamc153PA thank you for posting these videos. The site restoration that NPS has been doing has really improved the interpretation of many battlefield locations. I'm looking forward to returning to Culp's Hill to see how this turns out. On my last visit to Gettysburg two years ago I noticed the improved "1863" appearance of the southern part of the battlefield near Little Round Top and Devil's Den and that it was done carefully.
 
Pamc153PA thank you for posting these videos. The site restoration that NPS has been doing has really improved the interpretation of many battlefield locations. I'm looking forward to returning to Culp's Hill to see how this turns out. On my last visit to Gettysburg two years ago I noticed the improved "1863" appearance of the southern part of the battlefield near Little Round Top and Devil's Den and that it was done carefully.

When first done, years ago, the effect looked very severe, but after the visual shock wears off, it is very much improved! With the Culp’s Hill location, decades ago, I had a woodcut print (Battles and Leaders, IIRC) location, that I tried to locate. I did, but the over growth prohibited the lines of sight shown in the print. I’m hoping for a re-visit, especially with the importance of that portion of the battlefield to the outcome.
 
I visited there today and thought I would share some of the photos I took. I was very pleased by how much I could see, I now have a much better understanding of how different positions relate to each other.

I took a lot of photos, but I'm just going to include a few focused on the famous rock to give you an idea of the difference. The first three are looking up the hill, the last two looking back down. The final one was taken outside of the wood line standing next to the 150th NY monument. If you look real hard at the 2nd photo, you can see the observation tower on top of the hill to the right. It is much easier to see when you are there than what it appears in the photo.

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I visited there today and thought I would share some of the photos I took. I was very pleased by how much I could see, I now have a much better understanding of how different positions relate to each other.

I took a lot of photos, but I'm just going to include a few focused on the famous rock to give you an idea of the difference. The first three are looking up the hill, the last two looking back down. The final one was taken outside of the wood line standing next to the 150th NY monument. If you look real hard at the 2nd photo, you can see the observation tower on top of the hill to the right. It is much easier to see when you are there than what it appears in the photo.

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Very nice and thanks for sharing. This gives you some nice sight lines, without being too severe a prune back of the foliage.
 
I visited there today and thought I would share some of the photos I took. I was very pleased by how much I could see, I now have a much better understanding of how different positions relate to each other.

I took a lot of photos, but I'm just going to include a few focused on the famous rock to give you an idea of the difference. The first three are looking up the hill, the last two looking back down. The final one was taken outside of the wood line standing next to the 150th NY monument. If you look real hard at the 2nd photo, you can see the observation tower on top of the hill to the right. It is much easier to see when you are there than what it appears in the photo.

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Great photos, @rob63! They’ve done more since I was there a couple weeks ago.
 
I visited there today and thought I would share some of the photos I took. I was very pleased by how much I could see, I now have a much better understanding of how different positions relate to each other.

I took a lot of photos, but I'm just going to include a few focused on the famous rock to give you an idea of the difference. The first three are looking up the hill, the last two looking back down. The final one was taken outside of the wood line standing next to the 150th NY monument. If you look real hard at the 2nd photo, you can see the observation tower on top of the hill to the right. It is much easier to see when you are there than what it appears in the photo.

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Line of sight now shown, helps a great deal with understanding Culp’s Hill! The rocks figured prominently in sketches in “Battles and Leaders”.

beautiful pictures and thanks for posting! We will be in GB this coming weekend.
 
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