Oddities at Gettysburg

[StuffWriter]

Does anyone know what this thing is? It's very near the source of Plum Run south of the Codori Farm and west of the Pennsylvania Monument. Coordinates: 39.807778, -77.239250. I've never come across any reference to this thing in what I've read about the battlefield. It's not deep like a well. Thanks in advance.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

I'll take a guess at it - looking at the metal pipe on the left of the picture which appears to feed into the concrete circle, it resembles the watering trough my granddad set up for livestock in a field that sometimes did not have a reliable source of water.

 

[6thMichCav]

It looks nearly identical to the water cistern by my parents' 1860 farmhouse.

 

[MRB1863]

Perhaps related somehow to the Electric Trolley. Could be for water storage for passengers since there is a spring nearby.

 

[mwalker6043]

They could be from Camp Colt as well.

 

[Tom Elmore]

By the way, a lot of battlefield "oddities" have been explained by an old friend, Randy Drais. I recommend his website:

Welcome to my website for Battle of Gettysburg buffs, old and new.

I have tried to focus on the lesser known or visited areas of the battlefield and topics for those of you and your family who are interested in learning or doing more than the average visitor to Gettysburg.

battleofgettysburgbuff.com

Incidentally, we went looking (unsuccessfully) for the "WARD" rock (associated with a 4th Alabama soldier) on one occasion, and also found (we think) the "X" rock (associated with Watson's battery), both of which he describes.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Would also mention that there were miles of underground water pipes and drinking and washing facilities installed for the grand 1913 Reunion of the veterans from both sides. They came in handy in the sweltering heat.

Per Wikipedia: "Water wells were being drilled for the July encampment by February 1, 1913,[15]"

Water Supply - Gettysburg, 1913. Shows water tanks at the Gettysburg...

Water Supply - Gettysburg, 1913. Shows water tanks at the Gettysburg Reunion of July 1913, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Creator: Bain News Service.

www.gettyimages.co.uk

Gettysburg at 50: The Great Reunion of 1913

From June 29 to July 6, 1913, the Union and Confederate flags flew side by side when more than 50,000 Civil War veterans convened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of one of the most pivotal battles in American history. Here’s a closer look at the Great Reunion.

www.mentalfloss.com

 

[StuffWriter]

By the way, a lot of battlefield "oddities" have been explained by an old friend, Randy Drais. I recommend his website:

Welcome to my website for Battle of Gettysburg buffs, old and new.

I have tried to focus on the lesser known or visited areas of the battlefield and topics for those of you and your family who are interested in learning or doing more than the average visitor to Gettysburg.

battleofgettysburgbuff.com

Incidentally, we went looking (unsuccessfully) for the "WARD" rock (associated with a 4th Alabama soldier) on one occasion, and also found (we think) the "X" rock (associated with Watson's battery), both of which he describes.

Yes, I love that website. I'm hoping to see many of those lesser known spots. I was looking at stones very close to the Spangler Spring and saw one with what looked like indistinct graffiti, probably not from a veteran. I couldn't make it out, though.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

It looks nearly identical to the water cistern by my parents' 1860 farmhouse.

A cistern was my first thought as well.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

The top rim has an edge similar to what you see on concrete culvert sections

 

[BCS1973]

Looks like a shallow well

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

On the family farm, there was an unused and dry concrete livestock tank on a little rise about 10 yards from where a spring bubbled up through the ground. The spring water didn't seep - it came up through a standing pool in a stream that shot up above the surface of the water. You could lay flat, stretch out, and drink from that water, just as if it was a drinking fountain!
I was told that the spring previously came out of the ground inside that concrete water tank and filled it, but then the water found an easier way to emerge.
That water was clear, sweet and cool. There were crayfish in that pool, and when I went there from the hayfield, I could enjoy that water and watch those crayfish.
Since this is close to the source of a stream, maybe it was built to capture and collect that water at the source.