Slaughter Pen July 6th, 1863

[Gettysburg Greg]

Timothy O'Sullivan recorded this image of the Slaughter Pen in front of Big Round Top just days after the battle ended. There are several dead Confederates among the rocks in the image. The distinctive slanted rock the man is standing on was discovered by William Frassanito in 1967. Before that this was thought to be at the foot of Little Round Top. Usually this area in front of the Devil's Den parking area is far too overgrown to see the slanted rock, but a few years ago, I happened to be in town right after it had been cleared when I took the modern photo below.

 

[Dom71]

Is it me or did they clear a lot of the rocks out of there?

 

[Alaskazimm]

Is it me or did they clear a lot of the rocks out of there?

Or filled in? Was this one the the areas leveled for the electric trolley?

 

[Dom71]

Or filled in? Was this one the the areas leveled for the electric trolley?

You may be on to something there. The original photo the slanted rock looks higher up off the ground @Gettysburg Greg photo the rock looks to be ground level. Unless its a trick of the eye.

 

[JohnW.]

There is a whole lotta rocks missing and the area has been filled in it looks like.

 

[mofederal]

Nice image Greg. It is hard to do a comparison when the ground has been changed. I still like it. I also like the guy standing on a rock to the far left. I can't tell if he is military or civilian. Thanks for posting Greg.

 

[George Thomas]

Many of the rocks in the Slaughter Pen area have settled down quite a bit over the years and so they don't stand out as sharply as in the old photos. I recently posted a response to a thread on Devil's Den that shows this pretty clearly. It is a then vs. now of the "All Over Now" photo. It is possible to line everything up, but the area has sunken down quite a bit over the years and so it doesn't immediately jump out at you. My comparison is at the end of this thread.

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/following-alexander-gardner-at-devils-den-graphic.127728/page-4

 

[E_just_E]

Re: the rocks.

It is all about lenses and angles, and perspectives, and fields of depth etc.

Here is these 2 photos anchored by Rocks A and B that are common in the 2 photos. The red sketched box in the then photo, represents what is pictured in the now photo pretty much (and there is a good 5-10 degree tilt to the left, if you try to align rocks A and B) :

"Then and Now" is an approximation, and can only be, unless one uses the same photographic equipment.

Click to enlarge.

 

[Gettysburg Greg]

Re: the rocks.

It is all about lenses and angles, and perspectives, and fields of depth etc.

Here is these 2 photos anchored by Rocks A and B that are common in the 2 photos. The red sketched box in the then photo, represents what is pictured in the now photo pretty much (and there is a good 5-10 degree tilt to the left, if you try to align rocks A and B) :

"Then and Now" is an approximation, and can only be, unless one uses the same photographic equipment.

Click to enlarge.

View attachment 165451

Good analysis, thanks for adding.

 

[Kip124thNY]

Thanks for posting Greg.

 

[WJC]

View attachment 165251
Timothy O'Sullivan recorded this image of the Slaughter Pen in front of Big Round Top just days after the battle ended. There are several dead Confederates among the rocks in the image. The distinctive slanted rock the man is standing on was discovered by William Frassanito in 1967. Before that this was thought to be at the foot of Little Round Top. Usually this area in front of the Devil's Den parking area is far too overgrown to see the slanted rock, but a few years ago, I happened to be in town right after it had been cleared when I took the modern photo below.

Thanks for posting these photos! I love these 'then and now' shots!