National Park Service

CONTACT: KATIE LAWHON
717 334-1124 X452

The Codori Trostle Thicket Rehabilitation:
Reassessment of the Emmitsburg Road and Plum Run Battle Area

The first area on the Gettysburg battlefield to be rehabilitated under the General Management Plan will be a major portion of the Emmitsburg Road Ridge, which includes such important battle features as the Codori-Trostle Thicket, the headwaters of Plum Run, the Trostle farm lane, and Excelsior Field. The area was the scene of major battle action on July 2 and 3, 1863. On the first of those days, an advanced battle line of the Union army was established on the ridge but was crushed by attacking Confederate brigades. The area between the ridge and the Plum Run valley was the scene of desperate fighting by Union soldiers trying to delay the Southern advance until a new defensive line could be established in the rear. The Confederate attack was ultimately turned back due to the arrival of Union reinforcements, the absence of Confederate reinforcements, and the approach of darkness.

On July 3, the ridge was the site for many Confederate artillery units that shelled Union positions prior to "Pickett's Charge." Their exposed position prevented these batteries from effectively supporting the right wing of the attack. Those two brigades on the right were decimated by Union artillery fire as they charged through the open fields below the ridge. Many escaped certain annihilation by seeking the shelter of the Codori-Trostle Thicket and the hollow created by Plum Run. Twice in two days the Confederates tested the Union defenses associated with the Emmitsburg Road Ridge, at a great human cost to both sides. The capture of the ridge on July 2 provided the Southern army with the opportunity to plan, support, and execute "Pickett's Charge" on the following day.

The National Park Service goal is to restore features that were important to the fighting in 1863 and the outcome of the battle, so that millions of visitors who come here each year can better understand what happened here, and why. Features that have changed since the 1863 battle include low growing vegetation that has grown into mature woods, fence lines that have been realigned or removed, and a reduction in the amount of open fields. Both the Klingel orchard and the Trostle lane are no longer visible.

The area, which includes portions of the historic Codori, Trostle and Klingel farms, was selected as a demonstration project and will serve as a methodology test for battlefield rehabilitation because of its visibility and its diversity of resources, from forest and wetlands to fences, buildings, an orchard and historic lanes. Boundaries for the project area are based on battle action rather than on individual farm boundaries.

The Trostle Farm from Watson's Battery on US Avenue in 1896-97.

The scene today. Uncontrolled growth has severely changed the view.

To begin the process, park historians have completed a thorough documentation of the history of the site. Careful analysis of the significant topographical features, using maps, sketches, photographs and written accounts, has turned up some surprising results, according to Senior Historian Kathy Georg Harrison, who presented the findings at the October meeting of the park Advisory Commission.

"One of the things that stands out the most is the way the tree growth has obscured this part of the battlefield," said Harrison. "Historic photographs show intermittent trees and bushes. The soldiers could see everything down to Devil’s Den and the Peach Orchard, and over to Taneytown Road, including the Union artillery park there."

"Over time we’ve lost what was significant about this area because of the wall of trees that has grown up in what was once a thicket of bushes," says Harrison. "It’s become an interpretive no man’s land. We need to more effectively connect this part of the field with the dramatic story of the fighting on July 2^nd and 3^rd."

"Take Codori Knoll for example," said Harrison, "at the monument where General Hancock was wounded during the battle, near South Hancock Avenue not far from the Pennsylvania Memorial. We’ve found that Hancock was on this knoll many times on July 2^nd and 3^rd. Is it any wonder that eventually he was wounded here? But why on this piece of ground? Looking carefully at the historical record, we’ve found that the knoll offered a nearly 360 degree view of the battle as it was taking place. Hancock and most of the soldiers around him could see everyone and everything that was happening. Now trees in the thicket area cause you to lose these views. The growth of these trees has done more to inhibit interpretation on this part of the second day’s battlefield at Gettysburg than anything else since 1863."

"The numbers are staggering," said Harrison. In the project area, almost 700 men were killed outright. Perhaps as many as seventy Union guns came up the Trostle lane and a lot of Union infantry as well, but half of the lane is gone without a trace."

Studies are due soon from the National Park Service Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, who has been working with the park to determine the best methods for restoring and maintaining the area. Work is planned for this fall and winter season.

"Our mission is not only to preserve battlefield resources but to provide an understanding of the battle," said Gettysburg National Military Park Superintendent John Latschar. "The bottom line is that there were dozens of Picketts’ and Chamberlain’s on this field but we can’t understand what they did because of the way the battlefield has changed since 1863."

"The treatment plan and maintenance plans will tell us what to do to bring it back to 1863 and how to keep it that way. We’ll do it in phases. This project alone could take four to five years," said Latschar.

The Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg provided funding for the studies and have already built one mile of missing fence during their volunteer weekend last June. The Friends are the park’s major partner for long-term battlefield rehabilitation throughout the park. For updates and more information check the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/gett or visit the Friends’ web site at www.friendsofgettysburg.org.

Estimated Numbers and Losses in the Project Area

• The United States Army had an estimated 12,000 officers and men and as many as 70 artillery pieces* in line of battle or retreating under fire over the project area.

• Confederate forces attacking over the project area are estimated at 5,000. The Confederates had 33 artillery pieces* in the project area during the latter two days of the battle.

• Approximately 672 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed in action on the project site.
• Approximately 3,059 Union and Confederate soldiers were wounded or mortally wounded.
• Approximately 823 Union and Confederate soldiers were missing in action or captured.
• Total forces within the project area are estimated at: 17,000 + 113 artillery pieces
• Total casualties within the project area are estimated at: 4,554

* not including batteries located adjacent to and firing over the project area.

Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor for Actions in the Project Area

Sergeant Nathaniel M. Allen, Company B, 1^st Massachusetts (July 2, 1863)

Second Lieutenant George G. Benedict, Company C, 12^th Vermont (July 3, 1863)

Private Casper Carlisle, Company F, Pennsylvania Light Artillery (July 2, 1863)

Private Harrison Clark, Company E, 125^th New York (July 2, 1863)

Captain John B. Fassett, Company F, 23^rd Pennsylvania (July 2, 1863)

Sergeant Thomas Horan, Company E, 72^nd New York (July 2, 1863)

Second Lieutenant Edward M. Knox, 15^th New York Battery (July 2, 1863)

Bugler Charles W. Reed, 9^th Massachusetts Battery (July 2, 1863)

First Sergeant George W. Roosevelt, Company K, 26^th Pennsylvania (July 2, 1863)

Major General Daniel E. Sickles (July 2, 1863)

Colonel Wheelock Veazey, 16^th Vermont (July 3, 1863)

History & Habitat: 6 Actions in the new GMP that Improve Wetlands, Water Quality and Wildlife Habitat

Over the next 10-15 years, actions called for in Gettysburg National Military Park’s General Management Plan, will significantly improve wetlands, water quality, wildlife habitat, and ensure a viable and healthy ecosystem. Here are six actions in the new GMP that improve habitat and water quality:

1. By gradually removing field drains in some areas of the park, NPS will restore up to 100 acres of wetlands, benefiting plants and wildlife that live in these areas.
2. Fencing cattle from streams and wetlands, especially Plum Run, Stevens Run, and lower sections of Culp Run, will reduce soil compaction, erosion, excess nutrient loading, and ground cover loss, thus improving water quality not only in the park but in the Monocacy watershed and the Chesapeake Bay.
3. Increasing minimum or no-till agricultural methods instead of plowing will result in decreased soil loss and increased soil productivity.
4. Rehabilitating the battlefield to its 1863 appearance will increase the grassland areas in the park, increasing the amount of habitat available to grassland species, like Upland Sandpipers, Meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrikes and Least Shrews, many of which are state-listed species of special concern.
5. Agricultural program changes such as delaying the cutting of hay will allow ground nesting birds such as Henslow’s Sparrows, Bobolinks, Grasshopper Sparrows to thrive.
6. Removal of exotic plant species will provide opportunities for reestablishment of native plant species.

(from The Gettysburg Quarterly, Volume VII, No. 4, Winter)

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Gettysburg Park Planning Pages
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325