Gettysburg Daily

Hemlock Comes Down in National Cemetery

An eastern hemlock tree was cut down in the Soldiers National Cemetery.The statue to John F. Reynolds sits near the Baltimore Street entrance to the National Cemetery. This image was taken facing northeast at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.

We noticed crews had roped off the area surrounding the tree this weekend.The New York State monument is on the left. This image was taken facing southwest at approximately 1:30 PM on Sunday, April 30, 2017.
The tree before being cut down.This image is courtesy of and was taken facing southwest by Jennifer Rose on October 24, 2016.

There are a few rare species of tree within Gettysburg’s national cemetery…This image was taken facing southwest at approximately 1:30 PM on Sunday, April 30, 2017.

…but the eastern hemlock is the most common. Each red star marks the location of an eastern hemlock tree within the cemetery. Tree #55 was removed.This map was created in 2016 by Penn State Mont Alto student Jeremy Newman and can be accessed here.

The hemlock tree, also known as the eastern or Canadian hemlock, is the State Tree of Pennsylvania.This image was taken facing northwest at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.

The hemlock tree is threatened in the eastern United States by an exotic insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. The decline of the eastern hemlock has contributed directly to undergrowth on forest floors.This image was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:30 PM on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.