Thanks to Dr. Jennifer Murray for joining me today to discuss the situation along Plum Run at Gettysburg National Military Park. As many of you now know, a beaver dam has resulted in a small pond or swamp located just below Little and Big Round Top, in an area known as the “Valley of Death.”
Jen is a Civil War historian at Oklahoma State University. She knows Gettysburg well having worked there as a seasonal ranger. Her first book titled, On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013, focuses on the history and management of the battlefield as well as the evolution of interpretation. It is well worth reading.
Jen is also a fabulous battlefield guide. If you ever have the opportunity to walk the field with her, I highly recommend it.
She is currently working on a full-length biography of Gen. George Gordon Meade, which many of us in the field are very much looking forward to reading.
All of this makes Jen the perfect guest to provide some much needed context to understanding the question of how to think about the Gettysburg battlefield as both a historical/cultural and natural landscape.
Special thanks to Michael Waricher for providing the photographs used in this discussion. Michael runs the popular Facebook page, Michael Waricher’s Gettysburg Perspectives. It is one of the best places for informed discussion about the changing landscape of Gettysburg. Do yourself a favor and subscribe.
I’ve placed the photographs referred to in the video below for your reference.
Gettysburg National Military Park's Beaver Problem: A Conversation with Jen Murray