Some pictures of WW2 GI tree carvings. Later on I will also have some interesting german arborglyphs to show.
Haven't seen the Ardennes ones before, but a British student recently did a project on Salisbury Plain ones for a new conflict archaeology book called Beyond the Dead Horizon- WW2 tree carvings and bark grafitti unveil private lives from the past - Telegraph
Wonderful discoveries and well photographed as usual. When I was a boy, 1955, in rural Alabama I found one near the location of an old Confederate POW camp near Cahawba, Al. Gaines
I grew up on a farm at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers, the state capitol was there until 1826. By the Civil War it was a river town and most people had moved up river to Selma , then a city larger than Atlanta. It had a huge arsenal making cannon, projectiles, iron clads, and small arms ammo. To make this legitimate the Federal Army took the town in a small battle in 1865. Prior to the Battle the Confederates dumped all the cannons at the arsenal into the river, some Brooke's Naval Rifles running 8" bores and weighing 22,000 pounds. During WW2 the Ordinance Department tried to find them for the metal without success. During the war there was a nearby pilot training school at Craig Field. Some Czech pilot trainees flew under the bridge, infamous for the Civil Rights marches, but above the river in their AT-6's when allowed to solo. As a kid I use to walk the sandbars in the river in when water was down and look for relics. I still have a Broun 3" solid shot, never fired, with it's brass sabot intact as the partial hilts of two Confederate foot officer swords patterned after the US M 1850. I need to find a museum to give them too. Once I could post pictures here but have lost that capacity. I will post these items in the appropriate forum when I solve the puzzle . GainesI grew up on a farm at the confluence of the Alabama and Cahaba Rivers, the state capitol was there until 1826. By the Civil War it was a river town and most people had moved up river to Selma , then a city larger than Atlanta. It had a huge arsenal making cannon, projectiles, iron clads, and small arms ammo. To make this legitimate the Federal Army took the town in a small battle in 1865. Prior to the Battle the Confederates dumped all the cannons at the arsenal into the river, some Brooke's Naval Rifles running 8" bores and weighing 22,000 pounds. During WW2 the Ordinance Department tried to find them for the metal without success. During the war there was a nearby pilot training school at Craig Field. Some Czech pilot trainees flew under the bridge, infamous for the Civil Rights marches, but above the river in their AT-6's when allowed to solo. As a kid I use to walk the sandbars in the river in when water was down and look for relics. I still have a Broun 3" solid shot, never fired, with it's brass sabot intact as the partial hilts of two Confederate foot officer swords patterned after the US M 1850. I need to find a museum to give them too. Once I could post pictures here but have lost that capacity. I will post these items in the appropriate forum when I solve the puzzle . Gaines
Mr. Gaines, I can't see anything with your profile that would prevent you from posting pics. Have you tried to update Java to see if that would resolve the problem?
Hi all, I am trying to plot as many arborglyphs in the world (created by the military) for my PhD thesis. I don't seem to be able to see where these ones are from. Can anyone help me? Best Wishes Chantel Summerfield
These are from Luxembourg. We (The Forestry Board &The National Military History Museum)) are currently trying to make an inventory of a maximum of Tree Carvings, also for a PhD thesis. If you are interested in the results shoot me a PM, I also have one or two arboglyphes from the former GDR, madee by Soviet soldiers.
I am fascinated by the arborglyphs, truly art forms and wonderful vernacular history. An American soldier carving "Tosca" is pretty cool, perhaps an Italian-American with good taste in music. I will try again to post my Alabama River finds down stream from the Confederate Arsenal at Selma....bit off Topic but at least a battle field find. A 3 " solid shot, not sure of it's function as it was a field artillery piece, known as a Broun projectile. It was fired in a rifled cannon made at Selma. The brass sabot shows no marks so unfired. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/gtblackwell2/000_0519.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/gtblackwell2/000_0520.jpg I will have to find the foot officer hilts but I collected Confederate swords as a teenager and this is the last one I had, a Thomas Griswold horse artillery saber made in New Orleans, clearly not a river find. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/gtblackwell2/2169.jpg
