Milkweed and Memories: A Botanical Discovery at Gettysburg

August 20, 1863

On this day, dear readers, we find ourselves transported to a time of great turmoil and unexpected botanical discovery.

The year was 1863, and the echoes of cannon fire had barely faded from the blood-soaked fields of Gettysburg.

Yet, amidst the aftermath of that terrible conflict, nature's resilience manifested in the form of a humble milkweed specimen plucked by a discerning botanist's hand.

Imagine, if you will, the scene at Drexel University in 2018 when curator Elana Benamy, diligently digitizing plant images, stumbled upon a most extraordinary find. A common milkweed, you might say?

Ah, but the devil, as they say, is in the details.

The label on this particular specimen read "Battlefield of Gettysburg, August 20, 1863."

A mere seven weeks after the clash that would define a nation, and five weeks following Frederick Law Olmsted's solemn walk across that hallowed ground.

Ms. Benamy, her curiosity piqued, posed a question that would intrigue any garden enthusiast:

Can you imagine why on earth would someone be out plant collecting [there]?

The answer, my dear gardeners, is a tale of brotherly devotion and botanical passion that would warm the cockles of even the most stoic heart.

Our protagonist in this floral drama is one Thomas Meehan, a gentleman whose green thumb had graced the renowned Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia under the employ of Andrew Eastwick.

Such was his horticultural prowess that he later established his own nursery in Germantown, a veritable Eden of his own creation.

But our story takes a fraternal turn in 1853 when Thomas's younger brother, Joseph, crossed the vast Atlantic from England to join him in the New World.

The younger Meehan, working diligently in his brother's greenhouses, felt the call of duty and enlisted to fight in the Civil War.

Fate, however, had other plans for Joseph.

As the battle of Gettysburg erupted, he found himself a prisoner of war.

Yet, with the turning of the tide, he was granted battlefield parole on July 4th, a date that would forever hold dual significance for him.

Now, picture this, dear readers: Two brothers, united by blood and a shared love of flora, possibly reunited on that very battlefield.

Can you not see them, these Meehan brothers, carefully stepping through the war-torn landscape, their eyes not on the scars of battle, but on the persistent beauty of nature reclaiming her domain?

Indeed, this milkweed specimen stands as a testament to the indomitable spirit of both man and nature.

Thirty-three years later, Joseph Meehan would pen an article titled Battlefield Flowers: Floral Treasures of Gettysburg for Gardening magazine. The article is shared in full below. 

As we tend to our own gardens, let us remember the Meehan brothers and their milkweed. In the face of destruction, they sought creation.

Amidst the remnants of war, they found beauty. And in the simplest of weeds, they discovered a story worth preserving for generations to come.

May we all approach our horticultural pursuits with such reverence and wonder, for who knows what tales our own gardens might one day tell?

Battlefield Flowers: Floral Treasures of Gettysburg by Joseph Meehan
Note: edited lightly to enhance readability

Thinking of GARDENING when on a visit to the battlefield of Gettysburg in the early days of June, I noted all the wildflowers and trees I saw on the trip, assured that it would interest some of its readers at least to know something of them.

I may not have space to name, but the most striking of what I saw.

From Philadelphia. I took the beautiful Reading route, which takes one via Reading, Harrisburg, and the Cumberland Valley to Gettysburg. Those who love trees and flowers would be pleased with the view from the car window: the agriculturist with the splendid crops, the horticulturist with the beautiful trees and flowers, and the lover of nature with the splendid picture the whole presented.

The slippery elm, Ulmus fulva, is abundant along the Schuylkill River near Norristown. Its broad leaves and somewhat drooping habit distinguish it from americana.

Not far above that city, the Jersey pine Pinus inops appears. This is not a tall grower but forms a bushy small tree. It is not at all abundant along the route. The white pine is scattered pretty well all along the route, especially after passing Harrisburg and getting in closer contact with the Blue Ridge.

The rare Pinus pungens grow near Harrisburg, but it was not visible from the cars. It distressed me to see the ravages of the locust borer. The yellow locust is abundant in the Cumberland Valley. In some cases, dozens of trees were visible, the tops entirely dead, all
due to the borer, which has long made the growing of this tree for posts somewhat unprofitable. Even at Gettysburg, the work of the borer was visible on many of the trees about the field.

The deciduous trees of Gettysburg did not appear to me to be in great variety.

Among oaks, the white, red, pin, swamp white, and chestnut seemed to complete the list. The chestnut, Quereus prinus montana, is abundant on the rocky hills, especially on the summit of Big Round Top. And I found that the group of oaks at the Bloody Angle, the crest of Pickett's charge, some 25 trees or more, with but two exceptions, composed of this oak. It is one of the most ornamental of the genus; its large, shining, chestnut-like leaves render it so.

The Judas tree, Cercis canadensis, as well as the butternut, walnut, ash, and hickory, are common everywhere. In the Devil's Den, a weird-looking place where boulders of many tons of weight are rolled one on the other, three or six deep in places, many of the trees named are growing.

In addition to those named, I found the following trees and shrubs in this vicinity: Red cedar, witch hazel, nettle tree, Celtis occidentalis, linden, and hornbeam.

And of vines and plants: Wild grape, Virginia creeper, tradescantia, Heuchera americana Fumaria officinalis, and, though not in flower, lots of Solidago casia.

Of shrubs in general seen in various portions of the field, the following comprises the list:

• Rhus glabra and copallina
• wild plum
• Prunus Americana
• Viburnum prunifolium and acerifolium
• Spirea (Neillia) opulifolia
• Cornus paniculata
• Zanthoxylon fraxinaefolium
• Rubus odoratus
• Ceanothus americanus
• Cerasus virginiana.

Of these, a large patch of the Viburnum acerifolium was particularly beautiful. It was on a hillside near the famous Culp's Hill, spread to cover a space of about eight square feet, and was full of white flowers. It was a pretty sight.

Among herbaceous plants, the prettiest sight I saw was the masses of Pentstemon pubescens—not a dozen or two, as sometimes seen near home, but a thousand. They appeared in old meadows, cleared woods, and along the roadside, sometimes in hundreds in one place. As all were in perfect bloom, the lovely scene the bluish-purple flowers created can be imagined.

Could not the seeds be sown broadcast in some meadows now bare, or one or two plants set out and allowed to seed themselves?

In similar situations in many portions of the field, there were a great many of the bright-colored Phlox pilosa, a species not at all common. Not having one at home, I possessed myself of one from a corner of the "wheat field" near a little stone, which told me:

"Here fell Fred Chapman, Capt. Co. H.27th Conn. Vol."

Another pretty phlox, maculata, was growing in wet places. This is a taller grower than the other and is one of the parents of many of our common garden perennial phloxes.

Veronica officinalis displayed itself nicely on a sloping bank, for which purpose it can be planted to advantage, as I have found. Asclepias quadrifolia was nicely in flower, rubra was about to open, and a solitary plant of tuberosa, not yet showing flower, proved its existence there.

Among other plants in flower were the following:

• Houstonia caerulea, present everywhere, even on the elevated round tops
• Lysimachia quadrifolia
• Hieracium venosum
• Aquilegia canadensis
• the common scarlet columbine
• Specularia perfoliata
• Cynoglossum virginicum
• Thaspium aureum
• Nuphar advena
• Solanum dulcamara
• Thalictrum cornuti
• Oxalis integritolia
• Senecio aurea

The latter existed in great quantities in the meadows, its yellow flowers contrasting
nicely with the green about them.

Of ferns, the variety is not large. One of the most common is Woodsia obtusa, which thrives nicely there. It is abundant on the Big Round Top, along with Aspidium marginale.

Polypodium vulgare and Botrychium virginicum were observed, but not an osmunda of any kind.

Near the famous Spangler's spring in what was the Confederate lines, I found a rock fairly covered with the walking fern, and Asplenium ebeneum was abundant and flourishing in the same place.

Along Hancock Avenue, Slocum Avenue, and in other portions of the battlefield, trees have recently been planted, where some had been cut down some time ago, to bring the woods back to their original appearance, as I was told.

I regret to add that if this is the intention, a grievous mistake has been made. Such trash as the Carolina poplar and silver maple has been largely used, and worse than all is the introduction of a lot of foreign trees.

I did not hunt for them, but I saw several English oaks and salisburias in the lot.

Think of planting foreign trees to bring back an American battlefield to its original state.

Even if not the intention to do this, it ought to have been.

Whoever has charge of the work should be made to take out everything except what is native to the locality, whether native or foreign.

A piece of woods in which the monument of the 5th Ohio Regiment stands, near Culp's Hill, is much disfigured by this planting, as is Wolf Hill and the other localities named.

There would be no trouble whatever in procuring the ash, oak, hickory, walnut, etc., similar to the large trees already there and it should be ordered done.

Joseph Meehan
Philadelphia