Codori Thicket Walnut Battlefield Tree Ring

The Codori Farm is just south of Gettysburg on the east side of Emmitsburg Road. At the time of the Battle of Gettysburg, the farm was owned by Nicholas Codori, who came to America from Alsace, France, in 1828 at the age of 19. He bought the 273-acre farm in 1854, replacing the original log house with today's two-story frame building. 
Late on the afternoon of the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Union Gen. Winfield Hancock reacted to a gap in the Union line of several hundred yards near and about the Codori Farm. Approximately 1,700 Alabama infantry were rapidly advancing toward that gap. If they overran the gap, the Union army would be split in two. The only troops at the ready were 262 men of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Although vastly outnumbered, Hancock ordered the Minnesotans to fill the gap and delay the Alabama troops. Hancock needed time until additional reinforcements could join the attack. While lasting only 10 to 15 minutes, the Battle of Codori Thicket was a Union success; however, 215 of the Minnesota Infantry’s 262 soldiers were either killed or wounded. They delayed the advance of the Confederates and stood fast until Union reinforcements secured the gap, which would again be tested during Pickett’s Charge the next day. It was estimated that more than 500 Confederate soldiers were buried on the Codori Farm after the battle.