Desperate for some fall color I noticed this tree earlier today at the edge of a road passing through the Manassas Battlefield. Of course, when I went back, it was drizzling (don't ask about the blue sky - that was an post processing experiment). The park folks just restored this section of fence - it's very odd in that the diagonal pieces are so long; they're usually just a bit higher than the horizontal rails.
The tree is a sassafras. I never realized that they grew this large. My Dad was fond of the tea made from its roots (the root bark if I recall). That's where I first encountered the tree and they were usually very small. A very distinctive tree - it has three different shapes of leaves.