National Park Service. Arrowhead appears Gettysburg National
Military Park 2021 Winter lecture series Emer Copes
relief, not lecture series this year. It's virtual and so you're
watching this hopefully from your home computer or one of
your mobile devices.
Feel free to check back with our Park Web page on a regular basis
because we update with new virtual programs through our
Facebook page. So if you enjoy this, there's more where it came
from. And today I'm going to be talking to you about a museum
object. In fact, that's the focus all throughout the series
is to pick a artifact in the museum. The Ranger will speak to
you on that artifact.
And elaborate on it so that you'll have a greater
appreciation of the museum that is the Gettysburg National
Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. We hope you'll come back
and see the artifact in person. Well, the one that I picked was
the emmor cope map and you can see it behind me. It's 12 1/2
feet by 9 and a half feet and it's 4 inches thick.
And it was put together for the world's fair in Saint Louis in
1904. Now I chose this map
cause. It's always fascinated me, and I've relied on it
heavily in doing programs on the battlefield, 'cause it's so
meticulous in its design and its precision of the Gettysburg
Battlefield. Let's talk a little bit about the person who
designed it and will just evolve along in our story here. Immer
Cope Live 90. Three years. He was born in 1834, lived to 1927
and he really left a.
Large thumbprint on this battlefield. If you go around
the battlefield today, you'll see things that he designed. For
instance, if you go to the Park
Maintenance facility. That's on Pleasanton Ave. It's a brick
structure. It has a number of
Romanesque archways. The parks maintenance facilities are there
or sawyers work there and we have so many other skilled
artisans and machinery and so
forth. That was designed by Emer Cope.
Another feature on the battlefield that you would
recognize would be there's a beautiful stone archway entrance
to Hancock Ave. It's along tiny town roads, very pronounced if
you go to the Parks National Cemetery. Gettysburg National
Cemetery. In the parking lot there is this conspicuous,
almost bigger than life stone archway that you could walk
right through and.
That handsome design was by Emer Cope, yet another thumbprint
that he left on the battlefield.
Was the US regulars monument? If you walk along the ground where
pickets Chargers repulsed on the third day of the Battle of
Gettysburg? It's the monument that looks like the Washington
monument is bigger than life at several stories high. It was
dedicated in 1909 by then president Howard Taft. He was at
the ceremony, but it was designed by Emer Cope.
Emma Cope also designed the towers that you see on the
battlefield as you drive around to the various stops three and
six and 14, and you climb them and you can see for miles that's
thanks to immer cope.
And so we could go on and on about this. Another important
thumbprint that he left.
Was the general's headquarter markers which are beryls from
cannons in their vertical there on a stone pedestal and
their vertical or upright? And then you'll see a plaque
beneath them that designates that this was General
Hancock's headquarters or General Uhles headquarters.
There all across the battlefield.
Amber Cope did that in the 1890s and early 1900s. He marked the
generals headquarters by the way, the paper trail for why he
chose to put those headquarter markers where there are has been
lossed. So you know, today will sometimes still debate over why
a generals headquarters.
Should have been marked here rather than there and what
was the reasoning that Co. Pad, but it was cope that
made those decisions.
So Cope had a major.
Shaping hand in the design of the park. So where does that
come from? Well, it goes back to his military experience.
During the Civil War, he started out in Company A of the first
Pennsylvania Reserves. And he was a private. Then he moved
onto a Sergeant. Then he went over to the artillery to the
fifth US battery. Come battery
C. Section C battery. See rather 5th US battery.
And.
He that would have been weird battery there. Marker is along
Hancock Ave, the high watermark of the Confederacy. He was a
Corporal and then a Sergeant of artillery and then from there he
went to aid to camp on Governor Warren staff. When Governor
Warren became general of the 5th Core and he was called captain
of Engineers was immer cope.
Well then General Meade or I should say before that general
meets sent him back to
Gettysburg. Soon after the
battle. He came here in August, the Battle of Gettysburg had
been in July of 1863. Coke came here from Virginia, leaving the
Army of Potomac, riding North to Gettysburg arrived here in
August. And then into the early fall he helped survey
the first map of the battlefield, one of the first
extensive Maps of the battlefield.
In 1893, as we Fast forward, he came on board.
With the Gettysburg National
Park Commission. They were handed the keys from the
Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, who had helped
preserve the battle for the first 30 years.
After its occurrence and the Battlefield Commission came here
to study the electric trolley and to determine whether it was
two commercial. Eventually a Supreme Court decision
determined through right of eminent domain to remove the
trolley was too commercialized. The veterans had filed suit in
favor of removing that trolley.
Coke came here to study the trolley, but along with that to
continue studying the battlefield. And it's early as
1890. Three he was a Topa graphical engineer for the
Gettysburg National Park Commission, so that's how he had
such a shaping hand in the things that I mentioned earlier.
The upright cannons that Mark generals headquarters and the
towers on the battlefield. What is now our maintenance facility,
which was originally a place where machinery was kept take
care of the first roads.
The US regulars monument.
He also became the first Superintendent of the
battlefield, the first Superintendent of the park,
during what we call the
commemorative error. And then eventually, is the Commission
died off as late as 1922? He was the last of the original
Gettysburg Battlefield. Gettysburg National Park
Commission. He was the last to survive, so he would just call
the head of the park. And that was in 1922. He would die in
1927. So this is a person that was a giant in the
historiography of the park. Ann, in helping to create memory,
post War shaping of the battlefield. Now this same emer
cope. Would design the map that you see behind me.
You have to understand he knew
the veterans. He talked to them. He corresponded with them.
He placed markers to generals on the battlefield, had a heavy
hand, an understanding the landscape and putting together a
first survey map of the battlefield in 1863.
So this map.
Contains
much of his adult life's experiences poured into this and
he was a Topa graphical engineer. It's an outstanding
map. I'm indicated this a little bit earlier. Over the years I've
had the good fortune of doing many battle walks on the
battlefield. Many of you've been out there with me and.
And I can't tell you how many times I was stuck.
And the old cyclorama building in the winter, and I couldn't
get out and study for the summer program that I had, so I'm stuck
in the winter and a cold.
Snow locked in place in the old cyclorama bill. I would walk out
into the lobby and study this map, and it was so precise it
helped me prepare over and over
again. I'll say just a little bit of background on this as to
where it's been stored. I made a reference to it being at the old
cyclorama building, the one that was built in 1962 for the
Centennial, and then it was torn
down. For the 150th in 2013, by then, the Cyclorama painting had
been moved to the new building where I'm standing.
But it had been there in that second story lobby. Some of your
remember it there and it wasn't vertical like it is now, but
rather it lay flat and so you could get really close to it.
And I leaned over and examined all the buildings before that.
Sure, there's no one watching me. That's old enough to
remember this, but maybe someone is. It was on display in the
Post Office on Baltimore Street on the 2nd floor or the National
Park Service had its
headquarters this. I've been in
the 1950s. So it has a long history in connection with the
park going all the way back to 1904 Wennemer coat. First
designed it for the Saint Louis World's Fair. Now let's say
something briefly about the Saint Louis World's Fair.
Saint Louis and Chicago both had a rivalry going on for which of
those two cities was the real true gateway to the West?
Eventually, as as if to put an exclamation point.
On their perspective, the people of Saint Louis put up a archway.
That people see on their way out West. And for those who have
ears to hear and eyes to see the messages, this is the true
gateway West of the Mississippi, but Chicago was starting to take
over from Saint Louis on that honor, and Saint Louis wanted to
make a statement. So in 1904 they had both the Olympics.
The Summer Olympics and they had.
They had the world's fair in
Saint Louis. Now, with the
world's fair. It's it's was vast, so there's too much there
to describe here, but some of the exhibits that were there to
show of the great technological breakthroughs and so forth. The
first X Ray machine.
One of the first versions of a radio was on display.
And numerous other technological agricultural breakthroughs were
on display. Well in one sector of the Saint Louis World Fair
Exhibition was this map and Cope had agreed to do it Eliahu route
who was a Secretary of War asking to do it and put a lot of
work into it.
And Oh my goodness this is to me. This is depending on
who you listen to. Everyone has their perspective this
winter, on which artifacts the most important. I think
this is the most important artifact that we have in our
collection, and I'm not the only one who feels that way.
Now as we look at the map.
Let's take a little bit closer.
Look at it. You can see the town.
Here off to your left.
The town of Gettysburg setup in its Roman grid, almost a
checkerboard design.
And the map helps us see things the way at the
battlefield was before
development. Now people have to live and there has to be harmony
and balance between having.
Preserve Park and people needing to live and have their homes and
businesses and so forth. So I'm not criticizing that way, but
through the natural development of people needing to live here,
some parts of the battlefield have been changed compared to
this map, and so we'll look at that. So let's break it down.
OK, we got the town.
There were 2400 people that live there at the time of the battle
and the town of Gettysburg.
We can see the Union official
Culp's Hill. Cemetery Hill Cemetery Ridge.
And the round tops.
You can see the famous Peach Orchard.
Up to the top here you can see Wolf Hill, which was on the far
extreme union right of the
battle line. Powers Hill
McAlister Hill. And then North of town you can see
Ridge lines like.
Cemetery, Ridge.
And then on down to Warfield
Ridge. This would be on the Confederate side and then North
of Gettysburg. There are points.
Such as Barlow's Knoll, just North of town.
And we can see Benner's Hill, East of town, which was a
Confederate artillery platform and a launching point to attack
Culp's Hill. It's amazing the detail that here if you want to
go down along Rock Creek.
It's there and you can find.
The foundations of McAllister
Mill. Of course, get permission before you go down
there, but the old mill foundations are still there
and you can see the buildings, probably not on
the camera, from from where you're viewing, but come back
and study this map. It's it's in the Rotunda area. That's
the circular area. It's not in the main museum is just
out of the main museum. It's across from the bookstore at
the Park Visitor Center.
OK, let's look at how it shows.
Terrain features I mentioned.
Seminary, Oak Ridge
But then down here we have.
Warfield Ridge named after James and Sarah Warfield. An African
American family who owned property at this, by the way,
the house is recently been restored by the park. Please
come out and see that you can see the famous Peach Orchard.
At the time of the battle, the Orchard extended a little bit
further North of where it is today, but this is the area of
the famous Peach Orchard that General Sickles moved out. Two
on the second day of the battle and we can see the Devils Den.
And. I want you to notice too along the Peach Orchard Ridge
here. Very very important. We call it the Emmitsburg Rd Ridge.
That's where the Southerners put their artillery to support their
attacks. In Picketts charge on the third day of the
battle and then you can see the National Cemetery.
Where the main union position was all during the three day of
the battle and the Union Artillery would have been down
along the ridgeline that we called Cemetery Ridge. You could
see the roads. Notice the Baltimore Pike, the Tawny Town
Road, and the Emmitsburg Rd. Those were the three arteries.
That the Union Army uses their main lines of communication.
And what I would say one of the points that IMMA cope was trying
to communicate to people at the Saint Louis World's Fair.
People in the early 1900s were becoming more and more
environmentally conscious. We call this by the early 19 teens
of the Progressive Era and what it had to do was.
Looking more smartly at the environment as industrialization
are carnaghan, Roosevelt, Vanderbilt, and Golden, others
begin to expand industrially across the country. There was
concerns about the natural environment disappearing and
also the social ills in the city from poor housing designs. So by
the late 19th century there was an interest in science.
And thus the world's fair reinforced that there was a
whole area known as the electricity room where
everything to do with new electrical devices. I mentioned
the radio earlier. The X Ray machine. People believe science
was going to correct the social ills of the cities created by
the industrialization and that the environment would be
protected. The idea of a National Park Service came into
existence in 1916. Out of this whole thought process. So to
child labor laws, women's right
to vote. All of these issues were part of that first
progressive movement, but underlying it was the idea
that scientifically.
Science itself would solve social ills in the cities, and
there are many examples that could give of this.
Engineers were considered part of this whole cyantific
improvement movement.
And so Amber Cope would have been part of that broader mailou
of science. Engineers were very important in the late 19th,
early 20th century. We have chemical engineers, civic
engineers, structural engineers, Mechanical Engineers all related
to industrialization, and so cope was trying to say.
To his audience, who would have watched who would have looked at
this in Saint Louis is look how cyantific we're preserving the
battlefield. Notice.
The roads notice the improved roads that run through the
battlefield. Wheatfield Rd, US
Avenue. Hunt Ave
Notice the wood lot.
He was saying to the people at Saint Louis. Look at how
cyantific we are in our design. We were were we have.
We're taking care of the wetlands.
We are taking care at Gettysburg of the open spaces.
We're at managing our crops.
We are carefully designing rose that will allow horse
and carriage to come through the battlefield
and later on the automobile. So there's
that whole Scientifique message going on.
From cope to his audience nonverbally that Gettysburg is
being preserved scientifically, and the idea of national parks
were all part of preserving.
The country at that time in competition with
industrialization. Couple more things and then we'll wrap up
here. Way more to talk about than we have time, but I want
you to. One of the things I want you to do when you come back and
look at this map. I can't emphasize enough how precise it
is. To the battlefield, I've walked the whole battlefield
many times. And I can tell you this matches up with it unlike
any other map I've ever seen in terms of helping you visualize
it in three dimension.
An areas that are no longer.
That have been altered by
development. If you want to know what they originally
look like, come back to this map. So for instance.
The area here Cemetery Hill directly West of Cemetery Hill.
You can see open grounds here.
And the reserves that were on standby for picketts charge had
the original charge succeeded.
Off to my right. The reserves.
That were facing Cemetery Hill.
And the Union defenders against them. That area is
now housing development.
It developed in the 1960s to help service the old psych.
Ram ability and the original visitor center, which was along
Steinwehr Ave and then a housing development ikerd behind it.
If you want to see what that ground was originally like where
Union 11 core defenders opposed General AP Hill's reserves on
the third day of the battle, and even the second day of the
battle. Come back to this map. The ground is pristine.
As it the way it looked at the time of the battle.
Also will say to you that.
This particular ground immediately West of Cemetery
Hill is where the 1913 reunion occur. The 50th anniversary of
the battle 56,000 veterans came here and they were in a large
tent city. Set up with a checkerboard design of sawdust
pads. And their photographs of this large tent city, but the
veterans would have been camped here. And by the way, Emma Cope
designed that encampment. Fascinating.
If you want to go over to the East side of Cemetery Hill, this
ground today has.
Two school buildings and a football field.
But if you come back to this map and look at it, you can see
precisely what it was like before the ground was developed.
And again, people have to live and we understand that Anne and
the people that live there or fine upstanding people in the
Community, needs schools. And so we're not suggesting otherwise.
But if you want to see what that ground look like at the time of
the battle, you can come back and view it here.
So.
Where I'm going to encourage you to do is to come back and study
the coat map. To see how the battlefield looked not only in
1904, but how it looked at prior
to development. I want you to be able to come back and study the
battlefield with the kind of precision that the veterans
could. I want you to see the handiwork of someone who knew
the veterans who corresponded with the veterans who posted
markers on the battlefield with the veterans who had a heavy
hand in the commemorative period and helping to establish this
battlefield before the green and Gray were actually on the
battlefield. When you come into the Park visitor center, turn
right. Go through the Causeway and you'll enter a Rotunda.
It's a circular area. Make your way about halfway around and
you'll see this map propped up against the wall across from
the bookstore. Visit the bookstore while you're here too
and then come over and take a look at the map and it's.
I would also say if any of you want to study the battle.
Add another layer of depth.
Read your books at home and then when you have a little bit of
cabin fever, come out and study the map, you'll find that they
are synchronized. Thank you so much. I want to thank Ana for
filming and editing and.
Well, hope to see you out on the battlefield somewhere out in the
not too dear distant future that we have no control over that.
Thank you for watching our virtual winner programs.