Emmor Cope was an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

officer of the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

noted for the "Map of the Battlefield of Gettysburg from the original survey made August to October, 1863", which he researched by horseback as a sergeant after being ordered back to Gettysburg by Maj. Gen.

George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He ...

. Cope is also noted for commemorative era battlefield administration and designs, including the layout of the

1913 Gettysburg reunion The 1913 Gettysburg reunion was a Gettysburg Battlefield encampment of American Civil War veterans for the Battle of Gettysburg's 50th anniversary. The June 29–July 4 gathering of 53,407 veterans (~8,750 Confederate) was the largest ever Civil ...

. Cope had enlisted as a Private of Company A, (First

Pennsylvania Reserves The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam a ...

), temporarily detached to Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery, and mustered out as a

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army ...

aide-de-camp of Maj Gen

Gouverneur K. Warren Gouverneur Kemble Warren (January 8, 1830 – August 8, 1882) was an American civil engineer and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for arranging the last-minute defense of Little Round Top during the Battle ...

. On July 17, 1893, Cope was appointed the Topographical Engineer of the Gettysburg National Park Commission ( established for "ascertaining the extent of... the trolley") and oversaw the 1893-5 battlefield survey with

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevatio ...

at the Gettysburg center square. By 1904, Cope was the first park superintendent, and, after the commission became defunct in March 1922 when the last commissioner died, became the battlefield head through the remainder of the commemorative era of the

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service. The GNMP propert ...

. Cope's designs include structures (e.g., the original park "gateway"), markers (1908 GNMP bronze tablet/granite monolith), buildings (the 1903 Roller and Storage Building), roads (Cross, Brooke, and De Trobriand avenues), and the

observation tower An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...

at Gettysburg and

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

. He oversaw the development of post-war maps drawn by GNPC cartographer Schuyler A. Hammond, as well as a wooden relief map of the battlefield by J. C. Wierman for the 1904

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

(on display at the

Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center The Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center is a Gettysburg National Military Park facility, with a museum about the American Civil War, the 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama, and the tour center for licensed Battlefield Guides and for buses to see the Getty ...

). Emmor Cope is buried with his wife along the outside of the

Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery created for Union casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought between July 1 to 3, 1863, resulted in the larges ...

fence near the New York State Memorial, and had a daughter and son: Jean Wible and John B. Cope (1877-1903). Cope's 1996 biography is ''If You Seek His Monument- Look Around: E.B. Cope and the Gettysburg National Military Park''.

Designs

Over 40

historic district contributing structure History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

s were designed by Emmor Cope, including: *Observation towers at five Gettysburg locations beginning with the 1895 Big Round Top Observation Tower and the 1906 Valley Forge Observation Tower *

"gateway at the entrance to Hancock avenue on the Taneytown road" *35 cast iron site ID tablets ("guide" tablets) *1909 US Regulars monument1909 US Regulars monument
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Emmor Bradley American cartographers Architects from Pennsylvania Union Army colonels 1834 births 1927 deaths Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Adams County, Pennsylvania)