Cooper's Monument

This is the monument that currently stands at Cooper’s second day position on East Cemetery Hill. This is not the original capstone, as we just went through the process of replacing it. The original stone was placed on the battlefield in 1880 by original members of the battery. This was the tenth stone ever placed on the battlefield, and the first that designated an artillery unit. In 2013, it was also the first stone on the battlefield ever to be replaced. We had been working on the project for years since we had noticed that the old stone was completely unreadable, and we worked close with the National Park Service to try to get as much information on it as possible. We had information about what was on each side from the diary of one of the original members, but there were some sides that we could not put anything on because it was severely worn and the National Park Service said that even their special laser technology could not pick up any markings. So we went with what they said, even though we had information that showed otherwise, and we dedicated the new capstone on Remembrance Day on the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. We had a formal ceremony, a wreath laying, and I played Taps. After we dedicated the new monument, we participated in the parade and later went home.