A “lost” lithograph of Gettysburg Battlefield’s Devils Den was recently found by a DCNR geochemist who was researching an unrelated topic in the Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey’s library. Robert Smith found the image in a publication produced by the Bureau’s predecessor, the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, which existed between 1874 and 1895. Bureau personnel estimate the lithograph was completed around 1880. The plate’s creator remains anonymous.
“It was not where it would normally have been,” Smith said. “It was not in with the other Adams County documents.” Smith said the plate was likely unindexed and unreferenced, and therefore remained “hidden” for many years.
The lithograph shows the peculiar geologic features of Devils Den’s massive rock outcroppings. The battlefield’s geology—from Devils Den’s rocks to the Union’s high ground including the round tops, Cemetery Hill, and Culp’s Hill—had an overwhelming impact on the battle’s outcome. Because the two-color lithograph was published in 1880, the depiction is no more than 17 years after the 1863 battle.
DCNR is planning to donate a pristine copy of the lithograph to the Gettysburg National Military Park. It has not been decided yet how the lithograph will be used at the park.
For more information on the lithograph, contact DCNR’s Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey at (717) 787-2169.
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