Tag Archives: Herman Cope

Herman Cope on “the fate of the city decided In 24 hours”

Baltimore, Letters, War of 1812,

On September 12, 1814, Herman Cope, a merchant at 76 Sharp Street, wrote to his Uncle in Philadelphia and shared the news that his family had fled the city:

As our friends in Philada may feel anxious to hear from us at a moment when all is threatened I avail myself of a few moments before the mail closes to inform thee that all our families have been so fortunate as to meet a conveyance some few miles in the country where I am in hopes they will be safe – our store goods and some household articles are sent out – The British came into the River yesterday – their forces variously … from 30 to 60 sail – the wind … away they anchored about 10 miles … the fort – where they have been landing their men all this morning- the lands force not known. It is supposed an attack will be made by land and water and the fate of the city decided In 24 hours – all the militia have marched.

In haste [then] &c.

Herman Cope

In January, Herman Cope had hoped for peace with Britain in time to import dry-goods to sell in the fall. Clearly his hopes had not been realized.

Courtesy Haverford College Special Collections.
Courtesy Haverford College Special Collections.

Herman and Mary Cope “lament the loss of a fine daughter in the moment of her birth”

Baltimore, Everyday Life,

On January 31, 1814, Herman Cope wrote to his uncle in Philadelphia in an optimistic mood. A Quaker merchant living in Baltimore at 76 Sharp Street, Cope had heard the rumors that the war with Britain might end soon, possibly “in time to admit Dry Goods from England for fall sales” and he asked his Uncle’s help in making the necessary introductions to London merchants. Business taken care of Cope turns to a more sober topic concluding:

“I suppose this you have heard that my dear Mary & myself have to lament the loss of a fine daughter in the moment of her birth – the doctors skill was unavailing – ‘The Lord giveth & He taketh away’ – Mary is pretty well – please remember me to aunt Mary Grandmother & Cousins”

Hundreds of families in Baltimore, Herman and Mary Cope among them, dealt with the death of infants and young children in 1814. Reporting in February 1814, the Niles’ Weekly Register shared some figures on Baltimore’s mortality for previous year: 249 children under the age of one died in 1814 and seventy children were stillborn.

Learn more on the history of birth in the 1700s and 1800s with the Wellcome Library’s two-part series on “Birth: a changing scene” — Part I: Images of home birth in the Wellcome Library and Part II: A controversial figure of man-midwife.

Source: Cope, Herman M., 1789-1869. “1814 January 31, Baltimore, to Uncle, Philadelphia :: Cope Evans Family Papers,” January 31, 1814. Cope – Evans family papers, 1732-1911. Haverford College Special Collections.