snakes!

[adamandnicole]

A buddy of mine was talking today about seeing a poisonous snake. I told him that the only poisonous snake I've ever seen was a copperhead at the Carnifex Ferry battlefield. I came about two feet from stepping on it, I'm lucky it moved or I'd have never seen it.

That being said, it got me wondering how many guys have actually seen snakes at events. I seem to remember a rumor that someone was bitten at the 2001 Manassas event, but never heard if it was true or not. I suppose you southerners have probably seen a few at your events.

Anyone else had any experiences?

Regards,

Adam Dickerson

[cprljohnivey]

Re: snakes!

A friend of mine was bitten by a copperhead at an event on the finger. Dang near lost his hand due to that.

[IowaYank]

Re: snakes!

Brad, that was the first thing that came to my mind. I believe that was at Pickets Mill in 08 correct??? Last weekend at the Cav COI I had a snake wrapped around my shotgun on my bedroll, thanks to Tommy Jackson and Guys Musgrove!!!!! :-)

[GreencoatCross]

Re: snakes!

Saw a HUGE copperhead at South Union, KY years ago. It was sunning itself in the grass next to a building where there were maybe 50 people, so someone just walked over to it and chopped it's head off.

Heard/saw a timber rattler at Carnifex Ferry during my first event about 14 years ago.

Someone bunking next to me at Picket's Mill 2004 fell asleep complaining about his drawers falling apart and woke up with a small copperhead under him.

And a funny period account regarding snakes from "The Diary of Wyman S. White, First Sergeant Co. F 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters."

"WEST'S SNAKE - LOSE MY HAVERSACK
Along sometime in the night as we all were sleeping, Comrade West sprung to his feet and gave a snort of a grunt (ough! ough!). "SNAKE!! SNAKE!!" he roared it out so he woke up the whole regiment. There was quite a search for the snake that West said he felt crawling under his blanket as he lay on the ground. There was no snake to be found, but every man that was bunking there in the woods but me, got up and carried his blanket out and bunked down in the cornfield. I kept to my bunk in the woods all alone and slept until morning. No snake troubled me but a sneak stole my haversack with all my rations and cooking utensils which were in it.
My bunk was made by first laying my rubber blanket on the ground, then a piece of tent, then my blouse on that, then my knapsack for a pillow and my haversack strap around my knapsack, letting the bag of the haversack lay out beyond my knapsack. Then when I laid my head on the knapsack, I thought it would be impossible for anyone to get my haversack without my knowing it. But this thief was a slick one, slick enough to cut the strap of the haversack off the bag at both ends and not wake me at all. West lay his haversack close beside him and I have no doubt that what he thought was a snake was the thief pulling at his haversack and he felt the strap move in his bunk. It being very dark, his thief slunk away until all was quiet, and then when he found I was sound asleep, cut the strap on my haversack, took the bag and left the strap just where I put it when I went into bunk. In the morning I found myself without food, coffee, or cooking utensils. Then I wished snakes had a terror for me and I had moved out of the woods with the rest of the boys."

[Michael Comer]

Re: snakes!

I find it interesting that it seems that guarding your haversack while you slept seemed to be a common thing for this particular group.

As to snakes, while I've had many run-ins with them through life and have several friends that have been bitten by copperheads and cottonmouths, I've never seen one at an event but I do remember the Pickett's Mill event with that snakebite although it was on the Federal side and I was Confederate so I wasn't nearby. Copperheads are usually not aggressive and don't strike unless they feel threatened or you land right on top of them. At Pickett's Mill, the poor fellow must have stuck his hand right by or on the snake since he got nailed in the finger.

An old saw I've always heard about copperheads is that while walking, the third person in line gets bitten - the first one makes the snake take notice, the second one makes him alarmed and ready to protect himself and the third one is the triggers the self defense mechanism.

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: snakes!

Too stupid to make up!

I was at an event not far from Granbury, Texas (I think it was 2000, or 2001, camping in the woods)
Had settled in my blanket roll near the camp fire, (It wasn't quite dark yet) and was gathering in sticks and wood laying about, to feed the fire latter on. I picked up a big piece of bark, when to my amazement, there was a baby Broad-Banded Copperhead laying under the bark!

A beautiful specimen, about 9" long, with a tail that still had yellow color on it. My reaction..."Hey Guys, come here, I've got a baby copperhead here."

Well, those that elected to stay at that instant, were keenly not interested in getting close to the thing as I was, were wondering if anymore of the critters were around! So after listening to "Get rid of it," or "throw it in the fire" I calmly got a stick, got the little critter wrapped around, and while he was bitting on the stick, I walked him good long ways down the creek where no one was going to be anyway, and turned him loose.

Back in my Snake collecting days (BEFORE I was married) I had quite a collection of snakes, and having an adult Broad-Banded Copperhead in my collection, I couldn't do the baby critter no harm.

The picture attached is the one I had as a pet, he ate everything I gave him to eat!

Kevin Dally

[J.H.Berger]

Re: snakes!

Well very interesting thread! I was wondering about that topic for a while. You have to know that we Europeans especially from Germany do not have any dangerous snakes etc. so I was wondering which ones are around in the ssouth and which in lets say Pennsylvania.
As we are not familiar withAmerican flora and fauna it can be quiite tricky if we join events abroad.

[Cornfed]

Re: snakes!

I was the one bitten by the Copperhead on the right little finger at Pickett's Mill. I was on the Confederate side and it occurred shortly after we deployed as skirmishers in the woods Saturday morning. We came to a stop behind a large tree that was laying on the ground. I knelt on one knee and was putting my right hand on the ground and I think I put it on the snake which I did not know was there. I think he got only one fang in me as there was just one trickle of blood coming from the bite. I was in the local hospital for three days. Two surgeries later (two parts of a skin graft procedure) and many weeks later the finger was ok. The finger is still numb at the tip and I've lost some flesh but its useable. I had wondered if there were any mention of snakes in period accounts. Looking forward to reading some if any are posted.

[john duffer]

Re: snakes!

While surveying I make it a point to never step over a fallen log for this very reason but imagine if I were being shot at I'd take my chances with the snake. :)

[4VADRUMMER]

Re: snakes!

That's the biggest copperhead I've ever seen Pritchett-Ball! I've only had run ins with the critters in the fall bow hunting or in the yard while cutting grass. I do remember the fellow getting bit! (That's terrible Phil! I'm glad you are fine now.) We had an Officer at work a few years back who tried to be the Crocodile Hunter and pick a copperhead up with his hands that had made it's way into some poor ladies laundry room. Well, needless to say the snake didn't like being picked up and bit the Officer on the hand and that Officer got to spend 3 days in the hospital. Copperheads are very laid back creatures as long as you don't step on them or try to pick them up! I hope I'm never on the receiving end of a bite and especially not at an event!

[Doughboy]

Re: snakes!

We were doing a tactical near Boonsborough if I recall correctly and moving through the woods when a copperhead was spotted wrapped around a tree about waist high. Near enough to have bitten. Rather than giving it wide berth someone had the wise idea to knock it from the tree onto a road where a number of people were waiting. Luckily the snake took off for the woods again and disappeared. We were fortunate no one was bitten. Lesson is a snake is much less dangerous if left alone.
I have heard it said a young copperhead is much more dangerous than an adult. Reason being the baby has no way to regulate and releases all his venom where an adult is aware how much energy it takes to regenerate and will only use enough venom to protect itself based on perceived threat level...

[Matt Woodburn]

Re: snakes!

Phil, you say the Copperhead was on the Confederate side. I'll say he knew it and I'm not surprised!

And although it wasn't a poisonous snake, I did dine on one at Perryville one year with a few pards.

[jake.koch]

Re: snakes!

I came within an extra step of getting bit by a pretty big cottonmouth at Bummers. We were foraging in the low marshy ground near the river. Luckily I happened to be looking low or I would have stepped on or near it. It was coiled but had to be a good six feet long. I think it was stirred up by the flood. It scared the crap out of me. My buddy wanted to kill it and bring it into eat as we had had nothin since the evening before. To this day I wish we would have done so but the better part of valor for me was getting as far away as possible.

There are a couple of good period references I will have to dig up when I get home. One deals with the 9th Ohio when they were in West Virginia. The other is in the book For Cause and Comrades. Apparantly some of the westerners here at Vicksburg enjoyed hazing the easterner reenforcements by telling them about monster man eating snakes (and gators). I will have to look up the references later today.

[Shockoe Hill Cats]

Re: snakes!

Shoot! I deleted the photo of a HUGE black snake we nearly stepped on at the Wilderness a couple of years ago. Anyways, it was there around springtime.

In the meantime, enjoy a photo I just snapped of the "petrified snake" at Tredegar that has probably been gathering dust for 10 years now...



P.S. I also had forgotten about the black snake that fell down from the rafters at Fort Harrison Visitor Center while I working last summer! Black snakes love Richmond Battlefield!

[Michael Comer]

Re: snakes!

I asked this question on here several years ago about whether anyone had period accounts of snakes being a bother. Nobody answered that one but I was pleased to see the one on this thread. My guess is that for the most part they may have been somewhat rare. When you have thousands of men, horses, guns etc moving into an area I would think the vibrations, noise and bustle would drive most of them out of the area.

If anyone has an account it would be of interest to see it. But, it seems like snake accounts are much like mosquito accounts. Perhaps it just didn't rate a mention in a soldier's letter or diary because it was too mundane.