Snakes On A Battlefield: Devil's Den, Gettysburg

[@brianmitson8032]

I grew up in a 1790's stone house along Carroll's Tract Road, near Cashtown. Judging from the shredded snake skin we used to find in the attic of our two story house, the snakes grew really long, but not very thick. I remember our cat teasing a 7 foot blacksnake in our backyard, always taking care to stay beyond striking distance. Blacksnakes were considered an asset, since they killed mice and rats. I remember seeing a massive timber rattler writhing, stunned, in the bed of a pickup truck. A hunter had brought it down from South Mountain. It was much larger than the rattlers we have here in California. One of my buddies was bitten by a copperhead in a cherry tree near Cashtown. He became gravely ill, but survived after an antivenin treatment.

[@josephbrandt6778]

I've been to the field 9 times for many days each time and have been all over the rocks and hills never saw a snake anywhere....🤔

[@onetakeadventureswithjoeld4679]

I've been there Poring rain and cold, Also creepy thing me and my family experienced the sound of cannon fire off in the distance , three or four booms. There was no reenactments in that weather. Joel

[@homersreluctantodyssey2508]

the deer ticks carrying lyme's disease are way scarier than a 10 foot black snake. please take the effort to check for ticks after a walk around the battlefield, you'll be glad you did

[@michaelvaughn8864]

That occurred with my cousin's ex-boyfriend about 7 or 8 years ago when he and some pals were visiting the Gettysburg battlefield. He was trekking thru Devil's Den toward Big & Little Round Tops when he noticed 2 deer ticks on the upper right thigh part of his pants leg. He knocked them off and checked himself out for others. Thankfully, there were no more😯

[@archieguitarz4700]

Two weeks ago I found one on my shirt after walking some of the paths near the Rose farm. Good thing I was wearing a white shirt or I probably would not have noticed.

[@clarkhull7546]

good advice

[@onepunch7632]

I was born and raised in Gettysburg about 6 miles west of Eisenhower's Farm. Don't recall ever seeing any snakes in the battlefield but we did love climbing around on the rocks at Devil's Den. Just went back to visit the park about a month ago and now the place is overrun with those dang Spotted Lanternflies.

[@fload46d]

Here in northern Indiana we have Massasauga (sp) rattlers which are smaller than timber rattlers but probably just as deadly. So it's very possible there are rattlers in the Gettysburg area. Thank you for the video. I took my son several years ago to GNP and we took the bus tour. I was in Vietnam but i was really moved by the scope of that battle and all the lives lost in those three days.

[@dougeldredge]

we had black rat and rattler snakes , about 3 hrs north of gettysburg, in the poconos, near hawley ,pa.

[@Angie-GoneSoon]

I've always heard and thought of devil's den referring to the ghosts from the civil war. I had no idea it was because of snakes.

[@michaelvaughn8864]

The name Devil's Den was reportedly originated in the 1840s bc of the snake legend, Ms. Roberts. It came about nearly 15 to 20 years prior to the Civil War. At least that's the allegory, ma'am

[@Angie-GoneSoon]

@@michaelvaughn8864 thank you 😊

[@michaelvaughn8864]

@@Angie-GoneSoon You're welcome, hun😊 My pleasure

[@michaelvaughn8864]

@@Angie-GoneSoon I've actually been there to Devil's Den, Ms. Roberts. It's an imposing sight. I stood on 1 of the huge boulders that make up its formation. It offers an amazing view of Little Round Top a relatively short distance away. It's picturesque👌

[@shiloh6519]

Fascinating!

[@joetruth5924]

Shedded snake skins are always longer than the snake that shed it. Snakes usually snag their skin on something so they can crawl out of it. This causes the skin to stretch to a length longer than the snake itself.

[@drewscoggins3309]

Took a high school group on a field trip there a couple of years ago. Beautiful day when we went to Devils den. Could not access due to repairs on the site at the time. So did not see any snakes. We did walk the distance between it and little round top, like some of our ancestors did 161 years ago! Alot safer this time

[@robertmartin5308]

My gggrandfather fought here, he survived and I wonder if he saw any snakes.

[@Knards]

You know how to tell a story. Well done

[@kurtguelde9081]

Shed skins are about 20% longer than the actual snake . Still an impressive size for a ratsnake.

[@Aussie3225]

Thank you for a very enlightening video, nicely narrated. Australian viewer.

[@AdamsCountyHistoricalSociety]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@williamm374]

As a skinny kid in the 70s, I had a great time crawling through Devil's Den. There was one long, narrow tunnel in particular. I remember it was fairly crowded and there wasn't so much vegetation around it as there is now.

[@billlawrence1899]

A curator at the Washington zoo reptile house once told me that black snakes will kill rattlesnakes. With that, when we captured a blacksnake, we took it to our place in W. Va and turned it loose. Blacksnakes are your friend.

[@rickymeadows5176]

Black snakes are natures awesome mouse traps, sadly people often kill the juveniles mistaking them for Copperheads, the juveniles are not black , their colors and markings closely mimic that of a Copperhead.

[@doughill3396]

I live in Tennessee and we call them chicken snakes or black racers.

[@annelefevre9457]

Bill Lawrence....not my friend!

[@billlawrence1899]

@@annelefevre9457 I understand. Mark Twain said that since Eve, every lady he ever knew when introduced to a snake would quickly excuse herself and break for the nearest timber.

[@wv171]

I live down southern WV. On ATV pop around curve about 15/20 mph on old mine road ran over Copperhead good way over 6'. Streached out cross the road. Look like blame 2 to 3 " metal pipe sized round. Here I am in pair shorts ole low cut tennis shoes on a quick short Sunday ride. Nope no way I go back try get that snake. Biggest Copperhead I ever seen. Yes It had that pit- viper head. I am sure what it was. I throwed my legs up & prayed 🙏 God that snake dont flip up & fly up my back tires as few will do. I killed 1 in my yard was 5' 4" last year. About 1/2 away from spot. When Least expect see 1 is when I normally do. I little kid in 60's. I remember they killed Rattlesnake in Church Kitchen Women came out screaming you thought they seen The Devil himself. How it got in ? Think few days before was cleaning & left doors open. True story.

[@GhostofSicklesleg]

Now my rotation of history favorite channels has increased, thanks to NBT for introducing this great channel to my attention. Now it’s The History Underground, National Battlefield Trust, The History Guy and Atun-Shei plus Not Thursdays all great history channels. Anyone have any others to recommend? Thanks

[@AdamsCountyHistoricalSociety]

Wow, thanks!

[@tomy.1846]

Check out a channel called The Carpetbagger. He travels to many unusual places and dives into some interesting & entertaining history! :)

[@Julie-ms9ss]

Have you tried History Hunters ? ( Jeff and Sarah ) They have an excellent channel. Very interesting stories. Enjoy.

[@Smitty-mt2dv]

Found a Black Rat snake cross the road in front of us at that place on the 3rd of July 2021.

[@Fresh-tw7ev]

Was he observing the anniversary too? A good time to go to GNB

[@dadsongs]

Oh, God no! There's snakes? The next thing you'll tell us is that there are ghosts!

[@molipaul]

This was fascinating. I’ve always heard the name Devil’s Den derived from the existence of an unusually large rattlesnake that was often seen in that area some 20 or 30 years before the battle. Perhaps that is incorrect, but interesting to know that at least there is some historical accuracy in regards to snakes, in general, in that location. Loved the video! 🇺🇸

[@AdamsCountyHistoricalSociety]

Thank you so much!

[@jerrycottrell302]

Blue or Grey?

[@blukeblue1235]

Very interesting video. I love history in general especially how places got their names. I also love natural history so it was a double delight!

[@DH.2016]

Interesting video. Amazingly, given the snake connection, when you look at the so-called 'Table Rock' in Devil's Den from a certain angle (from the road), it looks like a giant snake's head.

[@Framer_Mike]

Early morning right on the top road of Devils Den.

[@dinahnicest6525]

We saw a lizard on top of the big rocks at Devil's Den in mid-summer.

[@brianfergus839]

I LOVE your profile pic LOL

[@wendeln92]

I definitely saw a large black snake when I visited Devil's Den. The presence of rattlesnakes was something that I thought about while walking through some of the more wooded areas but never saw one. Also, saw a large snake sunning itself on a tree limb while visiting Guilford Courthouse Battlefield many years ago. .

[@garymorris1856]

Very interesting, snakes at Gettysburg, never really occurred to me.

[@100texan2]

I wonder if any soldiers had a run in with snakes there?

[@heathermanning5368]

I was there back in 2017! Thank goodness i didn’t see any snakes!😅😬🙏🐍

[@Pro-Deo]

I'm surprised that after all the times I've been to Devils Den in the summer even during early morning I've never seen even one snake. Eight feet long for a Black Rat snake is kind of large though the ones we all saw in Montana were about 18-20 feet long and shiny pitch black with no white on the underside. Unless they were pitch black boas in the wild but in the Rocky Mountains? But I'm even more surprised no one especially little kids have never slipped and fell into the crevices and died there. Let's hope none ever do.

[@marysheamahiques3712]

Hi Tim,it's Mary,Peggy's Sister...It was a pleasure to see you last weekend. I have a question: what about Spiders?

[@cutbaitkenny]

Do you give tours?

[@maryhammond1799]

I'm visiting in January from now on.

[@Love_Blanche]

@5:42 with headphones, i clearly hear cannons

[@brianfergus839]

3:44 “Heap Big Snake”. That was my Indian name as well

[@SWAMPHUNTER644]

I visited Devils Den around July 4, 1995 with my family and my two young children enjoyed playing around the rocks in your video. Some years later while doing some research about the battlefield, I read that some bodies of soldiers were found dead around Devils Den with no apparent wounds. I immediately suspected venomous snakes such as copperheads and timber rattlesnakes as the cause since soldiers remained there overnight when the snakes might be out hunting. I contacted the park service to ask if snakes were present on the battlefield and never received a reply. As a biologist employed by a neighboring state environmental agency, I recognized Devils Den as prime snake habitat. It would be interesting to know if some soldiers did die of snakebite at Devils Den. I shudder now at the thought of my children playing in and around the crevices in the rocks. It would seem prudent for the park service to make people aware of encountering a snake in the area and post signs to be cautious. Have any visitors ever been bitten?

[@rr8753]

Are there poisonous snakes there, Was there snakes there during the battle

[@travisbayles870]

Two of my Confederate ancestors who were in the 20th Georgia Infantry Regiment part of Bennings brigade fought here

[@wagonlife2778]

I was waiting for a big bastard to slither along behind him.

[@jjano2320]

I have a large black snake on my farm. It scares the heck out of me once in a while but I try to be a man and ignore it.

[@briankesterson4365]

I wonder if the snakes will come back in force once the Gettysburg NPS close the area of Little Round Top to stabilize the rocks?

[@schallrd1]

I thought the video would have a glimpse of one of the snakes.

[@carolcraig2580]

I'm not sure if I'm glad or dismayed by watching this video as I hate snakes and am visiting soon. Lol! Snakes won't stop me though...😉

[@gettysburgghost]

Black Snakes get HUGE!!! Thank God their harmless! Once in awhile you'll see a dead copperhead on the park roads they don't move and like the heat from the road Black Snakes will slither away very quickly!

[@MarkFlashman]

Ever come across a Copperhead on the battlefield.

[@kathybradbury]

Never been there, but it looks like it could be an ancient monolithic site-not natural but man made.

[@LoyaltyOfDogsDotCom]

Gettysburg locals here. The boulders at Devils Den were formed out of igneous rock approximately 200 million years ago.

[@lynnstagemyer3755]

They think a lot of men. Were killed by copperheads. The park had closed Devil's Den to snakes can not remember the year.

[@tomgreen8390]

Them things dont bite do it ?

[@hannahllewellyn163]

Devil 😈 den is where was a bloody battle there there also videos Evp people that go there to this place

[@clarkhull7546]

I wonder if hearing all that gunfire and canon shots scared the poor 🐍 snakes back then. Lol 😆

[@oldgoat1890]

American Indian: "Heep big B/S story".

[@vito336]

I wonder about snakes in 1863

[@GhostofSicklesleg]

No step on snek! 🐍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@larry1824]

I've had em in my front yard!

[@tmac8892]

Nobody there

[@michaelmilburn9638]

But not today!

[@hannahllewellyn163]

Love civil war history of chickagga history I thick people forget they also died on chickagga battle field to you kown and if u use a phone crama with black or white u can see civil war ghost 👻 civil war am buff of civil war myself 2021

[@johnnowakowski4062]

You should have made a hatband out of that snake skin. At that size you could have made a pair of boots...

[@TheGadgettracker]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Uh-uh. Nope.

[@williamjarman9076]

Sounds like a big tale I never seen a black snake over 8 or 9 feet. On google they say 8ft. I tell ya if your afraid of snakes and or suprised by one they look like monsters....lol.

[@eziehm]

First!

[@Framer_Mike]

I always see blk rat snakes a plenty when I'm there.. always... plenty of em too... crazy

[@williamparadeis417]

One by one just cut them up and fry

[@annelefevre9457]

I gave you a thumbs down , not because you weren’t good.....your hissssstory was good......BUT I ABSOLUTELY HATE SNAKES,and never want to see one or touch one. I can’t even make myself touch a picture of one! You have just made it so I will never come to Gettysburg......even tho I love hearing the history of Gettysburg.

[@AdamsCountyHistoricalSociety]

That's ok. We hope to earn your "thumbs up" on the next video! :)

[@dbach1025]

Perfect name for a sake pit. Yuck.

[@georgehays4900]

Dude get your teeth fixed. I’m from Pennsylvania, they have dentists there.

[@andrewf2]

JesusChrist...i would rather have walked Pickett's Charge in slow motion pounding on a drum than coming across any snake anywhere.

[@Snowboarder16]

I agree