During the American Civil War, a "Copperhead" was anyone who opposed the war and supported the notion of a negotiated peace between the United States and the Confederate States. Most, but not all, Copperheads were Democrats, and the name was not exactly complimentary, casting the peace advocates as venomous reptiles.

The venomous reptile that these people were named for is the Northern Copperhead and in Somerset County, New Jersey, local authorities are warning residents about the presence of these animals.

Wildlife officials issued a warning in Somerset County, New Jersey, to be on guard for northern copperhead snakes after one of the species was seen last week in Watchung, a Garden State borough that's less than an hour from New York City.

The northern copperhead snake is described as having two shades of copper or a reddish-brown color.

It "inhabits rocky fields, berry thickets, woodlands and farmlands and may even be discovered among old mulch piles," said the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife in a "Snakes of New Jersey" publication.

Interesting that they feel the need for a warning now, since copperheads have always been found in the area. Granted this is a holiday weekend, and many will be outside, hiking, fishing, and so on.

"There have always been copperheads in the northern half of New Jersey and most people who live in copperhead areas coexist with them without conflict, often without even realizing they are there," said Tyler Christensen, a PhD candidate studying copperheads at Rutgers University’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

While the copperhead snake wasn't found in the northeast Iowa hills where I grew up, we did have a couple of different rattlesnakes. Like rattlesnakes, copperheads are pit vipers, members of the subfamily Crotalinae, which also includes the water moccasin. Copperheads can perhaps go undetected more easily, though, as they lack their rattlesnake cousin's early-warning system. 

One of my earliest memories, when I could have been no older than three, was of walking across the barnyard with my Dad; I can still vividly see his hand coming down and pushing me backward so that I fell on my behind; then I can still, vividly, see his booted foot coming down and crushing a coiled prairie rattlesnake that was lying in the lane. I don't know for certain that the snake would have bitten me, but if it had, it wouldn't have been a good thing.

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Rattlesnakes that stayed where they belonged, up in the hills among the limestone outcrops, were left alone. But any that came down around the house were killed. We had a big family, and there were small children around; first, kids, later, grandchildren; Dad wasn't inclined to take chances, and besides, a big timber rattler makes for a tasty stew.

Snakes are, honestly, like many animals; treat them with the respect they deserve and nothing will go wrong. The New Jersey wildlife officials' warnings are all one would need to know to safely handle any encounter.

But I confess, the buzz of a rattler still gives me the willies.

We can look back in history, again, for a relevant warning about these critters: