"Terrain question!" Topic

Hi Hive Mind that is TMP!

I was wondering if Snake Fencing…

…So iconic for the ACW, was used earlier, say in the American Revolution or French and Indian war periods?

Yes, it would have been used basically since settling the North American Continent by Europeans.

Because of the zig-zags and the number of rails used, it uses a lot more lumber than other types of fence. However, it doesn't require a lot of craftsmanship, special tools, or even nails. So it's ideal for areas where (1) you want to fence in areas, (2) there's a lot of robust (non-rotting lumber), and (3) not a lot of tools or mass produced fasteners.

I remember seeing them in some drawings, etc. at sites in Canada for Queen Anne's war and King William's War, much earlier than the ACW. Maybe at St. John's.

Thanks so much! – I had a query at our club when I tried to use my split rail fencing in a FIW game, I knew they had been referred to as 'Virginia Fencing' in the later 18th century, but couldn't find any pictorial confirmation!
I assume they were less common than Wicket fencing or Post and Rail, which I found easily!?

You got rambunctious with hitting submit.
My guess is yes, but there are a few styles to do it. I still see versions here in se Pennsylvania. Doubt the simplicity can be beat either in 1756 to 1862 to 2022

Stone fences were everywhere in New England. The bottom link discuss the snake rail fence in Virginia.

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Snake rail fencing was very common on the frontier for many of the reasons mentioned above. Historically, crop fields were fenced to help keep animals out of the fields. It was rare to find fancier fences due to a lack of sawmills and material transport. Usually, only gardens and barnyards received nicer fences. Later this was extended to along roadways and other more visible areas. It was all about time, money and labor.

You are safe to use them in your F&I War games as this was the most common frontier fencing in use at that time.

Agreed. North America is about abundant land and material, but limited labor compared with Europe. Shows up in lots of ways. Think housing, for instance.

Those New England stone fences are because the Yankees have to farm stony ground higher up the hills. One of my old History profs told us that in geological terms, the New England equivalent of the Tidewater was under water. Removing rocks from your fields produces stone fences. You can see it in Europe too, where someone's farming marginal land.

If I were time-travelling, I'd expect snake fences in the 17th Century. But you'd have to find paintings or descriptions for evidence. They don't leave much of an archaeological footprint, and they have a tendency to disappear when troops camp in the vicinity.

Possibly worth noting that the British tried to restrict colonial nail production. One of those "protect British manufacturing" things. Puts another premium on fences not requiring any.

There are plenty of snake fences bordering the fields at the historic Philipsburg Manor (1693) in Sleepy Hollow. They're big on historical accuracy, and even pave their roads with oyster shells.

Sleepy Hollow (aka North Tarrytown) was at the center of the Neutral Ground and saw fighting and pillaging through all 7 years of the Revolution.

Even in New England, stone walls are much more common now that we've had many more years to plow up stones. Rte 2A in Concord is lined with stone walls for the tourist attraction. It runs parallel to the original "Battle Road" which is *not* lined with stone walls.

Thanks all so much, I have had a storm of helpful answers!

You got rambunctious with hitting submit.

Actually, no, I got a bug when trying to crosspost, my post got mixed with another guy's. When I deleted my post from his, the crossposts all appeared on the front page!!! LOL!

Yup, definitely used. See it in Williamsburg and in Jockey Hollow in Morristown NJ. Both are sticklers for historical accuracy.

Was told in was effective in penning large animals. Cattle cannot knock it over as easily. Also, it is easy to move around as necessary because there are no posts. Cannot vouch for these claims from my own research, but figured I would share.

Oh, duh! Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown. Can't believe I forgot those. I've been there with the fam and as a chaperone for several Boy and Girl Scout activities. I've always been impressed with those reenactors' ability to refer to historical analyses and even primary sources. Even non-period stuff like modern medical analysis of period diet and how bad it would be for you if you didn't engage in period physical activity.

They have been around almost from the beginning. If not I ahve wasted a lot of time and money.

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They won't hold swine, though. Hence those fences at Gettysburg which are rock low and rails high--"pig tight and cow high" I think is the term.

More AWI snake fences

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The fences at Gettysburg often are double row making roads in a way to get to pastures without going through someone else's fields. I still see some on horse farms in my area.

Stone fencing is quite common in Kentucky, especially in the horse country of the central part of the state. This is tribruted to the German craftsmen from Northeast moving into the state. As they taught their skills to the slaves which in turn provided most of the labor. You can still see snake fencing at the Perryville State Park (civil war) which was also very common in the states early history up to the end of the late 1800's. People made do with what was near by or what was cheaply available….