Run Cottontail Run

[Sheltowee]

I think many are familiar with Foote's story of a rabbit jumping up just prior to Pickett's assault. Told at the end of this short clip-

But then, I found the below excerpt from a soldier's account of Malvern Hill. Posted on CWT in 2004-

Through one of the wide gaps made in the Confederate lines by McClellan's big guns as they sent their death-dealing missiles from hill and river, there ran a panic-stricken rabbit, flying in terror to the rear. A stalwart mountaineer noticed the speed and the direction which the rabbit took to escape from his disagreeable surroundings. He was impressed by the rabbit's prudence, and shouted, so that his voice was heard above the din of the battle: "Go it, Molly Cottontail! I wish I could go with you!" One of his comrades near by caught up the refrain, and answered: "Yes, and, 'y golly, Jim, I 'd go with Molly, too, if it wasn't for my character."

And finally, the below tale lifted from The Orphan Brigade (William C Davis)-

As the Orphans withdrew, the 2nd Kentucky's dog Frank, flushed a rabbit in the midst of the hell around him………..
"Run cottontail run! shouted Tom Wilson of the 6th Kentucky. "Had I no more reputation than you, I would run too".

So there we have three similar accounts across three battles and two theaters.

Mark it all as folklore?

 

[jepridgen]

Just my opinion, but I'd say it most likely happened at some point. Probably had a legitimate firsthand account here and there with a version of that being said. Then, as time passed, the participants and historians got fuzzy on the when and who. Even in modern war, I've personally seen humor in a bad situation used to break the tension. I'm sure it was the same back then.

 

[Sheltowee]

Just my opinion, but I'd say it most likely happened at some point. Probably had a legitimate firsthand account here and there with a version of that being said. Then, as time passed, the participants and historians got fuzzy on the when and who. Even in modern war, I've personally seen humor in a bad situation used to break the tension. I'm sure it was the same back then.

Agree. Might've happened at some point.

But now I'm really curious how many other accounts I might find……at maybe Saratoga, Austerlitz, the Somme?

I might start looking for the same story in other wars.

What a rabbit hole to go down…..

 

[Lampasas Bill]

One of the favorite apocryphal stories I've read is about soldiers pinned down under heavy fire. One recites from a favorite poem: "Turn again, turn again, time in your flight. Make me a child again just for tonight." "Yeh," his pard responds, "and a gal child at that!"

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

I think many are familiar with Foote's story of a rabbit jumping up just prior to Pickett's assault. Told at the end of this short clip-

But then, I found the below excerpt from a soldier's account of Malvern Hill. Posted on CWT in 2004-

Through one of the wide gaps made in the Confederate lines by McClellan's big guns as they sent their death-dealing missiles from hill and river, there ran a panic-stricken rabbit, flying in terror to the rear. A stalwart mountaineer noticed the speed and the direction which the rabbit took to escape from his disagreeable surroundings. He was impressed by the rabbit's prudence, and shouted, so that his voice was heard above the din of the battle: "Go it, Molly Cottontail! I wish I could go with you!" One of his comrades near by caught up the refrain, and answered: "Yes, and, 'y golly, Jim, I 'd go with Molly, too, if it wasn't for my character."

And finally, the below tale lifted from The Orphan Brigade (William C Davis)-

As the Orphans withdrew, the 2nd Kentucky's dog Frank, flushed a rabbit in the midst of the hell around him………..
"Run cottontail run! shouted Tom Wilson of the 6th Kentucky. "Had I no more reputation than you, I would run too".

So there we have three similar accounts across three battles and two theaters.

Mark it all as folklore?

With all the rabbits in all the meadows, not to mention other wildlife, across the country, I'm inclined to think this could be a fairly common occurance during battle. The response seems like it would have been pretty universal too