COPPERHEADS, an American political epithet, applied by Union men during the Civil War to those men in the north who, deeming it impossible to conquer the Confederacy, were earnest ly in favour of peace and therefore opposed to the war policy of the president and of Congress. The term originated in the autumn of 1862, and its use quickly spread throughout the north. In the western States early in 1863 the terms "Copper head" and "Democrat" had become practically synonymous. The name was adopted because of the fancied resemblance of the peace party to the venomous copperhead snake which strikes without warning. Though applied as a term of opprobrium, it was willingly assumed by those upon whom it was bestowed, and some advocates of the peace policy, to emphasize it, wore badges of heads cut from copper one-cent pieces.