Congratulations!
You've found the snake!
Snakes use camouflage to hide from predators and prey. Unfortunately, this is also a reason for bites to humans. Copperheads, like the one pictured here, have no warning system (like rattlesnakes) to let us know we are getting too close. If we happen to step on him, he has no other means of defense than to bite.
Snakes use the biting defense when they are physically assaulted, such as being stepped upon, grasped, hit, or perceive they are trapped and have no other defense. As you can see, copperheads are superbly camouflaged in their natural environment. In dry leaves, they can be almost impossible to see. They rely almost exclusively upon the stealth defense.
When they perceive danger, they will freeze in place. They will even do this on road or sidewalk where they stand out to all who look. However, most people still overlook them because they are not moving and they perceive them to be a stick. On roadways, this behavior very frequently results in their deaths from vehicles.
In South Carolina you are far more likely to encounter a non-venomous snake than a venomous one. Our non-venomous snakes are no danger to humans, except in the case of our causing injury to our self or others through irrational behavior.