Patriot Bend: A Timely Proposal

Next July 4th, we will celebrate the semiquincentennial: the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  A key part of the celebration will be remembering and honoring the Patriots of the American Revolution without whom there would be no Independence Day. 

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One way to remember and honor them is through a geographic feature on a U.S. Geological Survey topographic map.  The U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is responsible for standardizing the place names of geographic features within the 50 states and other areas under the sovereignty of the United States.  

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​This proposal seeks to honor those 17 Patriots who settled in Perry County, Tennessee in the years after the American Revolutionary War using a bend in the Buffalo River where an early Patriot, John Talley, had a homesite.  The arrowhead-shaped feature encloses about 142 acres.  See Google Earth photo and USGS map. 

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In many ways, his life personifies the lives of many early Patriots:  one of service, homesteading and death.   Born in Virginia, he served as a private with the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons during the American Revolution.  He fought in several engagements, culminating at the Battle of Yorktown, or "Little York", as he called it, before completing his service.  

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After the war, like many veterans, he migrated westward.    In 1820, at 59 years of age, he settled in Perry County.  He claimed 44 acres on the western bank of the Buffalo River, within a section identified as District 10, Section 5 on early survey maps.  Between December 1820 and October 1837, 210 settlers filed 286 surveys with the county land office.    His survey, number 154, the first by a known Patriot, was recorded on 10 October 1824.  He died 28 November 1843 and was buried on his homestead beside his wife, Jane, and two others. 

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His homestead was near a bluff overlooking the Buffalo River. For many years, the site was known locally as Graveyard Bluff.  Eventually the headstones disappeared, and their graves like those of many early Patriots were forgotten. In 2022, a descendant rediscovered them (see Perry County Historical Society article).  \

 

The proposed name shifts the focus from the graveyard to the broader contributions of those early Patriots, the first veterans, who settled in Perry County.   Naming the geographic feature Patriot Bend is one way of ensuring they are remembered and honored even when their final resting sites are forgotten.   

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Origin/Meaning

During the American Revolution, the term Patriot identified soldiers of the Continental Line.  Later, as the war continued, the term included those soldiers from the state militia. Eventually the term included anyone who opposed British rule.

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Historical Significance

In U.S. history, the term has come to represent the contribution of those first veterans who served during the Revolution and helped create a new nation.  After the war, many of those Patriots moved westward in search of new homesteads.  By 1819, four Patriots had settled in Perry County, Tennessee.   In 1820, three more joined them.  Between 1820 and 1830, their number increased to 17.  In the 1840 Federal Census, ten remained. Of those ten, six were of the original 1820 cohort. (See chart) 

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Using data from the 1840 Federal Census and data from the National Archives, the Tennessee Archives created a tool to show the western migration of those Patriots.  You can find it here. 

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These early veterans are of unique cultural and historical significance to the county.  Naming this geographic feature Patriot Bend commemorates the spirit and tenacity of these Revolutionary War Patriots, the first veterans, who settled along the Buffalo River and its tributaries in the county.  For many, Perry County was their final homestead.   Their names will also be listed on the BGN record with background information about the site. 

 

​​​​​There is no cost to either the proponent or anyone else in submitting this proposal to the BGN for consideration.  It is unique in that there is no similar name either existing or pending in the BGN database.  

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Next Step:  If you support this proposal as a way to honor those first veterans, you can send a Letter of Support to the proponent who will forward it to the BGN.  If the BGN accepts the proposal, it then solicits recommendations from other interested parties before scheduling the proposal for a vote.  The entire process can take as long as six months or more to complete.  

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