21 December 2022

Contact: David Talley (615-496-1768)

davidctalley@gmail.com

Revolutionary War Patriot Grave Re-discovered

The long-lost remains of an American Revolutionary War Patriot were recently found due to the combined efforts of four members of the Perry County Historical Society.

The Patriot, John Talley, was a member of the 3^rd Continental Light Dragoons.  He served from 1781 through 1783.  He fought in the Southern Campaign and at the Battle of Yorktown, the last major land battle between the American and British forces.   

In the 1840 U.S. Census, Talley was one of ten Revolutionary Patriots living in Perry County.  He died there on November 28, 1843. 

According to local lore, his grave was on private land.  However, where was uncertain. 

That changed several years ago when the Perry County Historian, Jessie Ruth Tiller, accompanied by the late James Tucker, a member of the historical society, sought to account for all the Revolutionary War Patriots buried in Perry County.  Of the twelve known Patriots, they found all but two.  Talley was one of the missing.

As a young boy in 1941, Tucker accompanied his grandfather, a fishing guide, on a fishing trip on the Buffalo River.  They stopped below a bluff his grandfather called “graveyard bluff” for the graves at the top.  The graves had markers then.  One was for John Talley.   Years later, Tucker and Tiller returned to the site, now known as Buffalo Heights Subdivision, searching for the graves.  They found none.     

In April 2021, David Talley, a lineal descendant of John Talley, and a member of the historical society, continued the search as part of a project with the Sons of the American Revolution.  Using information from the county archives, land deeds, satellite imagery, and Tucker’s boyhood memory of the site, he narrowed the location. 

That led him to property owned by Philip Tatum, CEO of the Perry County Medical Center.  Tatum is also a member of the historical society.  When shown evidence of the possible location of the graves, he agreed to a scan of the area in question using ground penetrating radar (GPR).

GPR is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface.  The non-destructive electromagnetic radiation waves detect reflected signals from subsurface structures.  The waves can reach as deep as ten feet, depending on the type of soil.  The scan was conducted by UnderGround Detective, Inc.,

The GPR scan revealed four graves. 

“They were very much where Jim Tucker told me they would be,” Talley said.  “I can hear him saying, ‘I told you so.’” 

Finding the graves solves a long-standing mystery.  As for the future deposition of the graves, that remains to be determined.  For now, according to Talley, knowing the graves exist and are properly  noted on the public record is an important first step to ensuring they are never lost again.   

SIDEBAR

Human remains found in Tennessee are protected under state law.

However, according to Jessie Ruth Tiller, the Perry County Historian, desecration of early pioneer cemeteries in Perry County remains a problem.  Logging and land clearing operations account for much of the damage.  Some gravesites are difficult to locate.  Nonetheless, Tiller said certain signs often indicate the presence of graves.  These include plain stone markers, vinca minor or cemetery ivy, and sunken areas oriented east and west.

Desecration of a gravesite is a Class A misdemeanor. “If anyone encounters or accidentally exposes human remains or gravesites, they are required by law to stop all work in the area and notify law enforcement,” she added.

Ground Penetrating Radar

The GPR scan was conducted by Underground Detective, Inc.  Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the firm provides a variety of ground surveillance services for contractors, surveyors, excavators, and homeowners.  Besides locating lost graves, the firm conducts pipe inspections and locates buried utilities, among other services.  A complete list can be found at UndergroundDetective.com.  Or call (888) 747-3799. 

Additional Information

TNGenWeb Cemetery Database

William Henry Harder was born February 6, 1830 in Hickman Co. TN.  He died August 5, 1897 in Perry Co. TN. He is buried in the Harder Cemetery in Perry Co.  He served as a Captain in the Confederacy.

John Talley is one of ten American Revolutionary War patriots listed in the 1840 U.S. Census for Perry County.  He served as a Dragoon with the 3^rd Continental Light Dragoons between 1781-83 including at Yorktown the last major land battle between the U.S. and Britain during that war.  He married Jane Crowder about 1785 in Mecklenburg County, VA.  He lived in Chatham County, NC; Montgomery County, GA; and Williamson County, TN.  He settled in Perry County near Coon Creek and the present Chestnut Grove in 1819/20 and died there in November 1843 (83 years old).  Children: Winefred Cravens, Bird Tipton, Henrietta Baldwin, Parmelia Lloyd, Hopson, Allen W., John Tucker, Patsey Dowdy, and William. 

Both brothers served in the 10th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, CSA

Top to bottom – Joe DePriest, Mildred Poore- Sec Treas, John L. Webb – History Math, Wilson Sharpe – Science, William F. Shelton – Prin, Gussie Gobelet – Home Ec, Truman Stark – Agri, Thomas Turner – Vice Pres, Oville Tate, Reeves Hufstedler, Thirl Hickerson, Lorraine DePriest, Dora Deane DePriest – Solut, Billie Stevens – Pres, Eva Roberts – Valid, Myrtle OGuin, Tom Lomax, Mary Howell, Bill Owen, Glenn E. DePriest, James B. Tatum, Ruth Lancaster, Clayton Arnold, Era Leeper, Redner DePriest, Nettie Ward, Ottis Dabbs, Marysam Alexander, Gladys Bell, Caruthers Cotham, Mable Patterson, Ollin Lewis, Henry Ferguson, Ida D. Ferguson, L. D. Tate, Vergenia Smith, Homer A. Daniel

click for a larger image

Old Rockhouse Bridge

The Old Rockhouse Bridge is located just west of County Highway 1788 on the Buffalo River. The highway was rerouted to the east for the construction of the new bridge.

It remains a beautiful spot along the Buffalo River.