Pulaski in Giles County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
The Bridge
Trail of Tears Richland Creek Overlook
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The Bell and Benge Detachments Passed by Here
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Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 6, 2020
1. The Bridge Marker
Inscription.
Two Cherokee Detachments traveling on the Trail of Tears crossed Richland Creek in Pulaski just two weeks apart in the autumn of 1838. John
Benge led one group of nearly 1100 Cherokee with 60 wagons and 600 horses through Pulaski, possibly on Qctober 20-23 during their trek
from Ft. Payne, Alabama to Indian Territory. Following what today is U.S. Highway 31 from Ardmore, north to Elkton, they followed either the Old
Stage Road or the new Elkton-Pulaski Turnpike, which opened in the fall of 1838, onto what is now. U.S. Highway 31 into Pulaski. Turning to the
west, the detachment possibly crossed Richland Creek at Mill Street and continued west on Vales Mill Road. The Benge detachment turned
north at Mt. Moriah Road. They then traveled alongside Dry Creek on Dry Creek Road. Continuing northward, they went through Campbellsville
and up the valley of Brownlow Creek to Elk Ridge, where they entered Maury County. They then followed a northwestern trek through
Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas. This detachment possibly disbanded on January 17, 1839 near the Woodhall Farm west of the
Arkansas state line.
A few
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weeks later from-October 31-November 5, 1838, a second detachment of 650-700 Cherokee with 56 wagons and 318 horses traveled
through Giles County and Pulaski. Led by Conductor John Bell, the Bell Detachment began their journey west at the main Cherokee Agency on
October 11th. They arrived in Pulaski via Jefferson Street (State Highway 15) on November 3rd. Here the detachment crossed Richland Creek at
what is now Mill Street. Coming out of Pulaski, the Bell detachment followed a route for approximately 6 miles that the Benge detachment had
taken just two weeks earlier. Heading west on Vales Mill Road, the detachment traveled west on the main roads, now U.S. Highway 64 to
Lawrenceburg, crossing the Tennessee River at Savannah, and continuing west to Memphis, crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas in late
November. The detachment traveled west and northwest to Little Rock to the Vineyard Post Office (now Evansville), on the border of the Indian
Territory where the Bell detachment was disbanded on January 7, 1839. The military escort disbanded the Bell detachment in Arkansas to avoid
any encounters with the anti-treaty Cherokee
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 6, 2020
Location. 35° 11.516′ N, 87° 2.199′ W. Marker is in Pulaski, Tennessee, in Giles County. It is at the intersection of West Cemetery Street and South 3rd Street, on the left when traveling west on West Cemetery Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 212 West Cemetery Street, Pulaski TN 38478, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Middle Tennessee and in the Highland Rim. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Old Graveyard (about
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 6, 2020
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, June 6, 2020
4. Richland Creek Overlook
Marker is on the overlook railing.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 9, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 971 times since then and 96 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 9, 2020, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
