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The world is full of self-proclaimed micronations. These are generally tiny, out of the way spots where some eccentric insists on designing his own national flag and printing postage stamps, though no government on Earth recognizes his sovereignty. Sealand, a platform in the North Sea, is one such "country"; so is Liberland on the Danube. But you might be surprised to hear that one of these micronations supposedly existed for 85 years…on the Tennessee-Georgia border.
"Uncle Bob" forms his own country.
In 1860, the nation was on the brink of Civil War. According to local folklore from northern Georgia's Dade County, state representative "Uncle Bob" Tatum was fed up with all the dillydallying. He gave a fiery speech on the floor of the Georgia General Assembly arguing for immediate secession from the Union. When the vote didn’t go his way, he returned home by buggy to the county seat of Trenton, Georgia, called a meeting on the stairs of the courthouse, and encouraged locals to take the matter into their own hands. As the story goes, Dade County voted overwhelmingly that day to secede from the state of Georgia and the United States. The independent State of Dade was formed.
Dade has always been Georgia's most isolated corner.
The story may or may not be precisely true, but the county's independent spirit is not implausible. Dade County is the northwestern-most point in Georgia, located in hilly country on the back side of the ridge known as Lookout Mountain. Until 1940, no highway connected it to the rest of the state. The only way for travelers to get to Dade was through Alabama or Tennessee.
The Civil War didn't end until 1945.
On July 4, 1945, with World War II-era patriotism peaking, a distinguished local Dade County judge named "Red" Townsend led a campaign to officially rejoin the Union. Radio microphones and newsreel cameras were on hand to hear Townsend call for a vote dissolving the "Free State of Dade" and once again becoming part of Georgia. For the first time in over eighty years, the Stars and Stripes were hoisted over the "last citadel of the Confederacy." A military band played, and President Truman himself sent a telegram reading, "Welcome home, pilgrims."
On one coin, Dade County is notable by its absence.
There is apparently little historical evidence of the county's 1860 "secession," and it wouldn't have had any legal effect anyway. As a point of law, Dade County rejoined the union in 1870 when the State of Georgia did. Or did it? In 2012, the U.S. Mint released Georgia's state quarter, depicting a delicious peach framed by an outline of the state. But not the whole state! For reasons that are still unclear, the map on the quarter dog-ears Georgia's northwestern corner, suspiciously leaving off Dade County. If this was an intentional nod to Dade County's rebellious past, this quarter is surely the only pro-secession coin every issued by the United States.
Explore the world's oddities every week with Ken Jennings, and check out his book Maphead for more geography trivia.