Biography of Lt. Falley, Jr.

By: Robert Madison

Discover how a colonial patriot from Western Massachusetts supplied the militia from his secret armory at Mt. Tekoa in the foothills of the Berkshires. Before the American Revolution and before George Washington established the first National Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts a New England Patriot was busy manufacturing flintlock muskets. General Washington, with the authority of the Provincial Congress, granted him the authority to manufacture, in secret at the base of Mt Tekoa, badly needed Charleville flintlock muskets. Falley’s military career started during the French and Indian War when he was captured after the fall of Fort Henry and survived captivity by the Indians and was eventually ransomed for 16 gallons of rum. Later, the day after the April 19, 1775 Lexington and Concord conflict, he and 70 citizen soldiers headed to Boston. On May 27, 1775 Falley was commissioned an Ensign by the Committee of Safety and later he was appointed ‘The Massachusetts Armorer’. Included are accounts of Colonel Knox’s 1775-1776 Artillery Train and a comment made in a Westfield tavern, Falley’s involvement in the June 17, 1776 Battle of Bunker Hill, General Burgoyne’s 1777 surrender at Saratoga, NY and a history of Shays’ Rebellion. The book ends with Falley’s Springfield Armory contract for 1,000 muskets in 1798.

Product Details

• 163 pages
• French Flap Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-5422-0692-1
• Cloth Hardcover with Jacket ISBN-13: 978-1-5422-0687-7
• Book Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches