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https://revolutionhappenedhere.org/files/original/1279fc0faa014bd8451c4dcad8ac9eb4.jpg
2e1fe6670ca2defd8e164b225ba89fdb
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and the Memorial Hall Museum
Description
An account of the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association <span>is a regional organization that maintains the </span><em>Memorial</em><em> Hall Museum, a research Library, Deerfield Teachers’ Center, Indian House Children’s Museum, </em><span>and </span><em>Community Outreach</em><span> projects.<br /><br /></span>Memorial Hall Museum's collection is comprised of artifacts, documents, maps, photographs and books from the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts. The Collection spans a vast sweep of history: from the area's earliest Native American inhabitants to more recent early twentieth-century times. <a href="https://deerfield-ma.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PVMA's website</a>, <a href="http://americancenturies.mass.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Centuries</a>: PVMA/Memorial Hall Museum's online collection and more
Revolution Happened Here
Custom item type including project metadata fields.
Story
Interpretive text about the resource
The two months following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April 1775 were tense and uncertain. The British Army, besieged in Boston, and the colonial militias to the north and west were in a standoff across the Charles River. As they maneuvered into position, they prepared for a battle that both sides expected would come. This bullet mold, one of many used by the American forces, was “kept hot night and day for two weeks before Bunker Hill.”
Soapstone was, and is, a valuable mineral with many uses. Because it is comprised primarily of talc, it’s very soft and easy to work with. Soapstone is durable and stands up to heat remarkably well. As a result, it was an ideal material for bullet molds.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Soapstone Bullet Mold
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
June, 1775
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1872.19
Description
An account of the resource
Soapstone bullet mold, 2.25" x 3.17" x 0.75", Boston, Bunker Hill
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arms
arms
Bunker Hill
soldier
weapon
-
https://revolutionhappenedhere.org/files/original/06a3319f9ee9603c8c70d288c6352746.jpg
3a2709ea247a416451a540a3a0efd507
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and the Memorial Hall Museum
Description
An account of the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association <span>is a regional organization that maintains the </span><em>Memorial</em><em> Hall Museum, a research Library, Deerfield Teachers’ Center, Indian House Children’s Museum, </em><span>and </span><em>Community Outreach</em><span> projects.<br /><br /></span>Memorial Hall Museum's collection is comprised of artifacts, documents, maps, photographs and books from the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts. The Collection spans a vast sweep of history: from the area's earliest Native American inhabitants to more recent early twentieth-century times. <a href="https://deerfield-ma.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PVMA's website</a>, <a href="http://americancenturies.mass.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Centuries</a>: PVMA/Memorial Hall Museum's online collection and more
Revolution Happened Here
Custom item type including project metadata fields.
Story
Interpretive text about the resource
<p>As the British Empire spread around the world, so too did the “Brown Bess” flintlock musket. From the early 18th century to the mid 19th century, it was the ubiquitous weapon of the British infantry. Known officially as the Land Pattern Musket, it marked the start of the era of standardization of arms across the British infantry.<br /><br />To operate it, <em>all</em> a soldier had to do was:<br />1. Bite open the cartridge.<br />2. Open the musket pan.<br />3. Pour in a small amount of powder.<br />4. Close the pan.<br />5. Hold the musket vertically.<br />6. Pour remaining powder down the barrel.<br />7. Push the cartridge paper into the barrel.<br />8. Remove the ramrod.<br />9. Ram the paper and bullet down the barrel.<br />10. Put the ramrod back.<br />11. Aim.<br />12. Fire.</p>
<p>British soldiers were trained to reload and shoot every 20 seconds, even while under enemy fire. Under 50 yards, the Brown Bess was devastatingly effective. However, at distances of 100 yards or more, it was wildly inaccurate. It was said, derisively, that it took a man’s weight in bullets to kill him. Although it could never be as accurate as a gun with a rifled barrel, its accuracy improved in the hands of more highly trained, experienced soldiers.</p>
<p>The fate of this musket’s original owner is unknown. After General John Burgoyne’s surrender at the Battle of Saratoga, militia Captain John Fellows of Shelburne picked it up off the battlefield. Fellows carved his initials into the brass plate alongside those of the original owner “RD 1777.”</p>
<p><strong>Story Addendum</strong><br />The musket's story, however, did not end when Captain Fellows brought it home from Saratoga. Nor did it end when it was donated to Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in 1882 by John Fellows, grandson of Captain Fellows. The decision to donate the musket would be a point of contention in the Fellows family for decades to come.</p>
<p>By the early 1900s, John Fellows' great-grandson, Allen, was particularly incensed by his father's decision to donate the musket, which he considered a family heirloom. When confronted, John conceded that he believed he had only loaned the musket to PVMA for safe keeping. Thus Allen went to the museum to retrieve the musket. But when he attempted to do so, he was turned away by PVMA's founder, George Sheldon, who provided the legal documentation proving the transfer of ownership.</p>
<p>Just one generation later, Robert Fellows Wood lamented John's "impulsive" decision to donate the musket to "keen, old" George Sheldon. Robert had the opportunity to see it on exhibit in 1930 at PVMA's Memorial Hall Museum. However, on a return visit to the museum in 1954, Robert and his wife, Elizabeth, were unable to locate the musket in the case where it had been exhibited 24 years earlier. The museum's curator then missidentified the musket they were looking for, leading to confusion and fear that the musket had been mislabled, altered, or worse.</p>
<p>Today the musket is exhibited in Memorial Hall Museum's Military Gallery, correctly labeled and unaltered, thanks to the foresight of John Fellows.</p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Brown Bess Flintlock Musket
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1768
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1882.81
Description
An account of the resource
"Brown Bess", Tower musket, Crown and "G.R." on lockplate, caliber .75, Saratoga Springs, NY, Shelburne
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arms
arms
soldier
weapon
-
https://revolutionhappenedhere.org/files/original/65cfc3b90c89fc24067e1938655345d2.jpg
649c0a72461be6ac2ae8cb4d50518553
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and the Memorial Hall Museum
Description
An account of the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association <span>is a regional organization that maintains the </span><em>Memorial</em><em> Hall Museum, a research Library, Deerfield Teachers’ Center, Indian House Children’s Museum, </em><span>and </span><em>Community Outreach</em><span> projects.<br /><br /></span>Memorial Hall Museum's collection is comprised of artifacts, documents, maps, photographs and books from the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts. The Collection spans a vast sweep of history: from the area's earliest Native American inhabitants to more recent early twentieth-century times. <a href="https://deerfield-ma.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PVMA's website</a>, <a href="http://americancenturies.mass.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">American Centuries</a>: PVMA/Memorial Hall Museum's online collection and more
Revolution Happened Here
Custom item type including project metadata fields.
Story
Interpretive text about the resource
Though this sword dates to after the Revolutionary War, it was owned by a former British soldier who carved out a very unique life in Western Massachusetts following the war.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, not all British soldiers returned home. Many remained in the newly-formed United States, often establishing careers and families. One such soldier, with a particularly colorful story, was William Dorrell.
Dorrell was one of thousands of British troops under the command of General Burgoyne who officially became prisoners of war when Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga in 1777.
After the war, Dorrell married and settled in Western Mass (Petersham, Warwick, and finally Leyden). After his time as a soldier, Dorrell went on to become a leader of his own utopian religious sect, the Dorrellites. Chief among their beliefs was that man should never eat nor in any way harm animals. He went on to claim that the Bible was “all wrong” and that he was the messiah of his generation. He gained the following of 20 to 30 families, though his support came to a rather dramatic end when Captain Ezekiel Foster, outraged by what he considered Dorrell’s blasphemy during a Dorellite gathering, seized Dorrell and mercilessly pummeled him until he recanted on the spot before his followers.
Likely in accordance with Dorrell’s beliefs, the leather has been removed from the handle of his sword.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
William Dorrell's Sword
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association's Memorial Hall Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Late 18th century
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
1884.13
Description
An account of the resource
Short sabre, no marks, grip rewound with rope, guard broken. Length: 32", Petersham, Warwick, Leyden
Subject
The topic of the resource
Arms
arms
British
religion
soldier
weapon
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https://revolutionhappenedhere.org/files/original/43c80269278cfee58edf720d5c69b47a.jpg
ca0f751b2ed313f73b7d9b46f8b7c42d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Individual/Community Contributions
Revolution Happened Here
Custom item type including project metadata fields.
Story
Interpretive text about the resource
Richard Falley served as an ensign in Captain Park's company at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Upon his return he created his "works" - as he referred to his shop in Montgomery, Massachusetts on the slopes of Mount Tekoa. He answered the demand for locally made weapons to fill the shortage of serviceable muskets available to carry on the Revolution.
Date Sort
Please enter a single date using the format YYYY-MM-DD
1776
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Richard Falley Musket
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Westfield Athenaeum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1776 - 1783
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
n.a.
Description
An account of the resource
Iron, steel and wood musket
Subject
The topic of the resource
Wartime Home front
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Artifact
arms
weapon