By Rochelle McCracken
In colonial times everyone owned a rifle, used for hunting and defending your property; the musket-loaded rifle was smooth bored and accurate to about 100 yards. During the French and Indian War, and the American Revolution the heralded Kentucky Long Rifle came to birth and found its fame.
The Kentucky Long Rifle was the first gun to embody a technique known as rifling. Immigrants coming to America brought with them the knowledge of the technique that machined spiral grooves in the bore of the rifle. This spiraling technique enabled the projectile, a lead ball in those times, to spin as it was shot through the barrel. The increased spin improved the accuracy of the shot for up to 300 yards.
A demonstration of that accuracy was recorded from the 1777 Battle of Saratoga, when Benedict Arnold ordered Tim Murphy, the legendary marksman of Bemis Heights, to kill British officer Major General Simon Fraser. Fraser thought he was safe at about 300yds. Three shots were fired by Murphy with the first two hitting Fraser’s horse in the neck and rump. The third shot found its target and killed Major General Fraser. This moment was thought to be the turning point that led to British defeat during the American Revolution.
The Kentucky Long Rifle was the prized possession for any gun owner during its popularity. Owners would spend 3 months wages to purchase a long rifle with a shot accuracy of 300 yards for hunting. The Kentucky Long Rifle “changed the whole course of world history; made possible the settlement of a continent; and ultimately freed our country of foreign domination.”- Captain John G. W. Dillin. 
Robert Faddis is a local historian that nutures his love of history and rifles through the rebirth of the famed Kentucky Long Rifle. That love has helped him to perfect his designs and become an expert in the design of the Kentucky Long Rifle. He details the stories of history through the intricate drawings carved into the wavy grained maple stocks, brass patch boxes and mid-stocks that are unique to this rifle. In Robert’s carvings and hand-tooled pieces of his rifles you will find the beauty of the striped maple stocks depicting Latin sayings and famous historical quotes from American patriots. In the brass portions of this rifle are representations of the phoenix and the eagle, which means immortality.
Our history of these times lives on through Robert’s work. Sayings such as Patrick Henry’s, “Give me liberty or give me death,” or the one from French origins “God in my right,” and the Latin words meaning, “Dishonor to he who thinks evil,” are carved into the stocks of his rifles. These sayings that gave strength to those who fought for our life and liberty continue to inspire. Robert continues his labors of love in the basement of his home with a workshop that looks to be a step back into the 18th century. He can be reached at faddisbob@gmail.com.
