Born in 1776, becomes an American Gunsmith | Leonard Reedy Attributed Flintlock American Longrifle

Reedy remains one of the most respected master riflemakers from the "Golden Age." He was born 250 years ago in 1776 during the American Revolution and was raised on a family farm in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Around 1790, he is believed to have moved to Womelsdorf with his uncle following his father's death and then apprenticed to John Bonewitz, becoming a master gunsmith prior to 1800. He continued to work with Bonewitz in Womelsdorf until 1809, and they then worked together in Pine Grove until around 1816/1817 when Reedy moved to Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, where he continued to work as a gunsmith as well as a justice of the peace until his death in 1837. While in the Womelsdorf shop, he would have also helped train Andrew Fichthorn Jr. In addition to his work as a gunsmith, Reedy enlisted to serve in the defense of Baltimore during the War of 1812.