10/19/2010

Ronnie Barrett, founder of Barrett Rifles, is being honored by the Tennessee State Museum in an exhibit called Tennesseans: A People’s Legacy.

The exhibit pays homage to Tennesseans whose lives and legacies have contributed to the rich and storied history of the Volunteer State.

According to Ronald Westphal, a curator at the museum, the exhibit uses artifacts to tell stories about outstanding personalities from the 1700s to the present. “It is designed to give a sampling of the richness of Tennesseans who have over the centuries made our state what it is today. Included among the artifacts is the Ronnie Barrett designed rifle, M82A1, that was used in the desert war, Operation Desert Storm.”

Barrett designed his first .50-caliber rifle back in 1982 in his Murfreesboro garage. While the rifle was used in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, it was officially adopted by the United States Army in 2002 and named the M107. The rifle was recognized in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Great Inventions for the United States military. Barrett rifles have also been fielded by over 50 American allied countries around the world.

Other artifacts in the exhibit are the Medal of Honor given to Alvin York, the Red Cross cap of Mrs. C.A. Craig, the binoculars of early naturalist Emma Bell Miles, the portrait of John Sevier by Charles Willson Peale and an early postman’s wagon from DeKalb County.

The Tennessee State Museum is located at Fifth and Deaderick streets in downtown Nashville and is open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is free to the public.