Stolen Revolutionary War-Era Rifle Recovered Nearly 50 Years Later
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Nearly 50 years after a Revolutionary War-era rifle was stolen, it has been recovered. The Christian Oerter rifle was taken from the Valley Forge Museum in 1971.
The FBI recovered the rifle after it was sold last year.
On Friday, it was returned to the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution during a ceremony at the Museum of the American Revolution.
"These were weapons that, after being used to win American independence, were brought home and used to build a nation," said Dr. Scott Stevenson, with the Museum of the American Revolution.
The rifle is a significant piece of American history.
Only a handful of signed and dated American rifles from the Revolutionary era have survived.
It will go on display at the Museum of the American Revolution next week.