From left to right, FBI Philadelphia Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent Jack Archer of the FBI Art Crime Team, and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jamie Milligan pose with a Revolutionary War-era musket that was returned.
Philadelphia – It’s a patriotic case, solved just in time for Independence Day, thanks in part to the eagle eye of a firearms appraiser: A Revolutionary War-era musket is now in museum hands after it was stolen in 1968.
A .78-caliber musket stolen during a 1968 robbery and helped recover by the FBI is just the latest piece of American history.
A years-long investigation
From 2023: Stolen artifacts returned
The Museum of the American Revolution held a ceremony in March to celebrate the return of dozens of stolen artifacts from the French and Indian War.
In March 2023, the F.B.I Dozens of ancient weapons returned to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia After an investigation several years ago.
The firearms were initially stolen during robberies in and around Valley Forge Park in the 1960s and 1970s, the site of George Washington’s Continental Army winter encampment during the Revolutionary War.
After their latest investigation began in 2009, the FBI says, three men — Michael Corbett, Scott Corbett and Thomas Gavin — admitted to taking the items. But they no longer possessed most of them.
A museum of American Revolution personnel holds two weapons found during crime investigations. Members of the Royal Highland Regiment, part of the British Army sent to quell the American Rebellion, carried these steel pistols. (Fb
Investigators were eventually able to locate about 50 of the stolen weapons — including pistols, muskets, rifles and other pieces of battlefield history — and return them to several museums. But the historic musket was still one of the 10 missing items.
The missing musket
According to the FBI, a detective shared the story of the returned weapons with historical firearms expert and appraiser Joel Bohey, who had worked with the local police department on past cases. A few minutes later, Bohi said he saw the missing musket.
The piece caught his eye at an event due to its rarity and he even took a photo of it. “There are only two others known,” he explained.
Bohi shared the photo with the police and met with the FBI’s art crime team the next day. From that tip, investigators traced the musket to an antique firearms collector in Maryland who did not know the musket was stolen and was not connected to the robbery. He voluntarily surrendered the musket to the FBI.
At that time, Chubb – the insurer whose predecessor company had paid the insurance claim in 1969 – became the owner of the musket. The company donated it to the Museum of the American Revolution, signing a deed at a July 1 ceremony.
Investigators pose with Revolutionary War-era firearms they helped recover collectively. This photo was taken in January 2024 at the museum in Philadelphia. (FBI photo)
Dr. of the Museum of the American Revolution. R. Historians believe the musket was cobbled together from parts of other weapons by a Rhode Island gunsmith in 1774 who was “preparing to equip someone to defend American liberty,” says Scott Stephenson.
“Whatever its story, we relish the opportunity and responsibility to once again make pieces of history available to the public,” he said.
The search continues
The FBI is still looking for many more historic firearms and other items that were stolen during those initial robberies. Tips from the public have been key to solving the cases so far, and investigators hope that will continue.
Link: You can Read more about the missing items and view photos on the FBI’s website.