PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A rare Revolutionary War-era rifle stolen nearly fifty years ago from a museum case at Valley Forge National Park was recovered and will go on display at an area museum on Wednesday.
The 244-year-old Christian Oerter rifle was stolen in 1971 when it was on display at the park.
A collector purchased the gun from an auction. When he discovered it was stolen he turned it over to the FBI and it was returned to its rightful owner, the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution.
The organization allowed it to be put back on display, this time at the Museum of the American Revolution.
"Rifles were a specialized weapon used by hunters and in military situations," said museum president and CEO Dr. Scott Stevenson, "so American colonists who were trying to take on the British Army felt that their expertise with these rifle firearms would give them a little bit of an advantage against the better armed and better trained British army."
The name W. Goodwin is carved in the rifle's wooden stock. Museum curators are working on identifying that individual.
