Police said a Civil War-era munition found at a Massachusetts antiques collector's home was destroyed by bomb squad

Police provided few details on the item (Mansfield Police)

Updated July 17: A police department in a Massachusetts town 40 miles south of Boston said an apparent Civil War-era cannon munition found in the home of a deceased antiques collector was detonated by a bomb squad.

Police in Mansfield -- which has a population of nearly 25,000 -- said on social media that the artifact was found Thursday evening (July 7) by family members at their deceased father’s home. They were cleaning the residence at the time.

An X-ray done by Massachusetts State Police found “an unknown substance inside that necessitated a prompt controlled demolition.” Mansfield police did not elaborate on the substance.

“We want to apologize to our neighbors for the late-night noise,” the post said of the demolition.

“If you ever come across something similar, whether it be a cannonball or just old ammunition, call us and we will come to you. Don’t drive it to us and definitely don’t walk into the station with it.”

The Picket reached out Friday to the department with questions about the find and was told it would attempt to answer them.

The Facebook post showed a metal object in someone’s hand, with a hole at the top of the ball. The Picket asked readers of Facebook pages focusing on Civil War artillery for help identifying the item, but there was no consensus. Some said without more details they could not confirm it was a Civil War ball.

Massachusetts State Police on July 14 said the ball was 4 inches in diameter.

"The Bomb Squad Troopers ... took multiple x-rays of the object, which revealed inconsistencies within, indicating its interior was not homogenous matter. The x-ray image was consistent with cannonballs that have an interior void space filled with whatever explosive material was used by its manufacturer," read a Facebook post.

"Based on that finding, as well the Troopers’ experience and additional research, they determined that the item was a Civil War-era cannonball and that it could be live," the agency said, adding troopers said the best and safest decision was to blow it up.

"The manner in which the ball exploded when countercharged confirmed the Troopers’ suspicions that it was indeed live and still could have posed a threat."

Descendants of African-American soldiers honored for efforts to have marble tablets bearing 300 names displayed again in Amherst, Mass.

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherst)

The Amherst Historical Society this past weekend honored a family that worked for years to have marble tablets containing the names of more than 300 Union soldiers and sailors put back on public display in the Massachusetts town.

The Arthur F. Kinney Conch Shell Award was bestowed to Debora Bridges and Anika Lopes, the daughter and granddaughter of the late Dudley J. Bridges Sr. The three lobbied to have the tablets -- which were put in storage in the mid-1990s -- restored and put on display. 

Bridges died in 2004, but townspeople, officials and descendants of Christopher Thompson of the 5^th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry continued the effort to have the heavy, but fragile monuments refurbished and reinstalled in a suitable setting. The artifacts were finally put on display last summer at Bangs Community Center.

Debora Bridges is a tour guide for the plaques and Lopes serves on the Town Council.

Debora Bridges, Anika Lopes and William Harris during Saturday's presentation

The Conch Shell Award is “given to recognize valuable contributions to the preservation and appreciation of Amherst history.” Referred in colonial times as “ye auld kunk,” the device was used in the 1700s to call Amherst residents to town meeting and worship, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

The historical society said it wanted to recognize Dudley Bridges Sr., a World War II veteran, for spending the last years of his life advocating and fundraising for the effort, and Debora Bridges and Lopes -- who are descendants of Christopher Thompson -- for seeing the work to completion. (Dudley Bridges Sr.’s wife, Doris, was a direct descendant of Christopher Thompson)

The elder Bridges wanted the tablets displayed to honor both white and black volunteers.

E.M. Stanton Post 147 of the Grand Army of the Republic, a national Civil War veterans group, donated the tablets to the town in 1893. They were unusual for the time by mentioning 21 Black soldiers, seven of whom fought with the 54^th Massachusetts and 14 in the 5^th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry (Colored). Five died during the war.

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherts)

About 100 African-Americans lived in the Amherst area when the Civil War broke out. According to family history, Christopher T. Thompson volunteered with his three brothers. He was a 44-year-old farmer when he enlisted in January 1864. His son also signed up.

The 54^th Massachusetts, of course, is most known for its valiant attack on Battery Wagner near Charleston, S.C., in July 1863, a scene depicted in the movie “Glory.”

The 5^th Massachusetts Cavalry fought in Virginia, including around Richmond and Petersburg, and guarded prisoners in Maryland. It was sent to Clarksville, Texas, east of Dallas, at war’s end.

Among the names on the tablets are the Thompson siblings: Christopher, Henry and John served with the 5^th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry while James joined the 54^th. Christopher’s son, Charles, also was part of the 5^th Cavalry.

The tablets were displayed in Town Hall until the building was renovated in the mid-1990s. They were placed in storage in 1997 and had been away from the public’s eye since. Four list veterans and a fifth tablet lists those who died during the conflict.

Dudley Bridges Sr. (left) developed a plan to move the tablets from a storage area at a nearby gravel pit to an intersection above Amherst College, not far from Town Hall. The proposal was approved in 2001 and the tablets were restored by a Connecticut firm in 2010. The next steps in getting the tablets in the public stalled for a while.

Christine Brestrup, the town’s planning director, told the Picket that the Amherst Historical Commission was instrumental in having the plaques restored and eventually put on display.

The award was bestowed Saturday afternoon via Zoom at the society’s annual meeting. William Harris, also a descendant of Christopher Thompson and CEO of Space Center Houston, spoke with Debora Bridges and Lopes during the presentation.

Lopes said of the tablets: “They represent unmatched courage and sacrifice that led to my sitting here before you all today with my family as free human beings.”

Harris said the family turned to the National Archives for research on the Thompsons, and they gleaned a lot of information through pension requests on file. The veterans needed depositions about their character and service and there are profiles about them.

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherst)

“That's actually how I found the file of one of our … ancestors, who is part of the Fort Wagner assault and it was his medical file from and many of you know that these they ended up sending many of the African American soldiers ahead, and it was hand to hand combat.

“And it showed where he had been bayoneted in the battle. He survived that battle. We actually (were) holding his actual medical record from the field hospital where they were documenting his wounds.”

The tablets can be seen at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m on Tuesdays-Thursdays.

Amherst Town Hall was built in the late 1800s (Wikipedia)

Tablets honoring Civil War soldiers -- including 21 African-Americans -- are back on display in Amherst, Mass., after nearly 25 years in storage

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherst)

After a 25-year absence, marble tablets containing the names of more than 300 Union soldiers and sailors – including members of the famed 54^th Massachusetts -- are on display in Amherst, Mass., fulfilling the dream of descendants of five African-Americans who are among those listed.

E.M. Stanton Post 147 of the Grand Army of the Republic, a national Civil War veterans group, donated the tablets to the town in 1893. They were unusual for the time by mentioning 21 Black soldiers, seven of whom fought with the 54^th Massachusetts and 14 in the 5^th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry (Colored). Five died during the war.

The tablets are in the Bangs Community Center (Jen Reynolds, Senior Services)

Among the names on the tablets are the Thompson siblings: Christopher, Henry and John served with the 5^th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry while James joined the 54^th. Christopher’s son, Charles, also was part of the 5^th Cavalry.

Dudley J. Bridges Sr. (right), a veteran of World War II, worked for years to have the tablets -- which were put in storage in the mid-1990s -- restored and put on display.

He died in 2004, but townspeople, officials and Bridges' daughter Debora Bridges and granddaughter Anika Lopes, who are descendants of Christopher Thompson, continued the effort to have the heavy, but fragile monuments refurbished and reinstalled in a suitable setting. (Dudley Bridges Sr.’s wife, Doris, was a direct descendant of Christopher Thompson).

Juneteenth -- the day in 1865 when blacks in Galveston, Texas, learned they were no longer slaves – became a federal holiday this year, bringing the dream to fruition: The tablets are now featured in a room at Bangs Community Center that includes photographs and history of the service of African-American troops during the war.

The western Massachusetts town recently announced exhibit hours at the Bangs Community Center.

“It’s absolutely amazing to finally get them out” of storage, Debora Bridges told the Picket last week. “My dad was adamant about getting them displayed.”

Lopes said her grandfather wanted all the troops and sailors – white and Black – remembered. “The focus was on the 54^th and 5th for part of that, as well as unifying the town. Because they were all Union soldiers,” she said.

54th Massachusetts reenactors at West Cemetery this year (Anika Lopes)

The 54^th Massachusetts, of course, is most known for its valiant attack on Battery Wagner near Charleston, S.C., in July 1863, a scene depicted in the movie “Glory.”

“This was one of the first major actions in which African American soldiers fought for the Union in the American Civil War. The courage of the soldiers in the 54th convinced many politicians and Army officers of their value, prompting the further enlistment of black soldiers,” according to the National Park Service.

The 5^th Massachusetts Cavalry fought in Virginia, including around Richmond and Petersburg, and guarded prisoners in Maryland. It was sent to Clarksville, Texas, east of Dallas, at war’s end.

According to family history, Christopher T. Thompson volunteered with his three brothers. He was a 44-year-old farmer when he enlisted in January 1864. (Photo at left courtesy of Anika Lopes)

John died from an accident while in training and James mustered out in August 1865.

Christopher and his son, Charles, and Henry were with the 5^th Cavalry in Texas in June 1865 when news was brought of the liberation of enslaved persons. Henry died of typhoid in October 1865 while guarding Confederate prisoners in Brazos Santiago near the border with Mexico.

Several of the Thompson brothers and Charles are buried at the town’s West Cemetery.

The tablets were displayed in Town Hall until the building was renovated in the mid-1990s. They were placed in storage in 1997 and had been away from the public’s eye since. Four list veterans and a fifth tablet lists those who died during the conflict.

Dudley Bridges Sr. developed a plan to move the tablets from a storage area at a nearby gravel pit to an intersection above Amherst College, not far from Town Hall. The plan was approved in 2001 and the tablets were restored by a Connecticut firm in 2010. The next steps in getting the tablets in the public stalled for a while.

Christine Brestrup, the town’s planning director, told the Picket that the Amherst Historical Commission was instrumental in having the plaques restored and eventually put on display.

Amherst Town Hall was built in the late 1800s (Wikipedia)

She said the tablets, once donated by the GAR, were housed for decades in a stairwell area and the basement of Town Hall before it was renovated. They were then moved to the gravel pit.

“It is not a very charming location but it is weatherproof. It kept them dry and they were in wooden crates. They were very well-protected” after restoration, Brestrup told the Picket.

The town thought about placing them back in Town Hall but wasn’t keen about major structural work to handle their size and weight. And it eventually ruled out an exterior location. “We don’t want them to be subject to being weather-beaten. Marble is very susceptible to acid rain, freezing and thawing and cracks,” she said.

Planner Ben Breger said: “In a way, we have been lucky that they have always been kept inside. The marble is in some of the best condition of any tablets in Massachusetts.”

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherst)

Lopes and a committee formed last year made a renewed effort to have them displayed and publicized their cause, bringing synergy  to the campaign.

Their work was very influential in getting the tablets back on display, officials said, and the endeavor benefited from a fortuitous situation. Brestrup said the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to most activities at the Bangs center, leaving space available for the tablets.

Brestrup said there has always been an intention to get them back in the public eye. “Things in Amherst take a long time, but we eventually get things done.”

After the decision was made to move them to the community center, the town marked Juneteenth this year with several events, including commemoration of the tablets, which weigh between 600 and 800 pounds each.

Ancestors of Debora Bridges and Anika Lopes (courtesy of Lopes)

Amherst is a progressive college town and is cognizant of the contributions of black businessman and residents over the years. A private website details related historical sites in and around town.

Another website, Amherst Historical, says this of wartime life:

“In spite of the major impact of the war, life in Amherst continued. Students remained at Amherst College, committed to their education along with their newly required military drills. Emily Dickinson composed poetry prolifically during the war years and continued to correspond with family and friends. At the Bee Hive, black residents of Amherst continued to enjoy fewer privileges than their white neighbors. However, some black citizens contributed to the war a few joined the prestigious 54th Regiment and others took advantage of the still limited educational opportunity to study at Amherst Academy in the evenings.”

Many Civil War dead from the region are buried at West Cemetery.

(Jen Reynolds, Senior Services, town of Amherst)

“These tablets speak volumes and there are so many people in the community who have reached out,” said Lopes.

Debora Bridges serves as guide and curator for the new exhibit. She said these soldiers fought for the freedom of African-Americans, and those with black units were at risk of retribution if captured.

Now it’s time to educate visitors about the sacrifices of all 300 men and their families.

The search continues for a permanent home for the restored and cleaned tablets. Town officials say Jones Library, which may be renovated, might be the right home for them.

“It’s been a long, sleepy journey but I feel we have a lot of positive energy and intention to move this forward,” said Lopes.

The project has been a labor of love for her, given her grandfather’s commitment to the tablets.

“When I touched them, they really came to life,” she said.

The Civil War tablets are at Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst. Hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Call (413) 259-3060 for more information. 

No longer kept in a drawer: Descendants donate Medal of Honor to Massachusetts town where hero recipient was laid to rest

Cecelia Miles, Col. Perry, veterans agent Donald Hirschy (Town of Dighton)

Cecelia Miles and her siblings came to realize that a Medal of Honor awarded to their great-grandfather for his actions during the Civil War shouldn’t be just a family heirloom, tucked away in a drawer.

Nearly a decade after Pvt. Frederick C. Anderson’s grave was found in Dighton, Mass., Miles recently drove from the Sioux Falls, S.D., area to the cemetery to present it to the town.

Dighton officials on that same day renamed an Elm Street span the Pvt. Frederick C. Anderson Memorial Bridge.

Anderson, a member of the 18^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, received the honor for capturing the flag and color bearer of the 27^th South Carolina during an August 1864 battle in Virginia.

Miles, a university associate professor, told the Picket she knew about the medal and Anderson while growing up in Florida, but the subject was not discussed much.

Anderson who died in 1882 at age 40 in Providence, R.I., was believed to be buried in Somerset, Mass. But Charles Mogayzel, a Korean War veteran and advocate for Medal of Honor recipients, in fall 2011 discovered the grave in Dighton. It had Anderson’s name but did have a Medal of Honor designation.

The late Mogayzel’s niece contacted Miles, who was putting together some information on her ancestor, through Ancestry.com.

“I wrote her back saying you may not believe this, but I actually have the medal. They were completely gobsmacked,” said Miles, who traveled to Dighton in 2011 for a ceremony at which a Medal of Honor marker was installed.

According to a Dighton proclamation, Anderson was born in Boston but was orphaned by age 8. At 14, he was relocated by the Orphan Train, a welfare program, to Raynham, Mass., and was put to work on a farm.

Military, veterans officials at renamed bridge (Town of Dighton)

He enlisted shortly after the Civil War began and participated in several battles with the 18^th Massachusetts. According to the Taunton Gazette, regimental records showed that Anderson was about 5-foot-3 and had blue eyes and sandy hair.

The soldier earned the Medal of Honor for capturing the colors on Aug. 21, 1864, at the Battle of Globe Tavern, also known as the Second Battle of Weldon Railroad. The taking of regimental flags often disrupted communication among enemy troops.

The battle was a significant victory for the Union, netting a Confederate supply line and a portion of a railroad near Petersburg. Anderson received the medal from Maj. Gen. George Meade a month later.

Anderson was discharged at war’s end and settled in Somerset, where he and his wife raised three children, one of whom, Cecelia Ann, was Miles’ grandmother.

Miles, who traveled to Massachusetts with her husband, was presented a U.S. flag during the March 30 ceremony at the Dighton Community Church cemetery.

Col. Perry presents flag to Cecelia Miles (Town of Dighton)

“So many people who have never been in the armed forces don’t have the appreciation for what it takes to be awarded any decoration for military service,” Air Force Col. Bob Perry said, according to a press release from the town. “The Medal of Honor requires extraordinary dedication, valor and courage while under fire. Pvt. Anderson clearly demonstrated all of those traits.”

Officials said the medal will most likely be displayed in a glass case at Town Hall after the building receives some upgrades.

Miles said she is pleased the public will be able to see the medal and learn more about her great-grandfather, a Civil War hero. The ceremony, she said, was emotional.

“Everyone there was so pleased and proud. It just connected me to a much longer line of history and meaning than I had understood before.”

Dear mom: Unfiltered letters from three Massachusetts brothers about combat and camp life are featured in new book

Nearly 100 letters written by three Massachusetts brothers have been transcribed and published in a new book, “My Dear Mother: Civil War Letters to Dedham from the Lathrop Brothers.”

The correspondence by John, Joseph and Julius Lathrop to their mother and three sisters stretched from December 1861 to a postwar visit to the Antietam battlefield by John in September 1865.

“The letters tell of the fierce battles, long marches, camp life and the brothers’ dedication to the Union cause,” says a description by the Dedham Historical Society & Museum, which transcribed the material. “The letters are published as written, without corrections or sanitation, but transcribed using the language of their time.”

A letter written by Julius to his mother on Feb. 13, 1862, details the taking of Roanoke Island, N.C., several days before and describes the 24^th Massachusetts Infantry’s role in the capture of more than 2,000 Confederate prisoners.

Brig. Gen. Ambrose Burnside and his troops secured a vital victory in the Union effort to put a stranglehold on Southern ports. Rebel forces surrendered after they were routed from one battery and rushed to the northern end of the island, as described in the letter.

The corporal wrote his regiment was supposed to be among the first to land early in the battle but the steamer carrying troops ran aground. “We had the mortification of watching all the other regiments pass by us as while we were left lamenting.”

The unit witnessed the bombardment of the Confederate battery and its line was eventually formed near hospital buildings. Wounded Federal soldiers cheered the regiment and its brass howitzer, he wrote.

Fanciful depiction of Union attack at Roanoke Island (Library of Congress)

Other Federal forces took the battery as the 24^th moved up. Lathrop got his first look at the horrors of war, seeing dead and maimed men, some nearly cut in two by artillery shots. “I saw … a poor fellow who was shot through the head with a grape shot. He was still alive though his brains were running out of his wound.”

His letter home to Dedham, about 10 miles southwest of Boston, asked his loved ones to “excuse the dirt but, I must tell you this is Secesh paper; of course it can’t be clean.”

Between them, the Lathrop brothers saw action across the breadth of the war, from Antietam and Fredericksburg in the east to Port Hudson in the west, the historical society says.

Julius, who later in the war accepted a commission with the 38^th Massachusetts, was a captain when he was mortally wounded on April 23, 1864, in a skirmish at Cane River, La.

A regimental history says Lathrop "has rode in an ambulance the day previous, unable to march; but upon the approach of an engagement, had taken command of his company, and was leading his men when he received the fatal shot." He died a few days later.

John Lathrop

John Lathrop served as a captain in the 35^th Massachusetts, took part in several battles, including Antietam and South Mountain. He left service in November 1863 because of disability resulting from malarial fever. He became a lawyer and associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He died in 1910.

Joseph Lathrop, who served in the 43^rd Massachusetts Infantry and the 4^th Massachusetts Cavalry before capture late in the war, also survived. He wrote only one of the letters in the book.

Michael B. Chesson, editor of “The Journal of a Civil War Surgeon (2003),” wrote an Amazon review praising the book and the range of subjects in the letters, from Army life to skulkers and the home front.

Chesson wrote: “Some of the letters describe close combat as raw and immediate as a scene from the movie version of 'Cold Mountain.' The letters span the full range of human emotions, expressed in the characteristic reserve of old time New Englanders.”

A recording of Julius’ letter is on the Dedham Historical Society & Museum website. Five other recordings are being uploaded weekly. The letters were donated to the society in 1928. Volunteers began transcribing them about three years ago, according to the Dedham Patch.

The book includes photographs of the brothers and images of battlefield maps drawn by John and Julius in their letters. The volume, put out by Damianos Publishing, sells for $25 through Amazon and the publisher.

Mothballed Civil War tablets could find a new home

Officials in Amherst, Mass., are working on plans to put on public display the marble tablets that commemorate town residents who fought in the Civil War, including African American soldiers who served with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment. The tablets have been in storage for most of the past 20 years after they were removed from Town Hall during a renovation project. • Article

Sons of Union Veterans honoring man for restoring Mass. graves

Gordon Shepard is being recognized by a national Civil War descendants’ organization for his restoration of Union graves. Shepard, a U.S. Army veteran, completed a restoration project on the Civil War section of Riverside Cemetery in Saugus, Mass., in April. The plaques in the Civil War section were mismatched. Some were taller than others and almost all of them differed in style and font. Shepard found one that was legible and used a combination of the different styles, and used the stone as a model when he recreated the markers. Shepard found an old picture of the monument and learned that two small ledges once held stacks of cannonballs. He reached out to another veteran volunteer, Nick Milo, who helped him replace them with stacks of granite balls. • Article

Donation was music to their ears

Two sisters in search of information about a Civil War ancestor have gifted the historical society in Adams, Mass., with an instrument he carried through the Civil War. Judge Bullard enlisted as a private in H Company, 27th Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, in August 1862. He re-enlisted in January 1864 and was later captured by Confederates and held as a prisoner in March and April 1865. • Article

Soldier on monument to get solid footing

The Massachusetts city of Attleboro’s 110-year-old Civil War monument is getting a makeover. The Sun Chronicle reports that the city council has voted 8-1 to appropriate more than $44,000. The 35-foot high granite and bronze monument in Capron Park has been eroded and damaged by vandals who stole bronze cannonballs and a bronze sword from the structure. The statue of a soldier on the top has come loose. • Article

Sorry, you can't check out ammo from library

A Massachusetts librarian on her first day on the job came across live military shells from the Civil War inside her office. Gleason Public Library director Abby Noland told The Boston Globe she found the shells Thursday inside a box with a label explaining they had been examined by a munitions expert and could be live. She called police, who evacuated the library in Carlisle. • Article

To Hawaii and back: The facts and mysteries of Union Lt. Edwin I. Coe's sword

(Petersburg National Battlefield)

Paul Perrone and Chris Bryce had their “aha” moments nearly 5,000 miles apart.

For Perrone, research on a Civil War sword he came across at -- of all places -- a jewelry store in Hawaii, began with the inscription bearing the name of its owner: Lt. Edwin I. Coe of the 57^th Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers.

An online version of the unit’s history led to the 19-year-old soldier’s photograph and biography. There was now a human connection to this well-crafted piece of steel.

“Seeing his face for the first time, and reading the moving account of his life and death, were the most exciting moments for me in this entire experience,” Perrone told the Picket this week. “From that point on, I felt that I had a moral and patriotic duty to ensure that the sword would end up somewhere public, protected and 'forever.'"

That “forever” will be at Petersburg National Battlefield, where Coe – who had in a dream a premonition of his death – fell with a bullet to his head as he took part in a charge on June 17, 1864.

Lt. Edwin I. Coe

Coe’s sword was sent from Hawaii to Virginia last summer after the park purchased it from the Honolulu business. 

Bryce, chief of interpretation at the park, and another staffer who helped in the research and transaction, took the sword made by Ames Manufacturing of Chicopee, Mass., to the area where Coe was killed and Poplar Grove National Cemetery, where he lies buried.

It was an emotional experience.

“Taking the sword to his grave carried a little more weight on me,” said Bryce. They placed the sword at the marker. “To have it lying on top of his resting place, it doesn’t get much more powerful.”

Perrone and Bryce realized this artifact is not like so many available for sale at online sites.

There’s a serviceman’s name, a photograph, an account of his unit and death. And he lies buried in the Virginia soil only a few miles from where the sword is expected to go on exhibit later this year.

(Courtesy of Paul Perrone)

“I cannot imagine this sword hanging on someone’s wall as a conversation piece, or in a private collection that is not open to the public,” said Perrone, a researcher in the Hawaii attorney general’s office.

Many mysteries remain: Was Coe carrying the sword when he died? How did it end up in Hawaii? Who were his friends in Worcester, Mass., that gave him the sword?

A soldier’s premonition before battle

The sword came to the Pacific Diamond and Swiss Watch Exchange in Honolulu a few years ago. Owner Ted Gonzalez bought it from an estate dealer.

“I thought it was unusual just because I’ve never bought one before. I decided to buy it and I decided to keep it,” Gonzalez told TV station KITV.

Perrone, who was shopping for a wedding ring for his fiancée, took an interest and began his research on the Model 1850 foot officer’s sword. The frosted blade contains patriotic motifs -- eagles, cannon, olive branches and arrows -- and was obviously manufactured and decorated with care.

Coe, the son of a Unitarian minister, was born in Medway, Mass. He moved to Worcester and joined another regiment when he was just 17 or 18. He then joined the 57^th Massachusetts and was serving as acting adjutant at Petersburg.

According to the regimental history, written by John Anderson in 1896 and now available in print from HardPressPublishing, the young second lieutenant was “of excellent character, fond of military service, zealous and ambitious in the faithful performance of duty, loved and esteemed by all who knew him.”

It’s not known when the sword was presented to Coe. The inscription said it was a gift “by his friends in Worcester.”

(Photos courtesy of Paul Perrone)

Coe was struck by a spent musket ball at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12. He threw up both hands and fell; his comrades believed he was finished. “But in a few moments he rejoined the regiment,” according to the unit history,” saying that he had only been stunned for a few seconds.”

Just before the charge at Petersburg, Coe told comrades he would be killed. The premonition proved correct: He was struck in the early part of the advance against Confederate troops. Ten enlisted comrades died in the battle.

Coe left no wife or children. His mother applied for a pension in 1891.

His brother, who served in another Federal unit, took charge of his remains and Edwin was buried near where he fell. He was disinterred after the war and placed in the national cemetery now managed by the park.

How did it wind up in Hawaii?

Neither Pryce nor Perrone know how Coe’s sword came to be in Hawaii. It’s the $64,000 question.

The unit history notes that Coe’s brother claimed his possessions. If it was used for ceremonial purposes, it might have been in the fallen officer’s tent. Or if he carried it during the charge, it could have “ended up in practically anyone’s possession,” said Perrone.

“With every branch of the service having at least one base in Hawaii, and with so many government contractors and retired military personnel living here, all kinds of interesting things turn up,” said Perrone, adding the story is the sword belonged to a retired serviceman.

Paul Perrone

Gonzalez, the jewelry store owner, told KITV that he and his wife “agreed to do the right thing” with the sword, rather than sell it for several thousand dollars, and he enlisted the help of Perrone.

“I wanted to literally return the sword to Lt. Coe, and Petersburg is where he has been for the past 150 years,” said Perrone, who contacted former Petersburg park curator Jimmy Blankenship last spring and the discussions on the sword commenced.

Bryce said the park, using donations and sales proceeds from park bookstores operated by a private concessionaire, paid $1,600 for the Coe sword so that Gonzalez could recoup what he paid.

Officials had hoped to acquire the weapon in time for the 150^th anniversary of Coe’s death, but the sword was not shipped until last July. Bryce said he is unaware of any surviving descendants.

‘He will be forever remembered’

The park has brought on a new curator. Bryce hopes the sword, which he described as being in good shape, will go on exhibit at the Eastern Front Visitor Center this summer or fall.

“We don’t have a great number of items that we can put to one person, let alone have an image of an individual,” he told the Picket. Coe was among tens of thousands of men in blue and gray who were in the area during the Petersburg campaign and siege.

Bryce and Blankenship took the sword to where elements of the 9^th Corps made the June 17, 1864, assault, about 200 yards behind park headquarters on the eastern section of the battlefield, near the Army’s current Fort Lee.

“They were supposed to be in reserve. Their casualties mounted very quickly,” said Bryce. “They were dodging bullets.”

Jimmy Blankenship holds sword near where Coe fell.

The park official believes the Coe weapon is a combat, rather than a presentation sword.

“Chances are good he was carrying it in battle,” said Bryce. “By carrying it,” they (his friends) are with him in battle.”

It's possible the young officer had both a combat and presentation sword, and the one found in the Hawaii shop was the latter. No one knows for sure; Coe may not have even wielded a blade that day.

Coe’s sword and scabbard, along with his photo and possibly other items, later this year will be a visual reminder to park visitors of sacrifice and courage.

“I hope the Coe display will serve to represent any and all of the individual soldiers who died at Petersburg and whose personal lives and contributions were forgotten through the passage time, just as Coe would have been had his sword not been recovered 150 years later,” said Perrone. “He will be forever remembered and honored -- in a sense, he is immortal.”