The U.S. Attorney's Office recently filed a civil forfeiture action against two dozen marksmanship medals from the 1880s and 1890s which are believed to have been removed from the Springfield Armory unlawfully several decades ago.
A collector contacted a curator at Springfield Armory to ask about the medals. The information provided by the collector matched a number of items missing from the Armory's collection since the 1990s. A July 8 Department of Justice news release reported the Federal Bureau of Investigations then seized the medals.
“Massachusetts is the birthplace of the American Revolution, a war that gained our nation’s independence. Protecting and preserving artifacts of our Commonwealth’s history is of fundamental importance to this,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said in the release. “My office is committed to combating the theft and sale of stolen historical property. The recovery of these important artifacts is the result of the excellent collaborative work between my office’s Asset Recovery Unit, the FBI and the National Park Service.”
The medals were reportedly awarded to Milan and Freeman Bull, of the Massachusetts volunteer militia in the late 1800s, according to the release. Descendants of the Bulls donated the medals to the Armory in 1944.
"These stolen medals that once belonged to world class marksmen and have been missing for almost 30 years are now one step closer to being returned to their rightful owner," Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston division, said in the news release. "Their absence represented not just a physical and financial loss, but a loss to every visitor who missed out on viewing these significant artifacts of military history. The FBI is very proud to have recovered them."
