Stolen 19th Century Medals Return to Springfield Armory
A number of artifacts stolen from the Springfield Armory over 30 years ago have finally found their way back home.
The Springfield Armory National Historic Site recently recovered 24 Marksmanship Medals from the late 19th century, thanks to the efforts of the FBI and a random call for information.
The medals, which were awarded to two brothers named Freeman and Milan Bull, were an important part of the region’s history.
The Bull brothers, who were natives of Springfield, had dedicated decades of their lives to working at the armory, manufacturing weapons.
They were actively involved in shooting competitions as members of the armory rifle team, participating not only locally but also across the country and even at Wimbledon, where they competed in the final shooting competition before it transitioned into lawn tennis.
The medals had been donated to the armory by the Bull family after their deaths in the early 1900s.
However, at some point in the 1990s, the medals went missing, leaving a mystery behind their disappearance.
Fortunately, last year, a collector from Tennessee contacted the armory museum after purchasing the medals from another collector.
During the conversation, the museum realized that the artifacts seemed remarkably similar to the ones they had lost.
The FBI became involved, and with the cooperation of the Tennessee collector, they traced the medals’ journey back to a sale in Massachusetts six months earlier.
From there, the trail led to a senior citizen residing in Pennsylvania, who had acquired the medals from a collector in New Britain, Connecticut.
Unfortunately, the trail goes cold at that point.
Despite the unresolved mystery surrounding the medals’ disappearance and the incomplete trail, the return of these valuable artifacts was met with great joy and relief at the museum.
They can now be displayed once again within the historic halls of the Springfield Armory.
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