Stolen from Biloxi decades ago, a rifle used in 1847 was just found hidden in Delaware
A rifle stolen decades ago at Beauvoir in Biloxi was among guns and memorabilia taken from other museums in the 1970s and hidden for the half-century since.
An 1847 Mississippi rifle was stolen from Beauvoir, The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library on U.S. 90 in Biloxi in the 1970s.
Callie Bunter, special programs manager at Beauvior, spoke with officials in Delaware and Pennsylvania and found out how the rifle was recovered and where it will be returned.
“The artifact had been on loan to Beauvoir at the time that it was stolen and is ultimately owned by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History,” she said in a press release. “It will not be coming back to Beauvoir,” she said.
On Monday, a ceremony was held to repatriate 50 historical artifacts to the original 16 museums where the artifacts were displayed.
Bunter said the FBI and Assistant US Attorney have been in contact with Mississippi Department of Archive and History about returning the rifle to their collection. “It is currently still in possession of the Art Crime Division of the FBI,” she said.
The Mississippi rifle is one of 50 guns and artifacts being returned to 16 museums and institutions in five states. The oldest of the items date back as far as the French and Indian War.
It was discovered May 17, 2017, when the Art Crime Division of the FBI executed a search warrant for the residence of Michael Corbett of Newark, Delaware.
An 1847 Mississippi Rifle — dubbed the Charles Gibbs Rifle — was one of the weapons recovered in the execution of the search, Beauvoir said.
Corbett was indicted in December 2021 for possession of items stolen from museums in the 1970s.
He pleaded guilty to possession of stolen items transported interstate and turned over additional stolen items, authorities said.
Other items recovered and returned to their proper owners included:
▪ A Colt Whitneyville Walker revolver stolen from the Connecticut State Library;
▪ An Omar Bradley presentation pistol stolen from the U.S. Army War College Museum
▪ A French and Indian War-era powder horn stolen from a museum in Belchertown, Massachusetts
▪ 18th century English and Scottish pistols stolen from the Valley Forge Historical Society Museum
“These are artifacts that helped write our national story, with some even predating the country’s birth, and their long absence from public view — hidden away where no one could see or learn from them — was a loss both to society and the historic record,” said Jacqueline Maguire, FBI special agent in charge of the Philadelphia office.
In a twist of fate, Beauvoir was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and many of the artifacts in the former library were destroyed. Had the rifle not been hidden in Delaware, it might have been lost in the storm.
The artifacts were hidden by Corbett in a mouse-infested secret crawlspace of an attic in Newark, Delaware, according to a report in Delaware online. The discovery came after a 14-year cold case investigation.
Many of the items were legally purchased by Corbett at flea markets and estate sales, the report said. Some were not, but officials couldn’t prove Corbett, 73, was the thief. He spent one day in jail and 14 months of house arrest and agreed to pay a $65,000 fine.
