A "significant" Civil War sword that may have been sold, stolen or bartered away from Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum is back at the Oakland museum, officials said.

A collector purchased the ornate sword, presented to Capt. Augustus Plummer Davis in 1862, at a local antique market last week. Realizing what he had, David Aeberli, 72, of McCandless contacted museum CEO Ron Gancas and curator Michael Kraus.

Aeberli sold the sword to the museum for the amount he paid, Kraus said. The museum did not want to disclose the price.

"It belongs out there. I can go out and look at it anytime. Now everybody can look at it, too," said Aeberli, whose great-grandfathers fought in the Civil War.

After the war, Davis, who was wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks, Va., on May 31, 1862, founded the Sons of Union Veterans, or SUV, a national organization for the eldest sons of Civil War veterans. Aeberli is a member of the organization.

The sword, dated July 4, 1862, was made by the N.P. Ames Co., Gancas said. Founded in Chelmsford, Mass., in 1791, the company began making swords for foot artillery soldiers in 1832, according to its website.

"These are a special class of swords ... higher quality and purchased by the members of a unit as a token of esteem," said Kraus, who believes the sword was part of the museum's collection during a period in which artifacts often were traded for labor or favors.

The sword likely disappeared from the museum sometime before 1999 because no one kept track of items that were traded. Soldiers & Sailors, once run by the county, became a nonprofit organization in January 2000 and Gancas keeps inventory.

Davis, born in 1835 in Gardiner, Maine, served in the 11th Maine Infantry during the war and became a prominent Pittsburgh businessman afterward. He was a member of the Alexander Hays Post No. 3, Grand Army of the Republic, or GAR, which established Soldiers & Sailors to recognize Allegheny County's Civil War veterans.

He organized the SUV in 1881 in the Old City Hall. Its first chapter was Davis Camp No.1, named in honor of its founder. Popularity of the "Sons" grew across the country

to peak membership of 200,000 in 1904, and the group remains active. Davis Camp No. 1 meets at Soldiers & Sailors, Gancas said.

Davis died in 1899 and willed four swords and other war artifacts to the national SUV. The sword came to Soldiers & Sailors sometime after it opened in 1910. The museum does not know whether it has the three other swords.

It will house the sword in a showcase near the original hand-painted silk flag of the Davis Camp No. 1 and an oil portrait of Davis.

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