The Colt revolver owned by Theodore Roosevelt and carried by him on the famous Charge on San Juan Heights during the Spanish American War in 1898 has been recovered and returned to Sagamore Hill NHS by the FBI. The revolver had been stolen from Sagamore Hill NHS in April, 1990. Investigators from NPS Law Enforcement and Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation followed up on an anonymous tip and retrieved the revolver. The revolver has been held by the FBI during the investigations and has been returned to the site during a public ceremony by the FBI on Wednesday, June 14th. The revolver had been taken from the old exhibit at Old Orchard which was dismantled in 2004 and replaced by a new installation. The subsequent rehabilitation of Old Orchard included state of the art climate control, and alarm systems as well as fire suppression—all enhancing the security of the building. Since 1990 all of other buildings and exhibits at Sagamore Hill received enhanced alarm and security devices. Superintendent Greg Marshall stated, “We are pleased to see this cherished artifact come back home. This revolver is one of the icons one associates with Theodore Roosevelt, along with his Rough Rider uniform and hat.” On Wednesday, June 14th at 1:00PM the FBI Agent John Mershon returned the pistol to Supt. Marshall at Sagamore Hill. The presentation took place on the porch of the home of the 26th president. Chief of Cultural Resources and Curator, Amy Verone stated, “The revolver has been examined by Philip Scheier, Senior Curator from the National Rifle Association and an expert on the small arms of the Spanish-American War, and John McCabe the Historian at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, to verify its authenticity. The revolver will be inspected to determine if it needs repairs or conservation. Our plan is to put the revolver on exhibit but that can only happen after the necessary conservation work is done and a mount is built for its display. We will notify the public when the weapon goes on exhibit,” she concluded, “We are grateful to all who worked so hard on the recovery of this piece of history.”
