Robert and Linda Melancon spent years sifting for clues and spreading the word about the old flintlock rifle they acquired from an antiques store in the French Quarter.
They scrutinized microfilm records for details about the life of the man who owned it originally, a volunteer who carried it at the Battle of New Orleans.
Robert Melancon, 77, traveled as far as Pennsylvania to speak in front of the Kentucky Rifle Association, a group of collectors with a particular interest in the type of gun that helped Andrew Jackson's forces triumph over the British in New Orleans in January 1815.
And then, one day in November while they were out of town visiting a sick relative, they found out something else about their prized antique: It had been stolen from a museum decades ago.
While they were away, Robert Melancon said, the FBI raided their home in Thibodaux and took it back on behalf of the Confederate Memorial Hall in New Orleans.
"There's no doubt about it — it's their gun, and I'm glad they have it," Robert Melancon said.
Authorities announced the rifle's recovery on Monday, the 203rd anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.
And while Melancon said he is happy to see the rifle returned to its rightful owner, the whole episode has left a bad taste in his mouth, not least because he thought he obtained it lawfully in 1982.
"It's heartbreaking," he said. "It really is. We got that gun in good faith. And that rifle gained prominence because of what we did."
