Stolen rifle, used at Battle of New Orleans, back in museum

NEW ORLEANS – The FBI says a rifle that was used during the Battle of New Orleans is back at a museum after being stolen from there 35 years ago.

The head of the FBI’s New Orleans office, Eric Rommal, says it’s the only known weapon that has been traced back and documented to one of two preliminary battles in December 1814.

Rommal says the museum asked the FBI to investigate in the fall, and the bureau and Louisiana State Police found it at a home in south Louisiana. He says the homeowners bought the rifle in 1982, apparently without realizing it was stolen, and co-operated with investigators.

The agencies returned the rifle to the Confederate Memorial Hall last week, on the anniversary of the final Battle of New Orleans in 1815.