Antiques Roadshow

GUEST

I brought a Civil War sword that belonged to my husband's great-grandfather, Captain William Stork.

APPRAISER

In the center of the blade, we have "Capt. W.L. Stork, 29th Regiment P.V.," for Pennsylvania Volunteers. The sword itself is a model 1850 foot officer sword. And they made thousands of these and they went to a lot of different officers. This one's special because it has his name on it. The sword itself was sold by a firm William H. Horstmann in Philadelphia. They're one of the premier military goods dealers during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 as a sergeant. He rose to the rank of captain. He actually became captain of the 29th Pennsylvania in February 1863. And so we know he would have had this sword no earlier than February of 1863. This has the battles listed that he participated in up to a certain point. It mentions Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, and also Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. They also served after this point with Sherman on his march to Atlanta and then on to the sea. He got out in 1864. This could have been applied later on, possibly in the veterans' organization or when he got home. Because of the very attractive look, because of the regimental service and the name, the sword's worth about $2,500 in a retail situation. If you take that name off, you take that silver plaque, and it's just a standard sword, this is a piece that would sell about $750 in today's world.

GUEST

Huh.