Civil War sword that belonged to N.B. veteran brought back to Saint Andrews

A sword from the U.S. Civil War era that belonged to a New Brunswick veteran has made it home.

A repatriation ceremony for John F. Stevenson's ceremonial sword was held in Saint Andrews on Saturday in conjunction with a graveside service to recognize four Civil War soldiers.

Stevenson, who was born in Saint Andrews in the 1830s, was a doctor who completed his studies at Harvard University. During the war, which lasted from 1861 to 1865, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving as a surgeon in the medical corps for the 29th Connecticut, an infantry unit of Black volunteers.

"It's kind of a little-known fact of history that quite a few New Brunswickers actually fought in the American Civil War," said David Hughes, manager of the New Brunswick Military History Museum in Oromocto.

Stevenson fell ill while serving in Texas and died shortly after in New York. His body was returned to Saint Andrews for burial, but his sword did not make it back to New Brunswick.

Early last year, Quispamsis historian Troy Middleton stumbled upon an online listing that offered the sword for sale and was able to confirm it had belonged to Stevenson.

Ontario collector Robert Low was asking for $8,000 to $8,500 for the sword but agreed to sell it for a bargain price of $6,200 because he knew of its New Brunswick connections.

"When I told him who I was, what we were trying to do and, you know, we're from New Brunswick, he actually lowered the price quite a bit and gave us the opportunity to raise the money," Middleton said.

The money was raised in about three months through the New Brunswick Historical Society by way of donations and fundraiser events, he said, and the sword was put on display at the Loyalist House museum in Saint John last summer after the transaction was completed in May.

"The Canadian Museum of History heard about us and … they ultimately donated the, you know, a beautiful cabinet for us to put it in to display it. I couldn't be happier," said Middleton.

This fall, Stevenson's sword will be part of a larger display about New Brunswickers in the Civil War that will be exhibited at the New Brunswick Military History Museum. 

Hughes called the sword "an important artifact," and encouraged people to visit the fall exhibition.

"I think it's going to show a lot of people a piece of New Brunswick's military history … people kind of tend to think of the American Civil War as just affecting Americans."