A Revolutionary War-era musket that has been missing for 50 years has finally made its way back to Philadelphia with the help of Upper Merion Township Detective Brendan Dougherty, writes Justin Udo for KYW Newsradio.

The New England musket was among the many artifacts from the Revolutionary era stolen in 1968 from the Valley Forge Historical Society.

“The assumption was these things were long gone and would never be seen again,” said  Scott Stephenson, president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution in Old City.

Some of the stolen artifacts started reappearing in 2009.

“The owner who had purchased it in the 1960s, probably shortly after the theft, turned it over and said, ‘Oh my gosh I had no idea,’” Stephenson explained.

Dougherty helped recover the musket and is currently working on tracking down 39 more stolen Revolutionary War artifacts.

“We forecast that we’re going to spend the rest of our careers tracking down these items,” he said.

The musket, which was made in the early 1770s, will eventually be displayed at the Museum of the American Revolution. Until then, it will go through a conservation assessment.

Read more about the return of this Revolutionary War-era musket at KYW Newsradio.