Family heirloom donated to county museum

MOUNT CARMEL- The Baird family donated a family heirloom, a 59 inch percussion cap long rifle, to the Wabash County Museum on Friday. The story of the rifle is as interesting as the historical heirloom itself.

William John Baird was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1847. Baird's family immigrated to the United States in 1852, living in Cambridge, Ohio.

At the age of 17, Baird joined the Union 15th Ohio Regiment Company and was mustered out at San Antonia, Texas in 1865. The donated rifle was used by Baird during his stint in the Civil War while he served in the Union Army.

Baird moved to Wabash County in the early 1870's. When Baird came to Mount Carmel he bore the distinction of being one of, if not the youngest, surviving Civil War veterans in Wabash County. Baird passed away in Mount Carmel in 1911.

Baird's move to Mount Carmel was the beginning of a long line of family to call this area home. Baird's grandchildren built a two story home on North Popular Street in Mount Carmel in 1933. Descendants of Baird occupied the home until 1985.

The rifle was kept between rafters in an unfinished upstairs bedroom of the home until 1950. Baird's grandson, Robert, had taken the rifle when he moved to California in 1950.

Last year, Baird's great-grandson, Joe, visited his Uncle Robert in California and was given the rifle. The third generation to now have possession of the historic Civil War rifle.

Joe and his brother Richard began to research the rifle to understand the history of gun used by their great-grandfather.

J Griffith Louisville Ky is stamped on the rifle. There is no serial number or date stamp that can be located. The brothers learned that rifle parts were shipped separately from England and were assembled by Joseph Griffith in Louisville, Kentucky between 1837 and 1876.

The rifle's percussion cap, which is a cap that contains powder would produce a spark by being struck by a hammer, was developed in 1820. By the late 1860's new metallic cartridges made the percussion cap obsolete.

Joe Baird, a Mount Carmel High School 1962 graduate, now lives in Jupiter, Florida with his wife Nance. Robert Baird, graduated from Mount Carmel High School in 1958, now resides in Leslie, Missouri with his wife Beverly.

The brothers traveled back to Mount Carmel this past weekend to attend a family wedding and they decided to bring the rifle back home and donate it to the Wabash County Museum.

The rifle, which has not been used since the Civil War, has been a part of the Baird family for 152 years. The Civil War artifact has traveled through multiple states and been handed down through generations. There are still plenty of Baird family members living in Wabash County. Joe and Robert's cousin, Mike Wolfe was on hand for the rifle donation at the museum on Friday.

The legacy of the rifle and the deep roots of the Baird family in Wabash County further exhibit the history of this area. The Baird family, however, is just happy that the rifle is in a safe place where the history of what their great-grandfather accomplished can be displayed.