Collections Manager Catherine Wright tells a local television station that the .36-caliber Spiller & Burr revolver was stolen in 1975 when the museum collection was moved to a new building.
A woman in Knoxville, Tenn., discovered the gun in December in her late father's belongings. She tried to sell it to an Ohio antique dealer who traced the gun to the museum.
The local television station reports that the woman's father collected Civil War items. It's not known how he came into possession of the gun. The woman will not face charges.
Wright says the Spiller & Burr revolver was one of the first Confederate-manufactured handguns. This one has an estimated value of $50,000.
