1860s-era sword found in shack's attic

HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- Marty Jansen was crawling in the attic of an 80-year-old wooden shanty Saturday on Gumtree Road, batting spider webs and sweating profusely while volunteering in the 100-degree heat.

He was re-roofing the splintering, rotting house that organizers hope to turn into the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island.

There in the attic he found a rusted relic from the 1800s - a sword emblazoned with the military insignia of the Grand Army Republic, or the Union army from the Civil War.

"I didn't say a word at first because I wasn't sure what I found," Jansen said. "I knew later it was a good find." At first, it stunned the volunteers working on the house.

"Our jaws dropped when he told us there was a sword in the attic," said Carrie Hirsch, Gullah Museum treasurer. "We were like, 'Wow, what a find!'" They called Louise Miller Cohen, director of the Gullah Museum and the owner of the house.

The pieces of the puzzle came together for Cohen.

The home, built in 1930, belonged to her uncle, Bubba Duey.

She believes the sword Jansen discovered was given to Duey by his grandfather, William Simmons, a freed slave and Union soldier in the Civil War. The sword is not thought to have been used in combat but was made soon after the war as a historical replica. Duey hid the sword in the attic for safekeeping, believing no one would find it there, Cohen said.

"There was no access to the attic," Jansen said. "It was very well hid."

Over the past two days, she has called various relatives. They were all surprised at the find.

"We had no idea it was there, never knew there was a sword my great-grandfather owned," Cohen said. "If there was going to be treasure, we thought it'd be in the ground. But this treasure to me and my family was in the attic."

Soon, it might be on display for all to see. With the help of others, Cohen hopes to turn her family's land into a Gullah museum, with four restored homes, an open-air pavilion and an art gallery.

She doesn't want to sell the sword, saying she prefers it find a permanent home in the museum.

Hirsch hopes to find an expert to determine the sword's history.

"They'll have to come here to see it," Cohen said, cutting her eyes toward her prized possession.

"We're not leaving it with them."