Personal Narrative-Captain Bauder

A tarnished sword sat in my grandparents' house for 50 years. No one knew where it came from. No one knew why it was there. Three years ago, I spotted this sword propped up against the fireplace. I noticed an inscription in the brass and leather scabbard with a name, Ephraim F. Bauder, in cursive script. This is the story of that sword. I’m a history nut with a passion for artifacts. So much so, that I started my company, Wormuth Antiques, to resell flea market, garage sale, and estate sale finds to local antique shops and on the internet.
Although I regularly buy and sell rusty, antique bicycles, ripped military uniforms, and dusty paintings, this sword had an unmistakable historical aura to it. I know that sounds odd, but I picked it up and felt its importance and value.
I brought the sword home and rolled up my sleeves to do some research. After scouring the New York State Civil War Archives with minimal success, I needed to contact a Civil War historian to take my research on the sword to the next
I knew it was in Riverview Cemetery in Baldwinsville, but I wasn’t able to narrow down the location. So, one soggy Saturday I combed through hundreds of moss covered and weather beaten headstones for Captain Bauder’s plot. By early afternoon I had located his gravesite, plot 81RS. This brought a finish to my research.
A mysterious sword propped up against a fireplace at my grandparents’ house turned into the most historical and fascinating artifact I have ever researched. This sword is a perfect embodiment of my love for history. For me, it’s not necessarily the textbooks or the lectures. It’s the intriguing stories of ordinary people like Captain Bauder, details of their lives, the place they hold in our country’s past, and, in this case, the connection to my family. The never ending quest to uncover the stories of our ancestors is what brings history to life for