FORT LIGONIER, PA.- Two eighteenth century saddle pistols never before seen by the public, which France抯 Marquis de Lafayette presented to George Washington and were later owned by President Andrew Jackson, were unveiled April 24, at Fort Ligonier in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In 2002, they set a world auction weapons record when they were sold at Christie抯 to a mystery buyer.

The exceptional pair of French eighteenth century steel-mounted saddle pistols with exquisite gold and silver inlays and carved and engraved Rococo embellishments, are said to be among the most important pair of firearms in American History. The pistols will be on view at Fort Ligonier as part of the new permanent George Washington Collection Exhibit, which will also feature an extremely rare handwritten autobiographical manuscript in which Washington recalls his dangerous years on the Pennsylvania frontier as a young man in the French and Indian War.

The buyer at Christie抯 Americana Auction on January 19, 2002, was the Richard King Mellon Foundation, which purchased the pistols anonymously for the Fort Ligonier historic site and museum, located about an hour east of Pittsburgh.

揂fter two centuries in private hands, we are pleased to be able to help make these important pistols that symbolize the tumultuous birth of our new nation available to the public for the first time,� said Richard P. Mellon, Chairman of the Mellon Foundation.

George Washington Exhibit at Fort Ligonier - The pistols will be joined at Fort Ligonier by the George Washington 揜emarks� document, which will also be part of the permanent Washington collection. The 揜emarks� is a document the public was never supposed to see - which reveals the personal thoughts of America抯 First President about his early military career in the French and Indian War in the 1750s. Of the millions of words Washington wrote during his lifetime, only the 揜emarks� were given to private reflection. Washington抯 own instructions were that those words were never supposed to survive him. But survive him they did.

The 揜emarks� document is the result of a major gift from the Laurel Foundation, with additional private support from Jim and Suzy Broadhurst and Glen and Diane Meakem. The remarks were written by Washington in 1787, and vividly describe incidents found nowhere else in his voluminous writing, including a twilight foray near Fort Ligonier when Washington抯 troops mistakenly fired on one another causing many casualties. He risked his life stepping between the lines, dodging musket balls as he tried to stop the 揻riendly fire.�

The two important artifacts were purchased in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War and the critical role that Washington played in the history of the region and the nation. Now, the two American treasures will be exhibited on a regular basis at the Fort Ligonier Museum. 揟he pistols and the 揜emarks� document help us to visualize George Washington, a young colonel during his formative period in the French and Indian War and later as the leader of the Constitutional Army,� said Martin West, Executive Director of the Fort Ligonier Association.

Laura Fisher is director of French and Indian War 250, Inc., a consortium of historic sites and museums that is spearheading public and private investment in conjunction with French and Indian War commemoration to preserve and interpret historic places and artifacts from this critical period in the nation抯 colonial history.

Said Fisher, 揃oth of these artifacts are part of our nation抯 historical legacy that have now been purchased from private collections on behalf of the public. Their installation at Fort Ligonier is only part of the investment during this commemorative period to significantly enhance the collections and the visitor experience at key historical destinations in western Pennsylvania.�

Owners of the famous pistols - Before reaching their new home in Ligonier, the eighteenth century pistols passed through the hands of a French aristocrat, two American presidents and several private collectors before being purchased by American gun dealer Bob Simpson in France in 1983. Simpson then spent seventeen years researching and authenticating the ownership of the pistols.

Lafayette brought the flintlocks to America when he fought alongside the colonists during the America Revolution. Washington regarded him almost like a son and prot間�, and later Lafayette gave the pistols to the American general as a sign of respect and admiration. Washington is believed to have carried them at Valley Forge, Monmouth, Yorktown in the Revolution and during the Whiskey Rebellion when he was president.

In 1824, a Washington descendant gave the pistols to Andrew Jackson, a new American hero, who hung them over his mantle. Jackson said in 1806 that 揊irearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people抯 liberty, teeth and keystone under independence.� Jackson called the pistols 搒acred and holy relics� and bequeathed them back to the Lafayette family in 1845, where they remained until the 1950s. They have been owned since then by various private collectors, before being donated to Fort Ligonier.