History in the walls: Civil War bayonet pokes through Moorhead remodeling project

Denman Weis pages through a book

Denman Weis pages through a book Tuesday in Moorhead, published in 1807 about George Washington. His wife, Kathryn, found it years ago in another home remodel in Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Denman Weis found this Civil War bayonet, seen Tuesday, in this basement wall while remodeling his south Moorhead home. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

MOORHEAD Denman Weis was doing remodeling work in his south Moorhead home last week when he stumbled upon a piece of American history.

A very pointy piece.

After removing paneling from the walls of a basement closet, he discovered a bayonet with a long, triangular-shaped blade resting within the studs.

Im ex-military, so I knew right away what it was, Weis said.

I wasnt sure if it was Civil War, or World War I. Then I looked it up online and it definitely was Civil War, he said. From his research, it seems few soldiers in the Civil War used their bayonet as a weapon, instead employing them for things like stirring soup.

It isnt known when the bayonet was walled up in the Moorhead home, or who put it there, said Weis, who along with his wife, Kathryn, bought the house last year from one of their sons, David Larson.

Larson owned the house for about a dozen years but never knew the bayonet was there, his father said.

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History in the walls: Civil War bayonet pokes through Moorhead remodeling project