Also on December 29, 1989, an officer's sword belonging to an artillery officer in Dade's command on loan from the Smithsonian Institution arrived at the park. Upon seeing a description of the sword in the magazine "Smithsonian", Dr. Ray Giron, a former Santa Fe Community College and Central Florida Community College professor who collects swords, and Laumer contacted the organization. They learned that the sword had been in the Smithsonian's collection since 1880. Giron and Laumer requested that the sword be loaned to the Dade Battlefield museum. The sword was placed on display in a case containing a money belt and a sash that belonged to Lt. William Basinger, one of Dade's officers.