Ceremonies for New Brunswick's role in the War of 1812 are taking place in Edmundston on Saturday, but one of the few artifacts from the 104th Regiment remains in what used to be enemy territory.

Organizers have been commemorating the regiment's winter march, where soldiers walked from Fredericton to Kingston, for months now.

But one piece of the story hasn't been available for the re-enactments or the museum exhibitions.

The only surviving coat from the regiment is in the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, Mass.

"It really is just a stunning example. It's in great shape, considering it's 200 years old,” said Leon Doucette, curatorial assistant at the museum.

The coat was part of a shipment from England of 1,100 regiment uniforms in 1812 before an American privateer intercepted the ship and the supplies.

The coat was never worn by a regimental soldier.

The Canadian War Museum asked to borrow it, but the Massachusetts museum said no because it would have left a hole in its own exhibition on the war.

"We have such a meagre 1812 collection and that's sort of the crown jewel of what it is right now,” said Doucette.

The War Museum in Ottawa declined to talk about its request to borrow the coat, saying it’s worried that this would be seen as a cross-border museum dispute almost two centuries after the end of hostilities.