The prosthetic leg of a 19th-century Mexican general is going back on display in a Springfield museum.
The Illinois State Military Museum will put the leg of General Santa Anna back on display from October through December. The cork leg was captured in 1847 by the Fourth Regiment of the Illinois Volunteer Army.
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna lost his flesh-and-blood leg in 1838 during a battle with French troops in the Pastry War. His amputated limb was buried with full military honors.
Santa Anna was then forced to abandon his prosthesis after being caught off-guard during the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican-American War.
The leg was taken as a war trophy by U.S. forces. It has been in the possession of the museum since 1922. The museum did not respond to a request for comment from NPR Illinois.
A second prosthetic leg was also captured by the Fourth Regiment; it is on display in the Governor Richard J. Oglesby Mansion in Decatur.
The leg has courted controversy for years, with critics – including a class of Texas students who visited Springfield in 2016 – saying it should be returned to Mexico. The museum has refused requests to do so.
As of 2026, no Mexican official has formally asked for the return of the leg.
