Illinois vs. Mexico

The name Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna probably does not mean much to most Springfield residents. It's a name that probably shouldn't mean too much either if it weren't for a military regiment from Illinois that attacked the Mexican General and his men. They feasted on his chicken and took his leg.

Santa Anna was probably the single most important figure in 19th Mexico. He was a military hero, renegade and occasionally President. He led an amazing life and surprisingly lived to be an old man. To give him perspective in American terms, HE attacked the Alamo. In 1846, the United States and Mexico went to war over the Republic of Texas. President Polk and Santa Anna went back and forth to try to resolve the dispute but war seemed inevitable. The following comes from the Tazewell County Historical Society:

On 18 April 1847, the main part of the American forces assaulted the Mexican batteries head on, led by Captain Robert E. Lee, assisted by Lieutenants U.S. Grant, P. G. T. Beauregard, and George B. McClellan. At the same time, Shields' division, including the Tazewell County volunteers, made a wide encircling movement through mountainous rugged terrain in order to try to come upon the Mexican position from the rear. The Mexican forces had assumed this route to be impassable.

Meanwhile, Santa Anna had moved his personal position to the left of the main battery. He decided to take a break to eat a roasted chicken dinner in his carriage, removing his artificial leg for comfort. According to a Mexican soldier's report, this is what happened next:

"General Santa Anna, accompanied by some of his adjutants, proceeded by the road to the left of the battery, when the enemy's column, now coming out of the woods, absolutely prevented his passage by a discharge which obliged him to fall back. The carriage in which he had left Jalapa was riddled with shot, the mules killed and taken by the enemy, as well as a wagon containing sixteen thousand dollars, received the day before for the pay of the troops. Every tie of command and obedience now being broken among our troops, safety alone being the object, and all being involved in a frightful whirl, they rushed desperately to the narrow pass of the defile that descends to the Plan del Rio, where the General-in-chief had proceeded, with the chiefs and officers who accompanied him.

Horrible, indeed, was the descent by that narrow and rocky path, where thousands rushed, disputing the passage with desperation, and leaving a track of blood upon the road. All classes being confounded, all military distinction and respect were lost, the badges of rank became marks for sarcasms, that were only meted out according to their grade and humiliation. The enemy, now masters of our camp, turned their guns upon the fugitives. This augmented more and more the terror of the multitude crowded through the defile, and pressed forward every instant by a new impulse, which increased the confusion and disgrace of the ill-fated day.
Cerro Gordo was lost! Mexico was open to the iniquity of the invader."

The voluntary regiment eventually became the Illinois National Guard. The members of that regiment returned to Illinois with their souvenir. They charged 10 cents to allow people to view it and eventually they turned it over to the Illinois State Military Museum at Camp Lincoln where it sits today. The Mexican government has been pleading with Illinois to get it returned for decades. It was even the subject of a King of the Hill episode. I take a neutral stance but it certainly is an issue that more people in the community should be aware of.