Santa Ana's Leg

In 1847, at the Battle of Cerro Gordo during the Mexican War, soldiers from the Fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteers sneaked behind enemy lines and emerged with the Mexican commander's leg. It wasn't as grisly as it sounds: the leg was artificial and the general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, wasn't wearing it at the time. The leg was brought to Pekin, Illinois, as a war trophy and was displayed to curiosity seekers at ten cents a peek. Sent briefly to the Crystal Palace in London and shown in Washington, D.C., it's now under glass at the Illinois National Guard headquarters in Springfield, where you can see it. Periodically requests come to return the leg to Mexico or Texas, but such a move is unlikely. "It was bought with the blood of Illinois volunteers," says retired colonel William "Dutch" Holland, director of the Illinois State Military Museum.