By CHRISTY HOPPE
Published: 08 May 2014 11:45 PM
Updated: 09 May 2014 01:42 AM
AUSTIN — The petition to wrest Santa Anna’s leg from Illinois and bring it to Texas was flat-footed from the start.
But Texas museum officials believe their heart was in the right place, even if that prosthetic leg is not.
Last month, the San Jacinto Battle Monument and Museum launched a petition on the White House website, hoping to get 100,000 signatures to lure an important artifact to Texas. It suggested that the wooden and cork leg used by Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna — the villain of the Alamo and Goliad and a figure deeply embedded in Texas lore — should join other historical items in a Texas museum.
The leg, curiously enough, is in the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield. And officials there are in no mood to give it up.
“We know Santa Anna is a big deal in Texas history,” said museum curator Bill Lear. “But it’s here. It’s going to stay here. You don’t trade artifacts.”
Given that attitude, San Jacinto museum officials thought a petition might do something to kick it loose.
“We tried to get the White House to diplomatically tiptoe between the interests of the states,” said San Jacinto museum president Larry Spasic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hit our Facebook page (yes we still have one), and this post on it if you’d like to discuss this subject on Facebook; and be sure you check your “get notifications” selection under the ‘like’ button on our page; recent Facebook upgrades have booted many of our followers off from getting our posts. Also, check us on Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Tumblr!