Illinois National Guard denies St. Mary's students' request for Santa Anna's fake leg

SAN ANTONIO – Dozens of St. Mary’s University students traveled to Illinois to ask the state to give them an artifact it has had for the last 169 years — Gen. Antonio Santa Anna’s fake leg.

The prosthetic has been at a military museum, but the students think it should be sent back to Mexico. The Illinois National Guard said that’s not going to happen.

The fake leg was taken when soldiers from Illinois traveled south to surprise Santa Anna during the Mexican-American War. Soldiers took the fake leg when Santa Anna fled.

READ MORE ON THE HISTORY OF SANTA ANNA'S LEG 

Members of the National Guard said this isn’t the first time someone has requested they give up the leg.

The students said the leg may represent a war trophy for the U.S., but it has a deeper meaning in Mexico.