This military saddle, decorated with the Mexican national emblem, was taken as a battle trophy during the Mexican War after the American victory at Cerro Gordo, Mexico.
In 1848, the United States defeated Mexico in a war for control of the southwestern territory that extended from Texas to California. Many Americans hailed the victory as fulfilling their "manifest destiny" to expand across the continent. But expansion also posed new challenges to American democracy, including the extension of slavery and preserving the rights of Mexican citizens living in the ceded territory.
