The mortar was presented by Spain to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. The inscription, on the left side of gift, reads:
"To Commemorate / the raising of the siege of Cadiz, in consequence of the Glorious Victory, gained by the / Duke of Wellington / over the French near Salamanca, on the XXII of July MDCCCXII. / This Mortar, cast for the destruction of that great port, with powers surpassing all others, / and abandoned by the Beseigers on their Retreat. / Was presented as a token of respect and gratitude by the Spanish Nation / to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent".
The right side of the gift as an inscription in Latin that probably reads the same.
The rear, of the base, has an inscription that reads:
"Constructed / in the / Carriage Department / Royal Arsenal / Earl of Mulgrave / Master General / 1814". That would seem to refer to the base that the mortar is at on.
This mortar could throw a shell nearly five km - an unheard-of distance at the time.
The photos do this piece more justice than words ever could.
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The Siege of Cadiz
A siege of the large Spanish naval base of Cádiz by a French army from February 5, 1810 to August 24, 1812 during the Peninsular War. Following the occupation of Madrid on March 23, 1808, Cádiz became the Spanish seat of power, and was targeted by 60,000 French troops under the command of Marshal Claude Victor for one of the most important sieges of the war. Defending the city were 2,000 Spanish troops who, as the siege progressed, received aid from 10,000 Spanish reinforcements as well as British and Portuguese troops.
During the siege, which lasted two and a half years, the Cortes Generales government in Cadiz (the Cádiz Cortes) drew up a new constitution to reduce the strength of the monarchy (a constitution eventually revoked by Fernando VII).
In October 1810 a mixed Anglo-Spanish relief force embarked on a disastrous landing at Fuengirola. A second relief attempt was made at Tarifa in 1811; however, despite defeating a detached French force of 15,000-20,000 under Marshal Victor at the Battle of Barrosa, the siege was not lifted.
In 1812, the Battle of Salamanca eventually forced the French troops to retreat from Andalusia, for fear of being cut off by the allied armies. Defeat at Cádiz contributed to the liberation of Spain from French occupation, due to the survival of the Spanish government and the use of Cádiz as a jump off point for the Allied forces.
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