Memorial to the Siege of Cádiz

The mortar was one of a number of giant siege weapons used by the French army under Marshal Soult during the two-year siege of Cádiz in Spain. Made in Seville in March 1811, it was spiked and abandoned when the French retreated after the Duke of Wellington's victory at the Battle of Salamanca in 1812. It was designed to be capable of throwing shells over what contemporaries described as "the immense distance" of 3 mi and could actually reach a range of 3.5 mi. Although the mortar and its siblings were intended to serve essentially as terror weapons to compel the inhabitants of Cádiz to surrender, they were, however, ineffective and inaccurate weapons. The shells were said to be aimed "much…

The mortar is mounted on the back of a large brass sculpture of Dante's reimagining of the monster Geryon (wrongly described as a "Chinese dragon" in some sources), Some liberties were taken with the classical depiction of Geryon, such as substituting wings for its multiple heads. The monster and mortar rest on a bed of brass measuring some 9 ft by 4 ft, representing a rock on which the monster has alighted. The whole structure measures 9 ft high and weights 16 tons. On the north side of the bed is the following inscription: <blockquote> <poem> DEVICTIS A WELLINGTON DUCE PROPE SALAMANCAM GALLIS, SOLUTAQUE EXINDE GADIUM OBSIDIONE, HANC QUAM ASPICITIS BASI SUPERIMPOSITAM BOMBARDAM, VI…