Gentleman ...thanks for all the informative replies, they were most interesting, as was the rifle.
Gentleman ...thanks for all the informative replies, they were most interesting, as was the rifle.
"We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst."
--C.S. Lewis
Howsabout I paint a story without any diversion into "American capture" as that, as they say, is facts not in evidence and is contraindicated.
In 1897 there was some severe fighting in Pinar del Rio; General Weyler and his Spanish forces against the rebels. That would account for the "1897" and location.
Let's say, for whatever reason, the gun was presented to Mr. Clay by the Spanish at the time. Perhaps he owned a tobacco plantation or whatever.
Let's fast forward to 1899. The "United Service Club" was more or less the "USO" before the USO existed. They used to have lodging for wayward soldiers and sailors and, periodically, had "talks" where whatever leading light would give a talk. Let's further presume that, as the tag indicates, Mr. Clay presented that to the club in 1899. Why? Because of the recent war there was renewed interest in all things Cuban and Spanish due to our war. Nowhere does it claim that it was captured by U.S. forces though and it'd be highly unlikely that anyone capturing it in, say, 1898 would know it had been at Pinar del Rio in 1897. Furthermore, if it had been captured by U.S. forces one would expect that location and date to also be noted.
Interesting gun but the entire "American Capture" guessing seems to have tacked to port quite severely. Looks like an item presented to an American who "regifted" it to the club.