San Patricios, Or St. Patrick's Battalion

[barddas]

Saint Patrick's Battalion, "The San Patricios," a notable arm of the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.

Dubious about why they were fighting a Catholic country and fed up with mistreatment by their Anglo-Protestant officers, hundreds of Irish, German and other immigrants deserted Taylor's army and joined forces with Mexico.

Led by Capt. John Riley of Co. Galway, they called themselves the St. Patrick's Battalion (in Spanish, the San Patricios) and fought against their former comrades in all the major campaigns of the war.

The history of the San Patricios is a woeful tale of angry, bewildered, naive, or calculating young men, from varied backgrounds, who deserted for a myriad of reasons and paid a fearful price.

The San Patricios, in the words of one Mexican general, "deserved the highest praise, because they fought with daring bravery." But eventually, Mexico surrendered, ceding almost half its territory to the United States.

Each San Patricio who deserted from the US side was interned after the war in Mexico and subsequently given an individual court-martial trial. Many of the Irish were set free, but some paid the ultimate price. Roughly half of the San Patricio defectors who were executed by the US for desertion were Irish.

There are ceremonies there twice a year, on September 12 which is the anniversary of the executions, and on Saint Patrick's Day.
It also clarifies the reasons for the war, and the active participation of immigrant people (most notably Irish but also Scots and Germans) who joined the Mexican side and paid for that decision with their lives.

Heroes
The Saint Patrick's Battalion in the US-Mexican War, has placed the Irish as a revered race in Mexico; even to this day, an Irish person in Mexico will be told a countless number of times about the famous 'Irish Martyrs' who defected from the US Army and gave their lives trying to save Mexico from US aggression from 1846-1848.

A main reason for their hero status in Mexico is derived from their exemplary performance in the battlefield. The San Patricios ultimately suffered severe casualties at the famous battle at Churubusco, which is considered the Waterloo for the Mexican Army in this war. Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who also commanded the armed forces, stated afterwards that if he had commanded a few hundred more men like the San Patricios, Mexico would have won that ill-famed battle.

The importance of these Irish renegades has not waned in Mexico over the years. In 1959, the Mexican government dedicated a commemorative plaque to the San Patricios across from San Jacinto Plaza in the Mexico City suburb of San Angel; it lists the names of all members of the battalion who lost their lives fighting for Mexico, either in battle or by execution.

A major celebration was held there in 1983, when the Mexican government authorized a special commemorative medallion honouring the San Patricios. First there was a special mass at a nearby parish, then school children placed floral wreaths at the plaque; the Mexico City Symphony played the national anthems of both Mexico and Ireland; Mexican officials eulogized the Irish Martyrs, and a few words were spoken by Irish Ambassador Tadgh O'Sullivan.

Beginning in 1993, the Irish began their own annual ceremony in Clifden, Co. Galway, John Riley's hometown.

While the brave soldiers of Saint Patrick's Battalion are not particularly well-known outside Mexico, it is clear that their god-like status in Mexico is enough to compensate for the attention they failed to receive in other countries. There is still a fond memory of "Los Colorados" the red-headed Irishmen who gave their lives in the struggle for Mexican sovereignty.

There are Irish names in prominent places ? if you can recognize them. There?s "O?Brien City," for instance, better known as Ciudad Obregon in the northern state of Sonora. Alvaro Obregon (1880-1928) was a famous and admired Mexican soldier and statesman.

Today few towns in Mexico are without a street by the name. O?Brien became the Spanish "Obregon," just like O?Dunn and McMurphy are changed to American-English "Dunn" and "Murphy." Sainte mait cuzat! (Irish for "Good health to you.")

The story of the San Patricios has already been given the film treatment by Mark Day of California and it was shown on RTE earlier this year.
However it has also attracted the attention of Bill McDonald, producer of Silver, and he has shot a new version in Durango in Mexico, with Tom Berenger in the lead role as Sergeant Riley from Clifden!

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Saint Patrick's Battalion
The Saint Patrick's Battalion (Spanish: Batallón de San Patricio) was a battalion of North American Irish and other Roman Catholic soldiers which fought with the Mexican army against the United States in the Mexican War.

The San Patricios have a somewhat cloudy early history, and very little is known for certain regarding their recruitment. One popular tale (played upon in the film One Man's Hero) says that the nucleus of the unit was formed following the severe punishment of Roman Catholic soldiers who had attempted to sneak into Mexican territory and attend mass. While this probably played a role, it is known that a large number of Irish, Czech, Hungarian, and German immigrants deserted the U.S. Army shortly before, and during the prosecution of, the Mexican-American War. They seem to have been motivated by the widespread discrimination practised within the U.S. Army at the time against Roman Catholics and a number of well-documented instances of rape and pillaging by American soldiers in largely Catholic Mexican border settlements.

The San Patricios first emerged during the Battle of Monterrey, as a battery of artillery commanded by a former United States Lieutenant and Irish-born immigrant, Jon Riley. Here, they served with great distinction, and are sometimes credited with defeating two separate American assaults into the heart of the city.

Following the engagement at Monterrey, the San Patricios grew in number and probably numbered around at least eight hundred men. Despite their excellent performance in a number of engagements as artillery, the San Patricios were ordered to muster as an infantry battalion in mid-1847 by personal order of Antonio López de Santa Anna. At the Battle of Churubusco, they were nearly annihilated, with most either being killed, or being taken prisoner (including Jon Riley). They were briefly reformed just before the Battle of Mexico City, but never regained their former numbers and were mustered officially out of Mexican service in 1850.

The surviving San Patricios taken by the U.S. Army suffered harsh reprisals. Those who had entered the service before the official declaration of war (Riley among them) were branded with the letter "D" as deserters and sentenced to time in hard labor before being released. Those who had entered the service following the declaration of war were hanged en masse in full view of the Battle of Chapultepec. As per the orders of General Winfield Scott, at the precise moment that the flag of the United States replaced that of Mexico atop the citadel they were executed.

Those who were released and survived the war generally disappeared from history. A handful are on Mexican record as having made use of land claims promised them by the Mexican government.



External Links

* http://www.geocities.com/drmichaelhogan

References

* Bauer, K. Jack, "The Mexican-American War, 1846-1848"
* Miguel Ángel Peral, ed., "Diccionario Biográfico Mexicano"


See Also:

* Battles of the Mexican-American War

[Eamon]

Great work Barrdas! The movie "One Mans Hero" is a pretty good adaptation of the story. The title comes from the phrase "One Mans hero is another mans traitor"

Eamon

[barddas]

Thank you, Eamon. I didn't really know anything about it, until I heard a song about here on CR. The song is The San Patricios by The Fenians. Check it out. Good tune!

Cheers

[Eamon]

Yeah, Man! Band of Rouges is one of my favorite albums. Star of the County Down into the Fighting 69th...giddy-up!

Eamon

[Roisin-Teagan]

WOW! Jason great research. I was very fascinated by the story. I've never heard of it before now. It would be a great story to bring to the big screen if the movie stays true to the actual history of San Patricios. Thanks for posting.

[maggiemahone1]

thank ye, barddas Very interesting and all new to me.

maggiemahone1