EL BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO
EL BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO
1840s-The Saint Patrick's Battalion was composed solely of foreign-born US Army deserters, mostly Catholic Irish immigrants, along with some German, English, French and Polish ones. They formed a distinct unit in the Mexican army and fought with great distinction against their former comrades. Many were refugees from the potato famine in Ireland, which had occurred several years in a row. In the US they fared no better. Jobs were scarce and the pay was poor. Work offered to them was hard manual labor such as digging ditches or laying railroad ties. Many were forced to enlist in the US Army to escape dead-end jobs. When the US invaded Mexico, the war was opposed by a small but vociferous minority. It was condemned by James Russell Lowell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass and Henry David Thoreau, prompting the latter to write his manifesto on Civil Disobedience, in which he stated that the first duty of the individual is not to the State but human society. The Irish immigrants found constant prejudice in the US. They were badly treated in the military and had to contend with rumors that the objective of the war was to wipe out Catholicism in Mexico.
Singing Green Grow the Leaves on the Hawthorne Tree , they marched with Major General Zachary Taylor, crossing Brownsville, Texas, where they had to wait for a war soon to begin. There was little available water. The food was of poor quality and often filled with maggots. Firewood was scarce for cooking. Yellow fever and dysentery wasted the ranks. Politically appointed officers had little feeling for the enlisted men, and mistreated them. General Pedro Ampudia saw an opportunity to demoralize the US Americans when his spies informed him of the miserable conditions of the foreign-born troops. Ampudia appealed to the Irish not to take arms against their religion and he urged them to abandon their unholy cause and become peaceful Mexican citizens. When some of the US soldiers, quartered in a church, urinated on the altar to show their contempt of Mexicans and Catholicism, it was the last straw. An infantry non-commissioned officer named Riley, with a Mexican leaflet in his pocket, crossed the river and presented himself to the Mexican officers, where he was commissioned a lieutenant. By May 11, when Congress declared war on Mexico, Riley had helped organize the deserters into two companies of infantry known as the Batallon de San Patricio ready and willing to fight for their adopted country. The Batallon proudly carried a banner of green fashioned on one side with the figure of Saint Patrick, the harp of Erin and a Shamrock. On the other side were the emblazoned the arms of Mexico. The Batallon got its first taste of combat in the defense of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. When the city finally yielded after a last-ditch fight and the garrison marched out to join the Mexican army to the South, the deserters were recognized by the US soldiers and jeered and spat upon.
1847 In the Battle of Buenavista (February) Santa Anna and Taylor clashed in one of the major battles of the war. The San Patricios skillfully handled their batteries of heavy guns. Their 18 and 24 pounders raked General Taylor's force with devastating effect. The San Patricios beat back the blue waves almost at will. At one point, the Battallon wiped out General Tayloro's Light Battery of the supersub Artillery as it completely outgunned the American battery, six pounders. Even so, the Battle of Buenavista was a rout for Santa Anna. As Tayloro' s infantry surged forward the San Patricios not only covered Santa Anna' s retreat and saved their own guns, they also carried off two bronze six pounders, all that were left of Light Battery. In March, General Winfeld Scott landed in Veracruz, and by August he was camped on the continental divide near the Valley of Mexico. On the night of the 19th, in a heavy rainstorm, the Irish rolled their heavy guns into the fortifications of Churubusco in Mexico City. The Mexicans constructed a strong bridgehead on the road to Acapulco on one side, and on the other they rallied at the Convento de San Pablo (1678) where most of the San Patricios were stationed.
At noon, General Scott' s entire advance was halted as the Mexican batteries sent a fierce flame of fire in the faces of the invaders. Then for most of the afternoon the Irish and the two Mexican batallions defended their fortified position, putting up the most stubborn resistance of the entire war. Riley's gunners served their field pieces with reckless abandon and fury. For them Victory or Death was not a slogan, but a fact. Their guns smashed back at the US assault after assault on the two roads over the lava beds. The US Americans suffered heavy losses; 177 killed and 879 wounded. The San Patricios took special satisfaction in spotting and picking off their former officers. By late afternoon the Mexicans were forced to yield their bridgehead and retire to the convent when the US infantry crossed the river to outflank them. The San Patricios fought with grim determination, and even when the Mexicans attempted to raise a white flag to stop a useless massacre, the San Patricios fiercely tore it down. At last, Riley and what was left of the Batallon, their ammunition exhausted, were overpowered in hand to hand combat. Where is the ammunition? Demanded the US officers when they entered the convent. General Anaya replied, If I had any ammunition, you would not be here. 65 of the San Patricios were captured. General Scott issued an order by which he convened a courts martial for 29. All 29 were convicted and sentenced to hang. General Scott pardoned two and commuted the sentences of seven others. For these he ordered 50 lashes and the letter D branded on their cheeks. The Mexicans angrily termed the branding and the hangings an act of barbarism. Petitions for mercy were circulated by the Archbishop, the population and the British Ambassador, but to no avail. 16 San Patricios were hanged in September at San Angel. Riley and the others who were spared were forced to dig graves of their comrades. The remaining 4 were hanged the following day in Mixcoac. The remaining lot, 36 in number, were tried and convicted in Tacubaya. Scott remitted the sentences of 2 and commuted 4 others to lashings and branding. Colonel W.S. Harney of the Second Dragoons mean-spiritedly put the last 30 condemned men on a hanging scaffold so they could watch the last battle at Chapultepec, heroically defended by the cadets of the Mexican Military College: Juan de la Barrera, Agustin Melgar, Juan Escutia, Fernando Montes de Oca, Vicente Suarez and Francisco Marquez, where all six leapt to their deaths rather than surrender to the gringos. Finally, the last sight the San Patricios were to see was the eagle-and-snake banner of the Mexican flag as it was lowered and the Stars and Stripes put in its place.
1848 Late in the Spring, the US Army marched out of Mexico City and the remaining San Patricios were taken to New Orleans, stripped of their uniforms and drummed out of the Army. The San Patricios went on to become National Heroes for Mexico, and a monument to them was erected in the War Museum in Churubusco.
EL BATALLON DE SAN PATRICIO
1840s-The Saint Patrick's Battalion was composed solely of foreign-born US Army deserters, mostly Catholic Irish immigrants, along with some German, English, French and Polish ones. They formed a distinct unit in the Mexican army and fought with great distinction against their former comrades. Many were refugees from the potato famine in Ireland, which had occurred several years in a row. In the US they fared no better. Jobs were scarce and the pay was poor. Work offered to them was hard manual labor such as digging ditches or laying railroad ties. Many were forced to enlist in the US Army to escape dead-end jobs. When the US invaded Mexico, the war was opposed by a small but vociferous minority. It was condemned by James Russell Lowell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass and Henry David Thoreau, prompting the latter to write his manifesto on Civil Disobedience, in which he stated that the first duty of the individual is not to the State but human society. The Irish immigrants found constant prejudice in the US. They were badly treated in the military and had to contend with rumors that the objective of the war was to wipe out Catholicism in Mexico.
Singing Green Grow the Leaves on the Hawthorne Tree , they marched with Major General Zachary Taylor, crossing Brownsville, Texas, where they had to wait for a war soon to begin. There was little available water. The food was of poor quality and often filled with maggots. Firewood was scarce for cooking. Yellow fever and dysentery wasted the ranks. Politically appointed officers had little feeling for the enlisted men, and mistreated them. General Pedro Ampudia saw an opportunity to demoralize the US Americans when his spies informed him of the miserable conditions of the foreign-born troops. Ampudia appealed to the Irish not to take arms against their religion and he urged them to abandon their unholy cause and become peaceful Mexican citizens. When some of the US soldiers, quartered in a church, urinated on the altar to show their contempt of Mexicans and Catholicism, it was the last straw. An infantry non-commissioned officer named Riley, with a Mexican leaflet in his pocket, crossed the river and presented himself to the Mexican officers, where he was commissioned a lieutenant. By May 11, when Congress declared war on Mexico, Riley had helped organize the deserters into two companies of infantry known as the Batallon de San Patricio ready and willing to fight for their adopted country. The Batallon proudly carried a banner of green fashioned on one side with the figure of Saint Patrick, the harp of Erin and a Shamrock. On the other side were the emblazoned the arms of Mexico. The Batallon got its first taste of combat in the defense of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. When the city finally yielded after a last-ditch fight and the garrison marched out to join the Mexican army to the South, the deserters were recognized by the US soldiers and jeered and spat upon.
1847 In the Battle of Buenavista (February) Santa Anna and Taylor clashed in one of the major battles of the war. The San Patricios skillfully handled their batteries of heavy guns. Their 18 and 24 pounders raked General Taylor's force with devastating effect. The San Patricios beat back the blue waves almost at will. At one point, the Battallon wiped out General Tayloro's Light Battery of the supersub Artillery as it completely outgunned the American battery, six pounders. Even so, the Battle of Buenavista was a rout for Santa Anna. As Tayloro' s infantry surged forward the San Patricios not only covered Santa Anna' s retreat and saved their own guns, they also carried off two bronze six pounders, all that were left of Light Battery. In March, General Winfeld Scott landed in Veracruz, and by August he was camped on the continental divide near the Valley of Mexico. On the night of the 19th, in a heavy rainstorm, the Irish rolled their heavy guns into the fortifications of Churubusco in Mexico City. The Mexicans constructed a strong bridgehead on the road to Acapulco on one side, and on the other they rallied at the Convento de San Pablo (1678) where most of the San Patricios were stationed.
At noon, General Scott' s entire advance was halted as the Mexican batteries sent a fierce flame of fire in the faces of the invaders. Then for most of the afternoon the Irish and the two Mexican batallions defended their fortified position, putting up the most stubborn resistance of the entire war. Riley's gunners served their field pieces with reckless abandon and fury. For them Victory or Death was not a slogan, but a fact. Their guns smashed back at the US assault after assault on the two roads over the lava beds. The US Americans suffered heavy losses; 177 killed and 879 wounded. The San Patricios took special satisfaction in spotting and picking off their former officers. By late afternoon the Mexicans were forced to yield their bridgehead and retire to the convent when the US infantry crossed the river to outflank them. The San Patricios fought with grim determination, and even when the Mexicans attempted to raise a white flag to stop a useless massacre, the San Patricios fiercely tore it down. At last, Riley and what was left of the Batallon, their ammunition exhausted, were overpowered in hand to hand combat. Where is the ammunition? Demanded the US officers when they entered the convent. General Anaya replied, If I had any ammunition, you would not be here. 65 of the San Patricios were captured. General Scott issued an order by which he convened a courts martial for 29. All 29 were convicted and sentenced to hang. General Scott pardoned two and commuted the sentences of seven others. For these he ordered 50 lashes and the letter D branded on their cheeks. The Mexicans angrily termed the branding and the hangings an act of barbarism. Petitions for mercy were circulated by the Archbishop, the population and the British Ambassador, but to no avail. 16 San Patricios were hanged in September at San Angel. Riley and the others who were spared were forced to dig graves of their comrades. The remaining 4 were hanged the following day in Mixcoac. The remaining lot, 36 in number, were tried and convicted in Tacubaya. Scott remitted the sentences of 2 and commuted 4 others to lashings and branding. Colonel W.S. Harney of the Second Dragoons mean-spiritedly put the last 30 condemned men on a hanging scaffold so they could watch the last battle at Chapultepec, heroically defended by the cadets of the Mexican Military College: Juan de la Barrera, Agustin Melgar, Juan Escutia, Fernando Montes de Oca, Vicente Suarez and Francisco Marquez, where all six leapt to their deaths rather than surrender to the gringos. Finally, the last sight the San Patricios were to see was the eagle-and-snake banner of the Mexican flag as it was lowered and the Stars and Stripes put in its place.
1848 Late in the Spring, the US Army marched out of Mexico City and the remaining San Patricios were taken to New Orleans, stripped of their uniforms and drummed out of the Army. The San Patricios went on to become National Heroes for Mexico, and a monument to them was erected in the War Museum in Churubusco.
posted by ANTONIO at 11:33 AM
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