What do Ireland and Mexico have in common? A distant island in Northwestern Europe, inhabited by descendants of the Celts, and a large Spanish-speaking country in Central America - it would seem, apart from the Catholic religion, which is professed by both the Irish and the Mexicans - practically nothing in common. But every year on September 12, Mexico celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Irish who died in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. The red-haired descendants of the Celts made a tangible contribution to Mexico's resistance to the aggressive actions of the United States of America. The history of the battalion of St. Patrick (Spanish Batallón de San Patricio) is one of the most interesting and heroic pages in the history of the Mexican-American war.
How Texas became American
By the middle of the 19th century, the North American United States had already grown strong enough to not only declare itself as a new ambitious and active player in the international political field, but also take care of expanding its territory at the expense of its closest neighbors. Since the territory of the United States is washed by oceans from the west and east, if it made sense to expand, then to the south. From the south, the then borders of the United States were adjacent to the possessions of Mexico. Until 1821, these territories were part of the Spanish colony New Spain, and after the proclamation of Mexico's independence, they became part of a new sovereign state. However, like many other Latin American countries, from the first years of its existence, Mexico was torn apart by political strife.
In parallel, the northern regions of the country, adjacent to the border with the United States and considered wild and undeveloped, began to be populated by American settlers. By the 1830s. there were already quite impressive English-speaking communities of American migrants living here. Naturally, the Mexican authorities did not like this situation very much, but as the number of Anglo-American settlers grew, the latter began to demand more rights. In 1835, the President of Mexico, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, approved in this post by the country's Congress in 1833, began to centralize the political administration in the country. Attempts by Santa Anna to establish a centralized military dictatorship were very disliked by the elites of certain Mexican states, including the state of Coahuila y Texas, which was home to a significant number of American settlers. The latter did not like the fact that Santa Anna insisted on the abolition of slave labor, on the basis of which the economy of resettlement farms was based, and also demanded that the Americans surrender their weapons, and that illegal immigrants should go back to the United States.
On October 2, 1835, hostilities broke out between the Mexican army and the Texas militias. The latter managed to quickly get the better of the regular army of Mexico, using its weakness and low morale. Several Mexican garrisons in the state surrendered, after which on March 2, 1836, English-speaking settlers declared the independence of the Republic of Texas. Mexican President Santa Anna responded by bringing in a significant military contingent into the territory of the rebellious state. At first, Mexican troops drove the Texan rebels, until April 21, 1836. The Texas army under the command of Sam Houston failed to defeat one of the Mexican formations and capture President Santa Anna himself. The latter, in exchange for his release, agreed to sign a peace treaty proclaiming the independence of Texas.
However, the Mexican government, of course, did not lose hope of a return to Texas. Although the Republic of Texas gained worldwide recognition and was backed by the United States, the Mexican armed forces periodically raided Texas territory. The United States of America did not formally defend Texas, but over the past decade, the United States has recruited volunteers to defend Texas from Mexican raids. At the same time, the United States refrained from a positive reaction to the petitions of some Texas politicians to include the newly-minted republic in the United States as the 28th state.
This changed when James Polk was elected President of the United States in 1844. A representative of the Democratic Party, he advocated the immediate and unconditional annexation of Texas and Oregon to the United States. Oregon land in the far southwest of the United States also bordered Mexico, but unlike Texas, it was never a Spanish colony or a Mexican state. Great Britain, France, Spain and even Russia claimed Oregon, but until the end of the 1840s. there was no state sovereignty over the free settlements of Oregon. On October 13, 1845, the Republic of Texas adopted a new constitution and a decree on accession to the United States, and on December 29, 1845, the American President James Polk signed a resolution on the entry of Texas into the United States of America.
Naturally, the decision to annex Texas to the United States was met with hostility in Mexico. The American government, realizing that an armed clash with its southern neighbor was becoming quite real, secretly began to redeploy military units to the Mexican border. The US military, under the command of General Zachary Taylor, was deployed from Louisiana to Texas. In addition to Texas, the United States expected, sooner or later, to seize its hands on the Pacific coast - California and New Mexico - which were also of significant economic and geopolitical interest.
Beginning of the Mexican-American War
Mexico on the eve of the war with the United States was an extremely unstable state politically. Internal political strife continued, accompanied by constant changes of governments and even presidents. This was perfectly understood by the American leadership, which sought to take advantage of the enemy's weakness and solve its tasks of acquiring new territories. On March 8, 1846, American units under the command of Zachary Taylor invaded Mexican territory and occupied the disputed territory between the Nueses and Rio Grande rivers, which the Mexican government considered its own, and the American one belonged to Texas. For a long time Mexico hesitated to declare war on the States. The Americans managed to gain a foothold on the banks of the Rio Grande before, on April 23, 1846, the Mexican government nevertheless decided to declare war on the United States.
It is obvious that Mexico was losing to the United States of America in terms of mobilization resources, quantity and quality of weapons. At the outbreak of the war, the United States armed forces numbered 7,883 officers and men. However, during the hostilities, the United States put more than 100 thousand people under arms, including 65,905 volunteers with a year of service.
The Mexican armed forces numbered 23,333 troops, but they were equipped with outdated weapons and poorly trained. An obvious advantage of the American armed forces was also the presence of a navy, which was practically absent from Mexico. It was with the help of the navy that the Americans managed to block the ports of California in June-July 1846, after which the independence of the Republic of California was proclaimed on July 4, 1846, and California was annexed to the United States of America on August 17. Undoubtedly, the fighting spirit of the majority of American military personnel - politically free citizens of the United States - was also stronger, while the Mexican military personnel were mainly represented by Indians and dependent peonies. However, not everything was going smoothly in the American army. Otherwise, St. Patrick's Battalion would not have appeared.
At the time of the outbreak of the war with Mexico, a significant number of military personnel recruited from among migrants served in the American army. Arriving in the United States, Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles, and other European immigrants were urged to join the armed forces, promising monetary rewards and even land allotments after the end of their service. Naturally, many agreed, especially since most of the time the American army at that time was engaged in taming the weakly armed Indians and did not conduct serious hostilities, unlike the European armies.
However, upon joining the American army, many emigrants faced harassment on national and religious grounds, the arrogance of the Anglo-Saxons - both officers and sergeants and soldiers, and financial fraud. All this contributed to the disappointment of some visiting soldiers in the American service. The outbreak of the Mexican-American war contributed to the growth of discontent among the part of the military personnel - migrants who professed Catholicism and did not want to fight with their fellow believers - Mexican Catholics. The bulk of the disaffected were Irish, of whom there were many among the migrants who arrived in the United States in general and among the military personnel of the American army. Recall that in Europe the Irish were famous for their belligerence and were considered good soldiers - they were willingly used in military service by the British, French and even Spaniards.
American historians claim that the main reason for the desertion of the Irish soldiers from the American army was the desire for a large monetary reward, allegedly promised by the Mexican government. In fact, while promises of money and land were certainly made, most of the Irish and other European defectors were motivated more by considerations of religious solidarity. As Catholics, they did not want to fight against their fellow believers on the side of the American Protestant government, especially with the officers - the Anglo-Saxons, who treated the European emigrants - Catholics as second-class people.
Even before the outbreak of hostilities, cases of desertion of Irish soldiers from the ranks of the American army became more frequent. Some deserters went over to the Mexican side from the first days of the war. At least from the beginning of May 1846, an Irish company of 48 men fought on the side of the Mexican army. On September 21, 1846, an artillery battery, manned by American defectors, took part in the Battle of Monterrey. By the way, it was in the artillery that the Irish soldiers managed to prove themselves most vividly. Since Mexico's artillery armament was outdated, and in addition to everything, there was a clear lack of trained artillerymen, it was the Irish, many of whom had served in the American artillery before switching to the Mexican side, who became the most combat-ready artillery unit of the Mexican army.
The best Mexican battalion
The Battle of Monterrey showed the high fighting qualities of the Irish gunners, who repelled several attacks by American troops. Nevertheless, despite the valor of the Irish, the Mexican command still capitulated. After the Battle of Monterrey, the Irish-manned unit of the Mexican army grew in size. According to some reports, it united up to 700 soldiers and officers, but most historians agree that it numbered 300 people and consisted of two reinforced companies.
This is how the Battalion of St. Patrick was born, named after a Christian saint, especially revered in Ireland and considered the patron saint of this island state. The Mexicans also called the battalion and its soldiers Los Colorados for the red hair and blush of the Irish military. However, in addition to the Irish, many Germans - Catholics fought in the battalion, there were also other immigrants from Europe who deserted from the American army or who arrived voluntarily - the French, Spaniards, Italians, Poles, British, Scots, Swiss. There were also blacks - residents of the southern states of the United States who escaped from slavery. At the same time, only a few people in the battalion were actually US citizens, the rest were emigrants. The battalion was replenished with deserters from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th artillery regiments, 2nd dragoon regiment, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th 1st and 8th Infantry Regiments of the American Army.
The battalion was commanded by John Patrick Riley, a twenty-nine-year-old native of Ireland who, shortly before the war, defected to the Mexican side from the American army. John Riley was born in 1817 in Clifden, County Galway. In the Irish version, his name was Sean O'Reilly. Apparently, he emigrated to North America in 1843, during a famine that affected many of Ireland's counties. According to some reports, Riley initially settled in Canada and entered service in the 66th Berkshire Regiment of the British Army, where he served in an artillery battery and received the rank of sergeant. He then moved to the United States in Michigan, where he enlisted in the US Army. Riley served with Company K, US Army 5th Infantry Regiment, prior to deserting and going over to the Mexican side. According to some reports, in the American army, Riley rose to the rank of lieutenant in a short time. Having gone over to the side of the Mexican army, after the formation of the battalion, he "temporarily" (that is, for the duration of the hostilities) received the rank of major in the Mexican army.
It was Riley who is considered the author of the idea of creating the Battalion of St. Patrick, as well as the developer of the battalion banner. By the way, about the banner. It was the national Irish green. Different versions of the green flag depicted: a harp topped with the Mexican coat of arms and a scroll with the inscription "Free Mexican Republic", under the harp the motto - Erin go Bragh! - "Ireland forever!"; the image of the "Virgin Eirin" in the form of a harp pole and the signature "Ireland forever!"; silver cross and golden harp. Thus, the Battalion tried to combine the Mexican and Irish symbols on the traditional green Irish cloth.
Despite the fact that the battalion, formed on the basis of an artillery battery, was officially considered an infantry, in fact, it was an artillery battalion, since it was armed with horse artillery. By the way, in terms of equestrian artillery, he was actually the only Mexican alternative to the American equestrian artillery units. On February 23, 1847, the battalion clashed with the American army at the Battle of Buena Vista. With the help of Mexican infantry, St. Patrick's soldiers attacked American positions, destroying an artillery battery. Several artillery pieces were captured, which were subsequently used by the Mexican army. American General Zachary Taylor sent a dragoon squadron to capture the artillery positions of the battalion, but the dragoons did not cope with this task and returned wounded. This was followed by an artillery duel between the battalion and several American batteries. As a result of the shelling, up to a third of the Irish soldiers were killed and wounded. For their valor, several Irish soldiers were awarded the Military Cross of the Mexican State.
Nevertheless, despite the shown courage and skill of the artillerymen, the numerical losses of the battalion entailed its reorganization. By order of the President of Mexico, General Santa Anna, St. Patrick's Battalion was renamed Patrick's Foreign Legion. The unit recruited volunteers from many European countries. Colonel Francisco R. Moreno was appointed commander of the legion, John Riley became commander of the first company, and Santiago O'Leary became commander of the second company. But even as an infantry unit, Patrick's Legion continued to perform well and prove itself in combat missions. Since each of the soldiers of the legion knew that in case of being captured by the Americans, he faced the death penalty, the soldiers of St. Patrick fought for life and death.
The combat training of the soldiers and officers of the legion was significantly different from the Mexican army, since most of the legionnaires were veterans who served in the British army, the armies of other European states, the United States and had good military training and combat experience. Most of the Mexican soldiers were mobilized peasants without military training. Therefore, the unit of St. Patrick remained, in fact, the only truly combat-ready in the Mexican army.
Battle of Churubusco and mass execution of prisoners
On August 20, 1847, the Battle of Churubusco began, in which the soldiers of St. Patrick were tasked with defending the positions of the Mexican army from the American assault. The Irish managed to repel three assaults by American soldiers. The lack of ammunition demoralized the Mexican soldiers. At the same time, when Mexican officers tried to raise the white flag and surrender the fortification, they were shot by the Irish. The legion of St. Patrick would have stood to the last drop of blood if the American shell had not hit the Irish powder magazine. There was nothing else to do but to launch a bayonet attack on the Americans. The latter, using multiple numerical superiority, managed to defeat the remnants of the famous unit. In the bayonet attack, 35 of St. Patrick's soldiers were killed, 85 people were wounded and captured (among them - the founder of the battalion, Major John Riley and the commander of the 2nd company, Captain Santiago O'Leary). Another group of 85 soldiers managed to fight back and retreat, after which they were reorganized as part of the Mexican army. In the Battle of Churubusco, American troops lost 1,052 people - in many ways, such serious losses were inflicted on them thanks to the combat prowess of the soldiers of St. Patrick.
The joy of the American command knew no bounds when 85 wounded Irishmen fell into their hands. In September 1847, forty-eight fighters of the battalion, who had deserted from the American army during the period of hostilities, were sentenced to be hanged. The rest of the Irish, who deserted even before the outbreak of hostilities, were sentenced to flogging, branding and life imprisonment (among them was John Riley). Historians argue that these sentences violated existing American regulations of the time that governed the punishment for desertion. So, it was understood that a deserter is subjected to one of three types of punishment - either flogging, or stigma, or hard labor. As for the deserters who fled during the hostilities, the death penalty by hanging was applied only to enemy spies from among the civilian population, the military should have been shot. As we can see, all the regulatory guidelines in this case were violated. On 10 September, 16 members of the St. Patrick's Battalion were hanged in San Angel, and four more were executed in a nearby village on the same day. Patrick Dalton, who was one of John Riley's closest associates and the creators of the battalion, was strangled to death.
On September 12, 1847, American troops stormed the Chapultepec fortress. The siege was attended by an American compound numbering 6,800 soldiers and officers, while the fortress was defended by Mexican troops numbering more than 3 times less - 2 thousand people, most of whom were non-fired cadets of the Mexican military academy located in Chapultepec. However, in the Battle of Chapultepec, American forces lost 900 people. Major General Winfield Scott, who commanded the American army, conceived, in honor of the raising of the American flag over the fortress after the defeat of the Mexicans, to hang thirty sentenced to death soldiers of the St. Patrick's Battalion. At 9.30 am on September 13, they were hanged, including a fighter, who had both legs amputated.
Suppressing the resistance of the last defenders of Mexico, American troops entered the capital of the country - Mexico City on September 14. General Santa Anna and the remnants of his troops fled, power passed into the hands of the supporters of the peace treaty. On February 2, 1848, a peace treaty was signed between Mexico and the United States of America in Guadalupe Hidalgo. The result of the defeat of Mexico in the war with the United States was the annexation of Upper California, New Mexico, Lower Rio Grande, Texas to the United States. However, the victory in the war met with an ambiguous reaction in the American society itself. General of the Army Ulysses Grant, who fought as a young officer in the Mexican-American War under the command of General Scott, later wrote that the American Civil War between the North and South of the United States was the "divine punishment" of the American state for an unjust war of conquest: war. Nations, like people, are punished for their sins. We received our punishment in the bloodiest and most expensive war of our time."
The territory seized from Mexico currently includes the American states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas and part of Wyoming. It is significant that if in the 19th century the northern regions of Mexico were settled by English-speaking immigrants from North America, today we can observe a different picture - hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans from Mexico and other countries of Central and South America arrive across the American-Mexican border. Numerous Latin American diasporas still live in the border states and one of the "headaches" of the United States is that Mexicans do not seek to learn English and generally listen to the American way of life, preferring to preserve their national identity and hate "gringos".
Thus, more than 160 years ago, the United States of America actively used the rhetoric of "freedom fighters" in defending its economic and geopolitical interests. Posing as the protector of the people of Texas and California, suffering from the Mexican military dictatorship, the American government successfully completed the act of annexation of the vast territory formerly belonging to Mexico and annexed large areas of land to the United States. "The right of the strong" has always determined both the foreign and domestic policies of the United States of America, while "democracy", "humanism", "liberalism" serve only as signs designed to mask the true nature of this state with distinct predatory instincts.
The fate of the surviving soldiers and officers of St. Patrick's Battalion is virtually unknown to modern historians. John Riley, who escaped the death sentence because he deserted before the outbreak of hostilities, was branded with the letter "D" - "deserter", spent some time in prison, and after the war was released. Returning to Mexico, he grew long hair to hide the disfiguring scars on his face, and continued to serve in the Mexican army with the rank of major. In 1850, at the age of thirty-three, Riley was dismissed due to yellow fever. He died soon after.
Irish-Mexican memory
September 12 is celebrated in Mexico and Ireland as Remembrance Day for the Irish soldiers who fought on the side of the Mexican state. In Mexico in San Angel - one of the districts of Mexico City - a memorable procession takes place on this day. The flag-bearers of an elite Mexican army unit carry the national flags of Mexico and Ireland to the beat of drums. Wreaths are laid at the foot of the pedestal, erected in honor of the soldiers and officers of the Battalion of St. Patrick.
The names and surnames of Irish soldiers and officers who died in battles with American troops are immortalized on a memorial plaque in the city park, installed in 1959. On the board, in addition to seventy-one names, is the inscription "In memory of the Irish soldiers of the heroic Battalion of St. Patrick, who gave their lives for Mexico during the treacherous North American invasion in 1847". By and large, soldiers and officers of the Irish battalion in Mexico are commemorated twice - on September 12 - on the anniversary of the execution - and on March 17 - on St. Patrick's Day.
Streets, schools, churches in Mexico are named after the battalion, including the street of the battalion of St. Patrick in front of the Irish school in Monterrey, the street of the Irish Martyrs in front of the Santa Maria de Churubusco monastery in Mexico City, the city of San Patricio. The battalion is also named after the country's only group of bagpipes, located in the former Churubusco monastery, which today houses the Museum of Foreign Interventions. In 1997, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the execution of Irish soldiers, Mexico and Ireland issued a joint commemorative series of stamps.
In Clifden, Ireland, the birthplace of John Riley, a bronze sculpture is erected in honor of the Battalion of St. Patrick and its legendary "founding father". This sculpture is a gift from the Mexican government to the people of Ireland for its contribution to the protection of the territorial integrity and interests of Mexico. In honor of John Riley, the Mexican flag is raised every September 12th in Clifden, his homeland.
Many generations of Americans perceive the soldiers and officers of the battalion as deserters and traitors, purely negative characters worthy of all-round blame. At the same time, the Americans refer to the generally accepted negative attitude towards deserters in any states, not realizing that the Irish soldiers deserted not because of their own cowardice and after deserting from the American army did not engage in looting or criminal banditry, but heroically showed themselves in the defense of the Mexican land. The ideals of freedom and independence, the proximity of Mexicans as fellow believers - Catholics turned out to be more attractive values for Irish soldiers than American monetary rewards or the status of an American citizen. In Mexico and Ireland, the soldiers of St. Patrick are not considered any deserters and traitors, but they see them as heroes who came to the aid of fellow believers - Catholics in the days of difficult trials.
