Hi I'm The History Guy. I have a degree in history and I love history. And if you love history too, this is the channel for you.
Few events in American history had as much impact on the future of the nation as the
war with Mexico in 1846. And yet in America we hardly study that war.
You can take an entire class in U.S. history in high school or even college and maybe not
even hear mention of the war with Mexico. And that might be because it was a long time
ago, it might be because it was overshadowed by the Civil War, which came
about a decade
and a half later. But it is a war that we should not forget.
It largely defines our relationship with Mexico, where the wars not forgotten at all. Its sometimes
called,
The War that America Can't Remember and that Mexico Can't Forget. It redefined our nation
and lead to the acquisition of the American
West. The southwest all the way up into Colorado and Utah were acquired as a result of the
war with Mexico.
And while it briefly represented a period of national unity, where the nation came together
in common cause, the army that fought for America in the Mexican War was an all volunteer force. It also
represented some of the diffusions that were eventually driving the nation towards the
civil war. And nothing represents that more starkly then the little known fact that one
of the very best units, fighting for Mexico, in the Mexican American War, was a group of
Americans who had deserted from the American Army in order to fight on behalf of Mexico.
And who they were, and why they chose to fight for Mexico, says a lot about what was going
on in America in the 1840s, and something about what would drive Americans to the Civil
War in the 1860s. And thats one of the reasons the Saint Patrick's Battalion, deserves to
be remembered. The core of the group had actually joined the Mexican Army before war was even
declared. Especially a group of Irishmen, who had deserted General Zachary Taylor's
army of the Rio Grande, under the leadership of a man named John Riley. And they were actually
fighting for Mexico in the first battle of the war, The Siege of Fort Texas, and the
fact that they deserted before war was actually declared would become important later. Their
first battle as a recognized unit of the Mexican Army was the Battle of Monterey, where they
manned a battery of artillery, and that's where they started to gain their reputation
as one of the best units in the Mexican Army. They fought very bravely, and in fact drove
back a couple of the mass attacks in the center of the town, and yet their effort was not
enough to keep the Mexican Army from deciding that they would retreat and abandon their
strong position in Monterey. And they distinguished themselves yet again in the next battle, the
Battle of Buena Vista, where they not only inflicted a huge amount of American casualties,
and helped to capture an American artillery battery, but they withstood several counter-attacks.
And yet one more time, their heroics were not enough to keep the Mexican Army from defeat.
In the battle report, the commander of the Mexican forces, General Francisco Mayhaw,
described their action "As worthy of the most consummate praise, and several receive decorations
for bravery." As the war went on, they would continue to attract deserters and they became
known as on of the best units in the Mexican Army, resilient fighters, although part of
that probably had to with the fact that they knew that if they were captured, they would
likely be hung as traitors. And that would come to the test after the bloody Battle of
Churubusco in 1847. Fighting in the town center, the San Patricio held the center for a long
time, though when the Mexican Army that was with them tried to surrender as they ran out
of ammunition, the San Patricio refused to allow them to surrender. And at least twice,
shot dead, Mexican officers who tried to raise a white flag. In the battle, 85 of the San
Patricio were captured by the American Army . And in the bloody fight, nearly two thirds
of the battalion were either killed or captured, with only about another eighty five escaping
with the Mexican Army. The San Patricios who were captured were put before a military tribunal,
but it was a trial where they were not allowed to offer any defense. Fifty were sentenced
to death, it was the largest mass execution in American history. All but a few were sentenced
to death by hanging, even though contemporary Articles of War stipulated firing squad. The
Americans were in no mood for charity, given all the causalities that the Saint Patrick's
Battalion had caused. And yet a few were spared the death penalty, including John Riley. And
the reason was, because they had deserted before war was declared, and so their crime
was simple desertion. Whereas the others had been charged with deserting and joining the
enemy in time of war. Still, even the ones who were not executed were treated brutally.
They were whipped fifty times, they were branded on the face with a "D" for deserter and then
they were jailed indefinitely. The executions occurred over three days, but the last thirty,
according to the orders of the American General, Winfield Scott, were hung in full view of
both armies, during the Battle of Chapultepec. So why did they desert the American Army to
fight on behalf of the Mexicans. As you would guess from the name, The Saint Patrick's Brigade,
many of them were Irish, but not exclusively, there was also German Americans, Italian Americans,
French Americans. There were even a few disenfranchised Americans, like escaped slaves in the South.
But overwhelmingly they were new immigrants to American. They had been in America less
than a year, and had not had time to form attachments to the country. In fact, it was
common practice in America to sign up immigrants, even as they were walking off the boat, into
the U.S. Army. In fact very few of them were actually citizens. And the Mexican Army had
offered some strong incentives for Americans to desert and join the Mexican Army. They
promised citizenship, they promised land grants, they paid better then the American Army. Many
of these people had come to America because they were fleeing poverty in Europe and economic
incentives were a powerful motivational force. But a key factor is that The San Patricio
were overwhelmingly Catholic. While the United States was largely a Protestant nation with
a strong anti-Catholic sentiment. Many of the San Patricios had faced abuse at the
hands of American officers who trusted neither foreigners, nor Catholics. And their religion
was suppressed, they were forced to attend Protestant religious services. Is it really
a wonder that these people, barely having entered the United States, found more affinity
with Catholic Mexico than with the Protestant United States. Especially when our justification
for invading Mexico was so questionable. The Treaty of Guadalupe which ended the Mexican-American
war was stipulated that those San Patricio that were still in the custody of the American
Army would be returned to Mexico. Among them was John Riley who went back to Mexico and
served for many years as an officer in the regular Mexican Army. Some of the San Patricio
returned to their homes in Europe, but others made homes in Mexico and made good on those
land grants that had been promised them. Both sides agreed that the Saint Patrick's Battalion
had fought very bravely but they were never nearly enough to turn the tide in what was
a very unequal conflict. To the Americans, of course, The Saint Patrick's Battalion were
traitors who betrayed their country. But to the Mexicans, they were heroes who came to
them in their hour of need. The Mexican Army was largely made up of poorly trained conscripts
and the Saint Patrick's Battalion was one of the few veteran battalions upon which the
Mexicans could depend. The desertion of the Saint Patrick's Battalion suggests that the
American Army was a harsh place and there was lots of desertion but thats really the
case. In fact it was an all volunteer force that was brought together by patriotic zeal
and there was very little desertion during the Mexican-American War. There was in fact
less desertion during the war then there was among the regular army during a time of peace.
It was instead the Mexican Army, made up largely of impressed conscripts, that had constant
troubles with desertion. No, the San Patricio's did not desert because of harsh conditions,
they deserted because of conscience. And part of that was because the Irish among them saw
some similarity from what America was doing in Mexico with what they saw Great Britan
doing in Ireland, but part of that was because of slavery, and their Catholic faith was offended
by the institution. They could not square with their conscience, fighting on behalf
of a nation that practiced the institution of slavery against a nation that had banned
slavery. While the war originally brought together America in some common cause, it
actually was revealing the conflicts that were tearing the nation apart. Because the
cause of the Mexican-American War was largely westward expansion, and that raised the question
about whether all those western states were going to be free states or slave states. In
fact the war was largely a creature of democratic President James K. Polk, who was hoping those
states would be slave states to then strengthen the hand of those slave states in the United
States. And instead, the fight that would come after, would reveal all of those chasms
that would eventually lead to the Civil War. And if you think about it, the cause for which
the San Patricio's were fighting on behalf of Mexico, looks very much like the differences
of conscience that drove the U.S. Civil War and that extent you can say, that really the
San Patricio's, were firing the first shots of the U.S. Civil War.
I’m The History Guy, I hope you enjoyed this edition of my channel five minutes of
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