Los San Patricios Research Paper

Los San Patricios, the Saint Patrick’s Battalion, was a Mexican army unit made up primarily of Catholic Irish and German immigrants, even though some also came from Canada, England, France, Italy and Mexico.

When Irish immigrants came to the US, many joined the Army. Conditions in the Army were harsh, but more so for many Irish and other immigrants. Facing discrimination many soldiers made the decision to defect. Led by John Riley, those soldiers that defected joined the Mexican Army, creating the St. Patrick’s Battalion. Los San Patricios served as an artillery unit for Mexico and fought on the Mexico side against the US in the Mexican American War of 1846. When the war ended the US Army took swift action and over sixty men were eventually captured by the US Army and tried for treason. Branded as deserters, General Winfield Scott proclaimed that once the American flag replaced the Mexican flag over the castle at Chapultepec in Mexico, members of the St. Patrick’s Battalion would be hung for acts of treason.
Each year, on September 12, Mexico pays tribute to the San Patricios at San Jacinto Plaza. In 1959 a commemorative plaque was placed on the wall that faces the plaza. The inscription on the plaque reads: "In memory of the Irish soldiers of the heroic San Patricio Battalion, martyrs who gave their lives for the cause of Mexico during the unjust US invasion of 1847".

Los San Patricios are a glowing example of the sacrifice made by the men of the battalion refusing to continue to endure the harsh treatment they received while serving in the US Army. We also need to give credence to the claim that these men gave their lives to help fight against the US Army’s deplorable treatment of the Mexican people with whom they found that they shared a common