In U.S. history classes, students are taught to remember the Alamo.
But during the era of the United States’ westward expansion, many stories were lost, or even purposely hidden, along the way. The story of the San Patricios, or the St. Patrick’s Battalion, is one of them.
The San Patricios were a group of Irish immigrants who deserted the United States Army to fight for the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War, which lasted from April 25, 1846 to Feb. 2, 1848.
History professor Caleb Richardson, who teaches British, Irish and European history at UNM, said that because there aren’t enough first-hand accounts from the San Patricios, it is difficult to know for certain what motivated them switch sides.
“Were these people fighting against imperialism, were they fighting for their religion and fighting against religious discrimination, or were they just doing it for the money?” Richardson said.
On Sunday the NHCC is hosting the second annual Dia de los San Patricios in order to inform the public about this almost-forgotten piece of history and to celebrate the similarities between Mexican and Irish cultures.
In Mexico, the San Patricios are honored every year on September 12, which is also the same day that the town of Clifden, Ireland flies the Mexican flag. But in the United States, they’re regarded as traitors.
These men — many of whom had just gotten off a boat from Ireland and were conscripted — switched sides and fought valiantly on the front lines of the Mexican Army in several battles, according to historian Peter F. Stevens’ book “The Rogue March.”
The war officially ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, through which the U.S. gained nearly one-third of the territory within its modern-day borders. Even so, at the time it was fought, the war was incredibly unpopular.
Ulysses S. Grant called the war “unjust,” Abraham Lincoln held reservations about it, and Frederick Douglas said the war was “cruel and iniquitous,” according to Mark Day’s documentary, “The San Patricios: The Tragic Story of the St. Patrick’s Battalion.”
According to the documentary, the morale was especially low among the ranks. On the march to Mexico, many men died of diseases.
Others were fed up with the strict regulations and punishments — the flogging and the branding — for minor infractions.
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The majority of the San Patricios were Catholic, Richardson said.
During that time in American history, Catholics were discriminated against, especially in the armed forces where many Irish-Catholic immigrants were treated poorly and punished more severely than their native, Protestant colleagues.
Professor Margaret Connell-Szasz, who teaches Native American, Celtic and U.S. history at UNM, said she agreed that throughout the greater part of American history, Catholics faced much discrimination.
“This is the era, particularly in the war era, when you have Protestant hegemony in this country,” Connell-Szasz said.
But, as Richardson noted, fighting against religious discrimination wasn’t the only reason for desertion, since some of the San Patricios and other deserters accepted land and money from the Mexican government for joining the Mexican Army.
Dr. Carlos Vasquez, director of history and literary arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, said that the San Patricios switched sides because they related and sympathized with the Mexicans and recalled their recent experience with British cruelty.
“It was the first time the United States employed a scorched earth policy — that is, killing everyone and everything in a village, all living matter, and blowing up all the houses,” Vasquez said.
“The Irish soldiers refused to do that, and they changed sides and fought for Mexico.”
Throughout the course of the two-year war, the San Patricios, despite being skilled at artillery fire, suffered heavy losses, especially at the Battle of Churubusco. According to Mark Day’s documentary, 60 percent of them were either killed or captured.
According to Day’s documentary, after they were captured by the United States they were court marshaled, whipped and beaten. Fifty San Patricios were hanged.
Day said the execution of the San Patricios was “an embarrassment for the U.S. Army.” He said that this is why, for many years, the army covered up the existence of the San Patricios.
“There actually really was a sort of cover-up of the San Patricios in particular,” Richardson said. “But the cover-up wasn’t all just on the Army’s side.”
He argued that the cover-up had to do with embarrassment about the number of deserters in the Mexican-American War.
The Irish, throughout most of their modern history, haven’t had an army, Richardson said. When they have left Ireland, they have fought for the French, the Spanish, the Mexicans, the Americans, or anyone who would give them money.
Still, Richardson said it’s not a clean-cut story, and he’s not sure why the San Patricios did what they did.
Dia de los San Patricios
Sunday, 4 p.m.
Adults $10, Students, Kids, Seniors $5
