Truemors
MEXICO CITY — Every month, a wail of bagpipes reverberates through a plaza in downtown Mexico City, causing startled passersby to stop and stare.
Then, from behind the bullet-scarred walls of an old fortress, a platoon of Mexican bagpipers emerges through the gates — paying tribute to an obscure but divisive chapter of history involving Mexico, Ireland and the United States.
The ceremony honors the St. Patrick Battalion, a group of 600 Irish-American soldiers who switched sides to fight for Mexico in the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War. On St. Patrick's Day, many Mexicans will raise a glass to commemorate the "Irish martyrs" who are regarded as heroes in a war that still arouses passions here.
"It's a little bit of a weird twist on history … and quite romantic for the Irish community," said Myles Doherty, the Irish consul in Mexico City.
The battalion's story begins with Ireland's Potato Famine of the 1840s, which forced thousands of Irish to emigrate to the USA and other countries.
The former monastery of Churubusco, where the San Patricios were defeated, is a national museum dedicated to the invasions Mexico has suffered. The bullet holes are still in the walls, and the cannons commanded by John Riley stand outside.
Every first Sunday of the month, the St. Patrick Battalion Pipe Band plays in the soldiers' honor. On several weekends, an actor portraying Riley gives talks to schoolchildren and tourists. The battalion's name is written in gold letters in the chamber of Mexico's House of Representatives.
The San Patricios were seen much differently in the USA, even by fellow Irish immigrants, said Ian McGowan, archivist at the Institute for Irish-American Studies at the City University of New York.
"For a good 40 or 50 years, they were almost completely forgotten about," McGowan said. "The unofficial position of Irish who were looking to become Americans in the 19th century was not to discuss them."
Recently, Americans have begun to pay more attention to the battalion. Several books have been written in the past decade and the 1999 movie One Man's Hero was about Riley.
Bernard Brennan, an Irish-American tourist from San Francisco, said he learned about the battalion from a Mexican friend. On a recent afternoon, he snapped pictures of a carved stone plaque on the plaza where 16 of the Irish soldiers were hanged.
"In memory of the Irish soldiers of the heroic St. Patrick Battalion, who gave their lives for the cause of Mexico during the unjust American invasion of 1847," the plaque says.
The Irish
division was known as Los San Patricios, or "Those of Saint Patrick."
It participated in all the major battles of the war and was cited for
bravery by General López de Santa Anna, the Mexican Commander in Chief
and President. At the penultimate battle of the war, these Irishmen
fought until their ammunition was exhausted, and even then tore down
the white flag raised by their Mexican comrades, preferring to struggle
on with bayonets. Despite their brave resistance, 85 of the Irish
battalion were captured and sentenced to bizarre tortures and deaths at
the hands of the Americans, resulting in what is considered even today
as the "largest hanging affair in North America."(5) The event had a
profound effect in Mexico. Since then, many authors have written novels
and history books about the subject and monuments and statues honoring
Los Patricios have been erected in major Mexican cities. Movies have
been filmed and even special dates have been marked on the Mexican
calendar, to commemorate Irish aid.
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