Last updated: July 23, 2022
Place
The San Patricio Brigade
Quick Facts
Location:
Mexico City, Mexico
Significance:
Mexican American War Site
Future Pig War commanding general, William Harney watched as American forces stormed Chapultepec Castle, the last major citadel protecting Mexico City from the invading US Army. At 9:30 A.M. on the morning of September 13, 1847, the US flag rose above the Mexican lines, signaling that his side had won the battle. Harney ordered his mule carts forward, tightening the nooses on 30 men who he led to the gallows. This was the last of 3 mass executions that General Winfield Scott had ordered against the San Patricio (Saint Patrick) Brigade, a group of mostly Irish immigrants who fought on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American War. It was the largest collective execution ever ordered by the US military, and 12 years before he instigated the Pig War, William Harney was the executioner.
The war that Harney fought in had divided the American people. Northerners, such as then-Congressman, Abraham Lincoln, saw the US invasion of Mexico as “‘from beginning to end, the sheerest deception,” because it was unprovoked and unjustified. Lincoln argued (and most historians agree) that President James Knox Polk, sent American military forces into disputed territory to intentionally provoke a military response form Mexican forces who were defending their homeland from invaders. With reports of troops under fire, Polk gained bipartisan congressional support to fund an invasion of Mexico that enabled him to fulfill his campaign promise of territorial expansion. Many Americans considered these actions part of a broader “Slave Power Conspiracy” by powerful Southern elites and their Northern allies that was designed to increase the number of slave states and create antidemocratic structures that empowered slaveholders. Amongst the Americans who opposed this war were the men that Harney executed at war’s end in Mexico City.
The San Patricio Brigade was primarily comprised of Irish immigrants who had objected to the war or who resented their treatment in the United States military by officers such as Harney who had a documented history of abusing enlisted men. Most members of the San Patricio Brigade were traumatized survivors of the Irish Potato Famine who had watched their friends and loved ones starve because of British imperial policies which devalued Irish life and which privileged Protestant settlers over the Irish Catholic majority. Within the US Army many of these men encountered anti-Catholic bigotry and brutal discipline that left them disenchanted. For men who grew up as unwilling imperial subjects, the US invasion of Mexico reminded them of the British dominance of Ireland.
Not all members of the San Patricio Brigade were Irish. Some were escaped slaves and free Blacks who saw Mexico, a nation that had outlawed slavery, as a freer country than the United States and who fought against the expansion of slavery. Others were catholic immigrants from other countries such as Germany, Poland, and France who grew disenchanted with the United States due to the widespread bigotry towards Catholics which only ratcheted up as the predominately Protestant US prepared for war with the overwhelmingly Catholic nation of Mexico. Still others were attracted by generous land grants that Mexico offered to foreign nationals who enlisted in the Mexican Army. Whatever attracted them, this predominately Irish fighting force became one of Mexico’s most competent units in the Mexican-American War.
The San Patricio Brigade was organized from a pre-existing unit of foreign soldiers who fought for the Mexican Army from the beginning of the war. On September 21, 1846, they saw their first action as an individual artillery unit, when they defeated American forces in three separate engagements during the Battle of Monterey. Their success in this battle encouraged more American soldiers to defect and join the San Patricio Brigade, whose numbers swelled from about 200 to 700 following the conflict. It was at this point that they designed their signature battle flag, a green flag with a gold harp at the center, surrounded by shamrocks and bearing the words “Erin Go Bragh.”
The San Patricio brigade fought with distinction in numerous battles. They took heavy casualties at the Battle of Buena Vista where official reports argued that they were “worthy of the most consummate praise because the men fought with daring bravery.” Despite supply issues and large numbers of casualties, the San Patricio brigade performed valiantly throughout 1847, until the Battle of Churubusco when other Mexican units they fought alongside decided that they were hopelessly outnumbered and should surrender. When their comrades raised a white flag, the San Patricio Brigade shot at them, refusing to surrender until all hope was lost. Eventually, however, 80 members of the San Patricio Brigade surrendered to US forces.After their capture, 72 members of the San Patricio brigade were tried before court martials as deserters. Their two mass trials, which were carefully managed by General Winfield Scott, were held a mere 3 and 6 days after their capture. At the trials they were denied access to legal counsel and no transcript was made to document the procedures. 50 men were sentenced to death and executed by the United States military as it captured Mexico City. The most brutal of these mass executions was the group hanging that Harney carried out on September 13, 1847. Harney, claiming “I was ordered to have them hanged and have no orders to unhang them” left the corpses of the 30 men he executed to decay on the gallows, as a macabre warning to Mexico City residents who might resist American forces. Despite this violent display, irregular militias and individual Mexicans resented the American occupation of their country and guerilla forces regularly fought back against the Americans until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico recognized Texas as part of the United States and ceded all or part of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Wyoming. As these conquered territories were incorporated into the United States, military commanders such as William Harney used violent force to subjugated and dispossess the indigenous people whose homes they had been since time immemorial.
During the Pig War, Harney and Winfield Scott who had worked together to execute the San Patricio Brigade violently disagreed over whether aggressive action was the appropriate way to settle the boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain. Harney left Mexico a mere six weeks after the execution of the San Patricio brigade, while Scott stayed for many months. During this time, Scott witnessed the toll of guerilla warfare and gained a great appreciation for the power of diplomacy in solving complicated international disputes.
Today, the San Patricio Brigade are regarded as national heroes in Mexico and Ireland. In Mexico City's San Jacinto plaza, where a plaque honors the San Patricio Brigade, a squad of Mexican bagpipers plays a monthly tribute to their service. In Clifden, Ireland, where the San Patricio Brigades commander was born a statue was erected to honor the San Patricio Brigade and the city flies the Mexican Flag annually on September 12 to celebrate their heritage. In 1997, the 150th anniversary of the San Patricio Brigade’s creation, Mexico and Ireland issued identical stamps bearing the flags of both nations to pay tribute to their history and legacy. Despite conducting their execution, in order to discourage desertion the United States military denied the existence of the San Patricio Brigade until 1915 when a congressional inquiry revealed the coverup of their history.
The war that Harney fought in had divided the American people. Northerners, such as then-Congressman, Abraham Lincoln, saw the US invasion of Mexico as “‘from beginning to end, the sheerest deception,” because it was unprovoked and unjustified. Lincoln argued (and most historians agree) that President James Knox Polk, sent American military forces into disputed territory to intentionally provoke a military response form Mexican forces who were defending their homeland from invaders. With reports of troops under fire, Polk gained bipartisan congressional support to fund an invasion of Mexico that enabled him to fulfill his campaign promise of territorial expansion. Many Americans considered these actions part of a broader “Slave Power Conspiracy” by powerful Southern elites and their Northern allies that was designed to increase the number of slave states and create antidemocratic structures that empowered slaveholders. Amongst the Americans who opposed this war were the men that Harney executed at war’s end in Mexico City.
The San Patricio Brigade was primarily comprised of Irish immigrants who had objected to the war or who resented their treatment in the United States military by officers such as Harney who had a documented history of abusing enlisted men. Most members of the San Patricio Brigade were traumatized survivors of the Irish Potato Famine who had watched their friends and loved ones starve because of British imperial policies which devalued Irish life and which privileged Protestant settlers over the Irish Catholic majority. Within the US Army many of these men encountered anti-Catholic bigotry and brutal discipline that left them disenchanted. For men who grew up as unwilling imperial subjects, the US invasion of Mexico reminded them of the British dominance of Ireland.
Not all members of the San Patricio Brigade were Irish. Some were escaped slaves and free Blacks who saw Mexico, a nation that had outlawed slavery, as a freer country than the United States and who fought against the expansion of slavery. Others were catholic immigrants from other countries such as Germany, Poland, and France who grew disenchanted with the United States due to the widespread bigotry towards Catholics which only ratcheted up as the predominately Protestant US prepared for war with the overwhelmingly Catholic nation of Mexico. Still others were attracted by generous land grants that Mexico offered to foreign nationals who enlisted in the Mexican Army. Whatever attracted them, this predominately Irish fighting force became one of Mexico’s most competent units in the Mexican-American War.
The San Patricio Brigade was organized from a pre-existing unit of foreign soldiers who fought for the Mexican Army from the beginning of the war. On September 21, 1846, they saw their first action as an individual artillery unit, when they defeated American forces in three separate engagements during the Battle of Monterey. Their success in this battle encouraged more American soldiers to defect and join the San Patricio Brigade, whose numbers swelled from about 200 to 700 following the conflict. It was at this point that they designed their signature battle flag, a green flag with a gold harp at the center, surrounded by shamrocks and bearing the words “Erin Go Bragh.”
The San Patricio brigade fought with distinction in numerous battles. They took heavy casualties at the Battle of Buena Vista where official reports argued that they were “worthy of the most consummate praise because the men fought with daring bravery.” Despite supply issues and large numbers of casualties, the San Patricio brigade performed valiantly throughout 1847, until the Battle of Churubusco when other Mexican units they fought alongside decided that they were hopelessly outnumbered and should surrender. When their comrades raised a white flag, the San Patricio Brigade shot at them, refusing to surrender until all hope was lost. Eventually, however, 80 members of the San Patricio Brigade surrendered to US forces.After their capture, 72 members of the San Patricio brigade were tried before court martials as deserters. Their two mass trials, which were carefully managed by General Winfield Scott, were held a mere 3 and 6 days after their capture. At the trials they were denied access to legal counsel and no transcript was made to document the procedures. 50 men were sentenced to death and executed by the United States military as it captured Mexico City. The most brutal of these mass executions was the group hanging that Harney carried out on September 13, 1847. Harney, claiming “I was ordered to have them hanged and have no orders to unhang them” left the corpses of the 30 men he executed to decay on the gallows, as a macabre warning to Mexico City residents who might resist American forces. Despite this violent display, irregular militias and individual Mexicans resented the American occupation of their country and guerilla forces regularly fought back against the Americans until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848. Under the terms of the treaty, Mexico recognized Texas as part of the United States and ceded all or part of California, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Wyoming. As these conquered territories were incorporated into the United States, military commanders such as William Harney used violent force to subjugated and dispossess the indigenous people whose homes they had been since time immemorial.
During the Pig War, Harney and Winfield Scott who had worked together to execute the San Patricio Brigade violently disagreed over whether aggressive action was the appropriate way to settle the boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain. Harney left Mexico a mere six weeks after the execution of the San Patricio brigade, while Scott stayed for many months. During this time, Scott witnessed the toll of guerilla warfare and gained a great appreciation for the power of diplomacy in solving complicated international disputes.
Today, the San Patricio Brigade are regarded as national heroes in Mexico and Ireland. In Mexico City's San Jacinto plaza, where a plaque honors the San Patricio Brigade, a squad of Mexican bagpipers plays a monthly tribute to their service. In Clifden, Ireland, where the San Patricio Brigades commander was born a statue was erected to honor the San Patricio Brigade and the city flies the Mexican Flag annually on September 12 to celebrate their heritage. In 1997, the 150th anniversary of the San Patricio Brigade’s creation, Mexico and Ireland issued identical stamps bearing the flags of both nations to pay tribute to their history and legacy. Despite conducting their execution, in order to discourage desertion the United States military denied the existence of the San Patricio Brigade until 1915 when a congressional inquiry revealed the coverup of their history.