MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR: The San Patricio Battalion of the Mexican Army was named for the emblem of its flag: St. Patrick, depicted with a harp and shamrock. The San Patricios were founded by John RILEY, a British Army veteran who deserted in April 1846 before war was declared. Although legend has it that the entire regiment comprised deserters like RILEY, recent research by historian Michael Hogan indicates that only about one third were deserters. Many of them had been enticed by the Mexican government's propaganda that claimed the war was a Protestant crusade against Catholicism and by its offer of land grants of 320 acres. Others were compelled by the harsh treatment meted out to Irish Catholics in American society in general, and in the U. S. Army in particular. The unit numbered slightly more than 200, with about half being Irish-born or Irish American with the remainder Mexican, German and American-born. The unit earned a reputation for fierce fighting, perhaps b! ecause they knew they faced certain execution for desertion if captured. Seventy-two San Patricios were captured when American forces overran the fortress of Churubusco. Eleven were whipped and branded with a "D," the punishment for deserting before the hostilities. Fifty others were quickly court-martialed and sentenced to hang. Twenty were hanged on 10 Sept. 1847, in the town of San Angel. The remaining 30 were scheduled to hang in the town of Mixcoac on 13th of September. Their scaffold was built on a hill overlooking Chapultepec, which was about to be attacked by the U. S. Army. The San Patricios were informed that they would live until the American flag flew over the fortress. The condemned men watched for a few hours as the Mexican defenders slowly succumbed to the American onslaught. All were hanged within an hour of Chapultepec's surrender. In 1959 the Mexican government unveiled a memorial to the San Patricios in the Plaza de San Jacinto in San Angel. The! inscription 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 North American invasion of 1847." -- Excerpts, "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History," E. T. O'Donnell (2002) - a very interesting book!