Biography of John Riley - Saint Patricks Battalion

Memoir of John Riley - Saint Patricks Battalion John Riley (Circa 1805-1850) was an Irish officer who abandoned the American armed force not long before the episode of the Mexican-American War. He joined the Mexican armed force and established the St. Patricks Battalion, a power made up of individual cowards, essentially Irish and German Catholics. Riley and the others abandoned in light of the fact that treatment of outsiders in the US armed force was brutal and in light of the fact that they felt that their faithfulness was more with Catholic Mexico than Protestant USA. Riley battled with unique excellence for the Mexican armed force and endure the war just incredible lack of clarity. Early Life and Military Career Riley was conceived in County Galway, Ireland at some point somewhere in the range of 1805 and 1818. Ireland was an exceptionally poor nation at that point and was hit hard even before the incredible starvations started around 1845. In the same way as other Irish, Riley advanced toward Canada, where he likely served in a British armed force regiment. Moving to Michigan, he enrolled in the US armed force before the Mexican-American War. At the point when sent to Texas, Riley abandoned to Mexico on April 12, 1846, preceding the war formally broke out. Like different traitors, he was invited and welcome to serve in the Legion of Foreigners which saw activity in the barrage of Fort Texas and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma. The Saint Patricks Battalion By April of 1846, Riley had been elevated to Lieutenant and had sorted out a unit contained 48 Irishmen who joined the Mexican armed force. An ever increasing number of cowards came over from the American side and by August of 1846, he had more than 200 men in his brigade. The unit was named el Batallã ³n de San Patricio, or the St. Patricks Battalion, out of appreciation for Irelands benefactor holy person. They walked under a green flag with a picture of St. Patrick on one side and a harp and symbol of Mexico on the other. The same number of them were talented artillerymen, they were relegated as a world class big guns regiment. For what reason Did the San Patricios Defect? During the Mexican-American War, a great many men abandoned on the two sides: conditions were unforgiving and a bigger number of men kicked the bucket of disease and presentation than in battle. Life in the US armed force was especially hard on Irish Catholics: they were viewed as languid, oblivious and stupid. They were given messy and hazardous occupations and advancements were essentially non-existent. The individuals who joined the foe side in all probability did so on account of the guarantees of land and cash and out of dependability to Catholicism: Mexico, similar to Ireland, is a Catholic country. The St. Patrick’s Battalion was involved outsiders, for the most part Irish Catholics. There were some German Catholics also, and a few outsiders who lived in Mexico before the war. The Saint Patricks in real life in Northern Mexico The St. Patricks Battalion saw restricted activity at the attack of Monterrey, as they were positioned in a huge post that American General Zachary Taylor chose to keep away from completely. At the Battle of Buena Vista, notwithstanding, they assumed a significant job. They were positioned nearby the fundamental street on a level where the principle Mexican attack occurred. They won an ordnance duel with an American unit and even snatched some American guns. At the point when Mexican annihilation was up and coming, they helped spread the retreat. A few San Patricios won a Cross of Honor decoration for valor during the fight, including Riley, who was likewise elevated to commander. The San Patricios in Mexico City After the Americans opened another front, the San Patricios went with Mexican General Santa Anna toward the east of Mexico City. They saw activity at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, despite the fact that their job in that fight has been generally lost to history. It was at the Battle of Chapultepec that ​they became well known. As the Americans assaulted Mexico City, the Battalion was positioned toward one side of a key extension and in a close by community. They held the extension and cloister for a considerable length of time against prevalent soldiers and weapons. At the point when Mexicans in the religious circle attempted to give up, the San Patricios tore down the white banner multiple times. They were in the long run overpowered once they came up short on ammo. A large portion of the San Patricios were murdered or caught at the Battle of Churubusco, taking its successful life as a unit, despite the fact that it would re-structure after the war with the survivors and keep goi ng for about one more year. Catch and Punishment Riley was among the 85 San Patricios caught during the fight. They were court-martialed and the majority of them were seen as liable of abandonment. Between September 10 and 13, 1847, fifty of them would be hanged in discipline for their abandonment to the opposite side. Riley, in spite of the fact that he was the most prominent among them, was not hanged: he had surrendered before the war had authoritatively been announced, and such deserting in peacetime was by definition a far less genuine offense. All things considered, Riley, by then a significant and most noteworthy positioning outside official of the San Patricios (the Battalion had Mexican bosses), was rebuffed brutally. His head was shaved, he was given fifty lashes (witnesses state the check was messed up and that Riley really got 59), and he was marked with a D (for coward) on his cheek. At the point when the brand was from the start put on topsy turvy, he was re-marked on the other cheek. From that point onward, he was tossed in a cell for the span of the war, which kept going a few additional months. Regardless of this brutal discipline, there were those in the American armed force who felt he ought to have been hanged with the others. After the war, Riley and the others were discharged and re-framed the St. Patricks Battalion. The unit before long got involved in the steady infighting among Mexican authorities and Riley was quickly imprisoned for doubt of support in an uprising, however he was liberated. Records demonstrating that a Juan Riley passed on August 31, 1850, were once accepted to allude to him, yet new proof shows this isn't the situation. Endeavors are continuous to decide Rileys genuine destiny: Dr. Michael Hogan (who has composed the conclusive messages about the San Patricios) composes The quest for the entombment spot of the genuine John Riley, Mexican major, an improved saint, and pioneer of the Irish legion, must proceed. The Legacyâ To Americans, Riley is a coward and a swindler: the scummiest of the scummy. To Mexicans, in any case, Riley is an extraordinary saint: a talented warrior who followed his inner voice and joined the foe since he thought it was the correct activity. The St. Patricks Battalion has a position of amazing privilege in Mexican history: there are lanes named for it, remembrance plaques where they battled, postage stamps, and so on. Riley is the name most generally connected with the Battalion, and he has, in this way, increased additional chivalrous status for Mexicans, who have raised a sculpture of him in his origin of Clifden, Ireland. The Irish have given back in kind, and there is a failure of Riley now in the San Angel Plaza, graciousness of Ireland. Americans of Irish plummet, who once abandoned Riley and the Battalion, have warmed to them as of late: maybe to some degree because of two or three great books that have come out as of late. Likewise, there was a significant Hollywood creation in 1999 entitled One Mans Hero based (freely) on the life of Riley and the Battalion. Sources Hogan, Michael. The Irish Soldiers of Mexico. Soft cover, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, May 25, 2011. Wheelan, Joseph. Attacking Mexico: Americas Continental Dream and the Mexican War, 1846-1848. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2007.