The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion, 1846-48

by Peter F. Stevens

The Rogue’s March tells the controversial true story of the US Army deserters—the majority of them Irish immigrants—who fought valiantly as a Mexican Army unit during the Mexican War of 1846. It takes a close look at the organized prejudice against Irish Catholic and German immigrants.

Genres: History, Military History, American History, Nonfiction, Ireland, Irish Literature, American

368 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

Reviews

[John Gaynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. In today's attempts to poison the atmosphere for immigrants to the United States by the know-nothing nativist Trump-base (which, thankfully, is more than counter-balanced by the many decent Americans who remember where their forebears came from, and the checks and balances of the American constitution and judicial system) it's useful to read how shamefully Irish Catholic immigrants were treated at the time of the Mexican-American war. John Riley and the people who fought with him against the militias fielded by the American army and its officer class (Riley was known to avoid targeting enlisted men wherever possible) had no initial urge to fight on the Mexican side but 'deserted' to it to avoid the gratuitous violence visited on them by WASP officers in the American ranks. Any true-born Irishman could be tempted to say to himself, after reading this book, that he too would probably have fought on the Mexican side at the time. The book pays due honor to the American army officers and Mexican army officers who acted decently, i.e. in the exact opposite way to the barbarous West Point graduates and the genocidal militias to whose unholy racism many American gun rights enthusiasts and anti-Black, anti-Spick, anti-Mick, anti-Jew homicidal prejudices still pay homage (the latest tale of how this is continuing to happen being Spike Lee's great film BlacKkKlansman).

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent work about an overlooked series of incidents, ones which the U.S. Army tried to deny ever happened.
In the 1840s, a political party opposed to immigration, but especially that of Catholics, made inroads in American politics. These "Know-Nothings" had policies which appealed to conservative American protestants, especially those in the South, who made up much of the U.S. Army's officer corps.
Thus, when the U.S. recruited troops for what would become the Mexican war, they recruited a lot of recent immigrants from Ireland and Germany, but didn't treat them very well, even the ones with prior military experience. As a result of this and other issues, a number of them deserted before and during the war, and some of those deserters enlisted in the Mexican army, forming the heart of that army's best artillery unit.
This book tells that amazing story from beginning to end, in a highly readable form. It is not a happy story, and several men who were later famous in the Civil War are portrayed here, not always in the best light. Still, this is a remarkable bit of history, generally told well.

[Gerard P Loughman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fact based but very different perspective on the Mexican-American war of 1846 with a particular focus on the treatment of immigrants, especially Irish, in the US army. Their harsh and brutal treatment led to the highest desertion rate in the history of US armed forces and led directly to the formation of St Patrick’s Battalion within the Mexican army. This battalion, comprised mainly of deserters from the Us army, was led by John Reilly and had considerable success in a number of battles.
The book is well researched and provides the political and cultural context of the times. Sources are extensively annotated and the story moves along reasonably well to it’s inevitable conclusion. Typically, history is written by the winners but this book provides a unique and valuable perspective to the version generally taught in our history lessons.

[foxfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent update to the work of scholars Michael Hogan and Robert Miller, Stevens artfully crafts a near-complete narrative of the San Patricio Battalion, using a broad array of primary sources to imagine and tell the story of the San Patricios. Far from a novelization, Stevens uses this military-history accounting of the US-Mexico War to investigate Nativism, Manifest Destiny, Irish immigration, and nation-building. As he clearly writes at the end, this episode in history is equal parts Mexican, U.S. and Irish history.

[Jennifer Valle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well worth a read as it gives a history that is not well known. Also, I found it interesting to see the similarities of the situation back then and today. I.e. Navitism and demagogues continue to repeat themselves in history to all of our detriments.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of American history not taught in schools.

[J Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in downtown Phoenix, I travel along roads named for long dead American Presidents. Polk, Taylor, Grant, Roosevelt, Adams, Washington. Most folks living in larger towns and cities can say the same. Like many American’s, I rarely think about who these men were. They’re lives are sometimes nothing more than footnotes in history. The Rouge’s March brought to light the history of many of these famous men.

More importantly, it covers the history of the San Patricio Battalion during te forgotten history of the Mexican-American war. The United States, under President Polk, was looking to grab territory from both Mexico and England during the 1840s. The President sent General Taylor into Mexico to instigate their war of aggression.

Irish and German volunteers were lured into the U.S. Army with false promises from recruiters. It was only when they were in service to our country that they learned the truth. The Nativist leadership despised the Catholic volunteers. Violence, torture, and even murder was quickly handed down on the volunteers. These soldiers, while fighting for the U.S. Army, were even denied citizenship in the country they were fighting for.

The immigrants were also being asked to enter into a foreign land in order to kill those of who shared their Catholic faith. Mexico decided to reach out to their Catholic brethren. They offered to treat them fairly, allow them citizenship, and offered to pay a fair wage with the opportunity for growth in the Mexican Army. What came next was predictable.

The U.S. Army suffered its single greatest loss of soldiers to desertion in the entire history of nation. As a resident of the state of Arizona, which was formerly part of Sonora, I now look at the streets I drive differently. One hundred and fifty years after the Mexican American war, our country still embraces the decisive politics of heritage. Looking through the lens of history, at least I can take solace in the fact that we’ve made great strides in equality. That, and we’re running out of ‘others’ to be against.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story about an unknown or unpublicized problem of desertion confronting the US Army during the Mexican War. The author seems a bit biased against the military and the nativist officers. The times were what they were, judged by a 21st century lens the conduct was abhorrent. That said, there seems to be a lot more to the desertion problem than just nativism. All armies were harsh on enlisted personnel in that period. The problem of Catholic Irish not wanting to fight Catholic Mexico seems to have been in my opinion a small part of the problem. The author omits that there was a good bit of anti-clericism at the time in Mexico, and seems to attribute almost every desertion or unaccounted for member as a victim of abuse and religious hate. The Mexican side had a lot to offer in their propaganda to foreign born Catholic troops to desert. Money, land, liquor, women, rank, etc. The fact that recent immigrants were more prone to desert than in perhaps other wars is not that remarkable considering the opposing forces and other factors unique to the Mexican war. Mexicans had a far higher desertion rate than the US Army, the US Army won every battle in spite of being at the end of a long logistical tale in a harsh environment on foreign soil with little popular support. There remained a great deal of unit cohesion for the US Army to have preformed so brilliantly against such great odds.

[Paul Roper · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always interesting to discover a piece of American History that surprises you, and the story of John Riley surely did that. The anti-Catholic and Immigrant Know Nothing Party had a strong hold on the US Army and treated Catholics, Irish and German immigrants mostly, with disdain and severe punishments. Eventually, these soldiers realized they had more in common, religion, with the Catholic Mexicans than the anti-Catholic Americans and the joined the Mexican Army as the "San Patricio Battalion" or the St. Patrick's for the patron Saint of Ireland.

Fascinating story, and a dark spot on US History that has rarely been spoken of, Mr. Stevens has written a great story.

[Edward Branley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the basic backstory of the San Patricios, but when I got inspired to write a short story featuring a character who was a member of the Battalion, I asked friends for recs on a good history of the unit. The Rogue's March was suggested by several folks. It's a great overview of the clashes between WASP Army officers in the 1840s and the German and Irish immigrants under their command. The progress of the Battalion from its formation through its demise is presented well.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the Mexican-American war over ten percent of American forces deserted and many wound up serving in the Mexican army as part in the St. Patrick's Battalion. Most were Irish and German immigrants who fled the Navitism of American officers and the general public. The story is told through the career of an Irish immigrant named John Riley. This is a good account of the anti-Catholic and anti- immigrant views of Protestant America during the nineteenth century.

[John]

Thanks to Ry Cooder I got interested in this disgraceful piece of US history (and let's face it there have been many!. An illuminating and desperately sad read..to be read alongside Ry Cooder/The Chieftains album San Patricio

[Chris Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an entertaining read...