Why would hundreds of 19th century Irishmen abandon the U.S. Army and join Mexican forces?
The Saint Patrick battalion was made up mostly of Irish soldiers who deserted the U.S. Army to fight for Mexico.In Mexico, September is known as the patriotic month, or el mes patrio which culminates on the 15th with the national independence holiday. This day, the President appears at the balcony of the presidential palace holding the flag of Mexico and symbolically rings a bell, just like Father Miguel Hidalgo did in 1810 as he called for the country’s independence.
