Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A detailed true story that is laced with incredible bravery, conviction, cowardice and intolerance. These immigrant Irishmen served in the US Army, but were driven to deserting and fighting in the Mexican Army frin 1846-48 by cruelty and intolerence. John Riley, the leader of the hated or praised "Batallon de San Patricios" is a unique and noteworthy man, with an interesting past. The fateful battles are detailed and mapped well, the gruesome casualties that depleated their numbers are compelling reading. And for many, the final meeting with the gallows is truely hidious. A terrific story that is almost unknown, crisply told packed with great research. For more info, read "Shamrock and the Sword". A film is due out in Sept. 1999 "One Man's Hero" with Tom Barenger playing Riley. Over all, an exceptional book

An engaging history lesson of both the Mexican-American War and the Anti-Catholic/Immigrant prejudice of Nativists and West Pointers who would later be made famous by the American Civil War. This is as much a story of persecution by bigoted officers as it is an Order of Battle for the conflict. All the major battles of the war are covered with maps and detailed first hand accounts of what happened.

Well-educated and brilliant officers were of differing opinions about the legitimacy of the war, the treatment of German and Irish Catholics, and the tactics used on the field. It was surprising to me to read the correspondence of figures such as Grant, Lee, Sherman, Taylor, Scott, Bragg, and a host of others, illuminating their personal feelings on both sides of those issues and how the experience of the war changed the sentiments and conduct of many of those same officers. This would be reflected in the Civil War some 20 years later.

An intriguing example of the use of "flying batteries" as an innovative use of Artillery showed one of the reasons an outnumbered, and arguably out classed, military was able to defeat an enemy on foreign soil so far away from home.

The story revolves around the main character, the leader of the "San Patricos" and as a counterpoint, an established Irishman settled in the country and the Army. They both faced the same insults and persecutions, and the same offers and temptations to change sides and ironically, both men end up being promoted from enlisted men to commissioned officers in the two opposing armies.

I imagined at first that this would be a story of a man's internal conflict of having to choose loyalty to church over country; though a powerful theme of the book, this was not so much the case. The stronger case was made that the largest desertion rate in the history of the US Army occurred at a time when because of their nationality and religion, men were treated as less deserving of respect and dignity resulting in harsher treatment than "native born Americans". Punishments for identical infractions were much more degrading and humiliating for "foreigners" than for "Americans" in the same unit. A lesson in the effects of fair and equal treatment could not be stronger given to the American Army and indeed this did change. The disturbing part of this history is the undeniable cover up by first the Army and then the Government of the United States for over 120 years. This book should be on the required professional development reading list for Officers and NCOs alike.

Mr. Stevens writing puts emotion and personality to the characters and events described by using copious amounts of official Courts-Martial transcripts, Government Archives records of Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico, and the United States. In addition he draws from the personal diaries, journals, and letters, of the men and women involved. He also cites official war correspondence from the officers of both sides, and newspaper articles of the day.

Throughout Mexico, one can hear of the legend of the SanPatricios, a battalion of soldiers in the U.S.-Mexico War that wasmade up almost entirely of deserters from the U.S. Army. Predominately Irish and/or Catholic, the San Patricios fought well for the Mexicans -- and they suffered for it significantly when the U.S. finally won the war.

Stevens does an excellent job of telling the story of the battalion, the history behind its foundation, and the punishment its members faced after the war. Adding to the interest of the story is the role that many of those in the U.S. Army during the U.S.-Mexico War went on to play pivotal roles in the U.S. and CSA armies during the Civil War.

"The Rogue's March" by Peter F. Stevens is a superb piece of well researched history that should be required reading as part of any college's "American History" program.

This is a terrific story, yet a tragic drama of predijuce, hatred, and a man's devotion to his ideals (be they correct or not). This is a story about soldering, war, inhumane treatment (including earlier versions of "water-boarding'), and ultimately...desertion into the enemies camp by not just one or two individuals but... almost 14% of the initial military force that entered Mexico in the start of the Mexican American War (1846-1848). The question remains..."were they justified in their actions?"

The title is actually an old Revolutionary War "fife and drum" march, but one that clearly portrays this historical event.

John Riley ("...the malevolent Pied Piper), and his St. Patrick's Battalion (San Patricios), fought for the Mexican forces against their own regiments and became the most hated men in America. John Riley fought under the flags of England, America, Mexico, and...his very own,"The San Patricios."

If, anyone accused the subject of history as boring then, I can assure you that they have never read..."The Rogue's March" by Peter Stevens. This is one campaign you will never forget!!!

Peter F. Stevens does an outstanding job in bringing to life the issues that permeated and greatly harmed the American armies of General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott from 1846 to 1848. At the core was American nativism, hatred and fear of newly arrived Catholic immigrants mainly from Ireland and Germany. Recruited nearly at the pier, these soldiers had no loyalty nor a real investment in their future as Americans. What loyalty they had was toward their Catholic faith. Meeting them in the army was a cadre of immigrant hating junior officers who often imposed discipline more severe than found in European armies. The result was the highest desertion rate of any war the United States ever fought. More important, the Mexicans took advantage of immigrant soldiers' unhappiness and formed the St. Patrick's Battalion, led by John Reily, that distinguished itself in battle against former comrades and messmates until their defeat and capture. The author shows how severe the courts martial were that resulted in the execution of fifty deserters and the lashing and branding of others including John Reily. That this series of events became a downside of Manifest Destiny and a forerunner of the Civil War becomes prominent in the text. This worthy book is a fine read, well researched, militarily and historically sound, and serves as a real contribution to the field of military and social American history.

a los martires irlandeses, nuestros hermanos de Hibernia ue sublevandose ante una injusta guerra, impuesta a un vecino debil y dividido, se unieron a este, luchando con coraje allado de los mexicanos, por cierto, hermanos de religion; la mayor parte de estos, los que sobrevivieron, aun marcados en el rostro por el vencedor, unos marcharon a Yucatan donde prosperaron, otros al istmo de tehuantepec en donde encontraron oficio y los demas por diversos rumbos de la geografia mexicano en donde dejaron su simiento, prueba de ello, son os numerosos apellidos irlandeses que encontramos a lo largo y ancho de nuestra patria...¡Gloria eterna a los martires irlandeses!

Very well researched and written. Found it enthralling. As an Irishman I feel sad when I read books where our brothers or sisters have been treated badly down the centuries, but then the truth is the truth. Congradulations to Peter Stevens for his excellent work. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in forgotten or covered up history.

I bought this book several years ago, and only after seeing the movie "One Man's Hero" (starring Tom Berenger)first, simply by chance. I knew only a little about the San Patricio Battalion from my previous reading of histories of the Mexican-American War, principally the excellent work by John Eisenhower, "So Far From God", first published in 1989.
The movie is based on the San Patricio Battalion story, but unfortunately wound up being little more than made-for-TV quality. This is a story that richly deserves another movie attempt, as the history is relatively little-known (particularly in the U.S., not so much in Mexico, where the men of the San Patricio Battalion are national heroes to this day), and a very compelling tale, to say the least.

"Rogues March" is a well-written, extensively researched and documented history, that can be read easily in a day or two. The story of the San Patricio Battalion, if mentioned at all in history books, is often given rather short-service, portraying the largely Irish and German immigrants who were initially conscripted into the American "Force of Observation" (and subsequently "Occupation")at the outset of the 1846-48 war with Mexico, as simple deserters and ne're-do-wells. The author does a commendable job of depicting the substantial anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic sentiments of 1840's America, which was even acknowledged as the "Nativist" movement, as a principal factor leading to the eventual desertions of the soldiers who were to become the Saint Patrick (San Patricio) Battalion: a mixed group of largely recent immigrants to the U.S., comprised mainly of Irish and Germans, but also a half dozen other nationalities, and even a few "native Americans". Most of these men were not allowed to even apply for U.S. citizenship for a period of 5-10 years after their arrival to this country, and were generally regarded as a threat to all decent US Protestants (despite the largely commendable military service and work records of the Irish and German immigrant populations). Immigrants like the men of the San Patricio Battalion were often fresh off the boat from Europe, and jumped at the chance to make a wage of $7 dollars a month, for service in the US Army of that time. The author devotes the early chapters of "Rogue's March" to clearly and comprehensively (with well-annotated references) illustrate the numerous prejudices against immigrants in general (and more specifically Irish Catholics)that were rather pervasive in 1840's America, an attitude which also infected the officers of the military. Needless to say, the eventual reasons for the soldier's desertions were more complex than just Catholic-Protestant issues, as was eveidenced by the staggering 14% desertion rate overall for US forces during the Mexican-American War.

Following the desertions, this rag-tag group was organized by Irishman John Riley into a crack artillery unit within the Mexican army, and wound up being involved in almost every major military engagement of that war. "Rogues March" therefore also serves as a history of the 1846-48 war in general, including numerous maps detailing the opposing forces positions in all the major battles of the war, from the opening "border" skirmishes of Palo Alto and Resaca de La Palma, to the final battle of the San Patricio Battalion (or "Los Colorados", as they were also called by native Mexicans, for the red hair of the numerous Irish soldiers in the Battalion) at the convent of Churubusco, outside of Mexico City. Throughout the history of the campaign, numerous additional examples of prejudicial mistreatment of Irish (and other immigrant) soldiers within the US Army are detailed, and again comprehensively referenced- including several observations about the rampant Nativism by US officers, by no less of an authority than Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and several other US officers who were to become major players in the American Civil War just 15 years later.

The eventual trial and execution of most of the members of the San Patricio Battalion is detailed in the final chapters, and again serves to illustrate that the reasons why these formidable soldiers deserted in the first place were still firmly in place for their "trials"- if one can call a pre-determined verdict a trial, that is. A few interesting suggestions are also offered as to the eventual fate of the charismatic Riley: he was not executed (presumably because his desertion occured before war was actually declared officially), but was brutally flogged to within an inch of death, and branded with a deserter's "D" on both cheekbones, and then left to a beggar's existence in the country he helped defend so valiantly.

The author clearly takes a sympathetic tone for the San Patricios throughout this book, though at no time did I feel that the facts were manipulated in their favor: this book does a fine job of "telling like it is (was)"- I'd hardly call it an "American bashing" read. It is what it is- a little known piece of US history that has been kept a relative secret in history books to this day, for obvious reasons. Yes, these men were deserters, in the strict legal sense of the term. But they were also clearly men of conviction, fierce courage, and honor, and in an ironic way, heroes in more than just a military sense.

For the reader interested in the Mexican American War in general, and more specifically for those interested in a compelling small piece of that conflict's history, "Rogues March" can be highly recommended.

Truly awesome story. Well written and researched. Really made me think. Brings up a lot of repressed issues that are difficult to deal with as an American.

A must read for the student of Irish-American and Vietnam history. Goes into detail of the anti-Catholic/anti-emmigrant climate of America in the the 1840's. A story of America's first war of agresssion against another independent nation, shows the beggings of Americas imperialistic wars.A good companion text for istorians of America's involvement in South East Asia,"if we do not learn from history we are cursed to repeat it."