On May 12, 1846, the ever growing US empire continued its campaign of manifest destiny and westward expansion by declaring war on the newly independent country of Mexico. The US army began its invasion with the annexation of Texas, slaughtering entire Mexican villages and burning their homes to the ground. After their initial push, they began amassing troops along the Rio Grande river in preparation for a full-scale assault South to seize and occupy more land at the behest of the American bourgeois and their imperialist ambitions.

During this same period, the US was experiencing a large influx of European immigration. A large portion of the new migrant class were the Irish, fleeing British colonial rule and the beginnings of the “potato famine”. This “great hunger” was an imperialist-made famine caused by the British government mandating Irish food supplies be used to feed the British Army, leaving millions of Irish to starve and forced to flee. Upwards of 100,000 Irish would arrive at the shores by 1846, a number that would continue to increase as the forced famine worsened. Many US soldiers were recruited from the ranks of these migrant ships, some taken almost directly off the boats to the frontlines to be used as cannon fodder for US imperialism.

As a wave of newly recruited immigrants were sent down to the Rio Grande to join the invading US forces, many soldiers witnessed the horrors the army had recently committed: the burning, looting, and killing of Mexican men, women, and children. As they arrived at the Rio Grande, many of them began to discuss what they had witnessed and concluded that they were on the wrong side of this war. What the US was doing to the Mexican people was exactly what the British had done to the Irish for centuries, the reason why they had left their homes to begin with. It was this realization that led to an Irish soldier named John Reilly to lead over 400 mostly Irish immigrant to desert the US colonial army, cross the Rio Grande, and join the Mexican Army to fight against the invading US forces.

These defectors became known as the Batallón de San Patricio (St. Patrick’s Battalion or Los San Patricios for short), a mostly Irish and German regiment in the Mexican Army who fought many battles in the Mexican-American war and became known for their bravery. As the US war machine continued to advance deeper into Mexican territory, the San Patricios famously fought in the Battle of Churbusco, on the outskirts of Mexico City, refusing to wave the white flag of surrender in the face of the invading American Army. The US ended up overpowering the Mexican Army and captured 75 San Patricios who were consequently tortured and branded with a letter “T” for traitor. In the largest mass execution of the war, 30 of them were hanged at the gallows as the US raised its flag over Mexico City, a deliberate act of psychological warfare. At the conclusion of the war, the US claimed victory and occupied nearly all of modern day Mexico, later annexing almost 60% in the process.

Today, the San Patricios are revered as heroes of Mexican history and honored during St. Patrick’s day celebrations across the country every year. They are recognized as people who, given the choice to side with the oppressor and remain in the invading army, instead joined the people of Mexico to fight US imperialism. Despite the odds, the San Patricios were motivated by the spirit of internationalism: seeing the oppressed people of the world as their brothers and sisters rather than identifying with their rulers. They joined the smaller, less advanced Mexican Army out of an intense love for the people and hatred for oppression, making the ultimate sacrifice in the process.

As the US-Israel war machine continues to rage throughout the Middle East, as US imperialism seeks to continue its domination of every corner of the globe, it’s crucial people inside the belly of the beast embrace the same internationalism the San Patricios did almost 200 years ago, standing with the people of the world and becoming seriously mutinous against the empire. This St. Patrick’s Day, embrace the spirit of rebellion and internationalism. Join Behind Enemy Lines to bring this challenge to the people and embraces the same spirit. We choose the world.