The Irish Who Fought for Mexico. Daniel Grimes
many employers would not hire them. At this time, the war between the United States and Mexico was starting. The American army needed every able-bodied male it could get, even offering enlistment bounties. With the promise of American citizenship as well as badly needed money, many young Irish males with few other prospects enlisted in the army. Sometimes these Irishmen were recruited days after landing in the United States or even sooner.
Once in the army, however, Irish soldiers were bullied, threatened, and sometimes flogged by xenophobic Protestant officers. “Potato heads” was a common insult directed at Irish soldiers. Those Irish who desired to become commissioned officers faced major obstacles unless they became Protestant. Foreign-born Catholics of other nationalities also faced frequent discrimination. Sometimes officers would not allow Catholic soldiers to attend Mass.
One of the common and most painful practices in the army used by rogue officers to discipline foreign soldiers, even for trivial offenses, was “bucking and gagging.” The soldier was ordered to lie on the ground with his feet up to his hamstrings and his wrists tightly bound in front of his legs. The man would then have a gag stuffed in his mouth and tied tightly around the back of his head. The soldier would be forced to endure this torture for a period ranging from hours to even days. [1]
It was said that when some Irish soldiers posted in southern Texas heard the ringing of church bells coming from the other side of the river in Matamoros, Mexico, they felt they were fighting on the wrong side. This feeling was amplified by the brutality they witnessed. Catholic soldiers were appalled when they saw other American troops plundering, destroying Catholic churches, and violating Mexican women. In one particular incident, General Taylor’s army marched into the Mexican town of Santa Isabel along the Texas side of the Rio Grande. The inhabitants, having no stomach for a confrontation, fled to the other side of the river. Much of the town and surrounding areas were set on fire; and private property, as well as the customs-house, was taken over by the American troops. Although a few Americans condemned the pillage of Santa Isabel, nobody was punished.
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