One of the perplexing problems in the history of the Mexican War has been the account of a body of deserters from the American army which called itself the San Patricio Battalion. Many of these deserters were being tried and executed or severely punished as the troops of General Scott pushed into the heart of Mexico’s capital. The account of the desertion of the San Patricios has been the subject of much debate, a great deal of it bitter, between historians with either a Catholic or Protestant point of view. Many Protestant writers have been prone to use this event as an illustration of placing faith above patriotism, the desertions being laid at the door of the Mexican clergy who are charged with actively attempting to entice Catholic soldiers among the American forces, largely recent German and Irish immigrants, to leave the army of a Protestant power bent on the destruction of a Catholic nation and on the spoliation of the temples of the Catholic faith. Catholic writers have been quick to issue a full denial of such charges. To date most of the charges and countercharges concerning the San Patricio Battalion have been based almost exclusively on secondary evidence. The essential truth of the matter would appear to be obtainable only from the actual records of the deserters in the files of the United States Army. It is on these records that this article is based.

The room was rude and probably a little damp, because of the altitude and the prodigious rains sustained on the sierra, but it was also substantial, thick-walled in adobe and floored with the great rough bricks universally used in the period. Heavy, hand-hewn beams supported the weight of the sloping roof, made snug by countless overlapping tiles. The gloom of the rude chamber was candle-spotted, revealing, if dimly, its meagre but heavy furnishings; and a hearth fire must have contributed additional brightening, since it was nearing the very coldest season in the highlands, November. It was November 12 and approaching midnight in the Year of Grace, 1651.

There are people who are called upon to transform customs and society, but of very few may it be asserted that they have changed the entire world. The remarkable woman, the fifth centenary of whose birth we are celebrating, is one of them.

Daughter of King John II and of Isabel of Portugal, his second wife, she is a warrior par excellence; one might perhaps say that her whole life was a battle in which were intermingled enthusiasms, passion and egoism, and there were also lofty thoughts and high purposes.

The historical production of the small states which comprise that picturesque ribbon of land uniting the Americas is quite modest. This situation is the result of various factors, principally the small population and the resulting scarcity of readers. Poverty, too, is a restricting influence. Nevertheless, when everything is taken into consideration, Central American historiography bears favorable comparison with that of other American nations better endowed in population and wealth.

Students of mexican culture have always been interested in the determined political conservatism of José María Roa Bárcena. He has been so definitely associated with the conservative-classic side of Mexican politics and literary expression that it is as surprising to find elements of romanticism in the writings of Roa Bárcena as it is to find poetry of a classical nature written by Ignacio Ramírez. The fact is that although these two men worked toward opposite goals with astonishing consistency, neither was immune to the influence of the opposing faction. For this reason, both men reflect their times, though Roa did so in a much quieter way than did the flamboyant Ramírez.