The Irish in America (Part 3): The San Patricio Battalion [UPDATED]

We are the San Patricios
A brave and gallant band,
There’ll be no white flag flying,
Within this green command;
We are the San Patricios,
We have but one demand,
To see the Yankees safely home,
Across the Rio Grande.

But when at Churubusco,
We fell to Yankee hands,
No court of justice did we have,
In the land of Uncle Sam;
As traitors and deserters all,
We would be shot or hanged,
Far from the green, green shamrock shore,
Across the Rio Grande.

We’ve disappeared from history,
Like footprints in the sand,
But our song is in the tumbleweed,
And our blood is in this land;
But, if in the desert moonlight,
You see a ghostly band,
We’re the men who died for freedom,
Across the Rio Grande.

We are the San Patricios,
A brave and gallant band.

See also:
"The Irish Soldiers of Mexico" at InsideCatholic

"Irish Catholics in Mexican army in war of 1846-1848" at Musings of a Pertinacious Papist

The Chieftains And Ry Cooder Tell 'San Patricio' History at NPR

"The rebels of the Rio Grande" at The Irish Times