Commemoration of the mass hanging of the Saint Patrick's Battalion

On September 12, the heroic deed of the San Patricio Battalion in 1847 is commemorated.

The armed confrontation between the United States and Mexico lasted for most of 1847. The San Patricio Battalion was made up mostly of Irish-born men who had deserted from the US Army. By April of the same year, his entry into the Mexican defense was made official.

On August 20, the invading forces defeated the Mexican army at the Churubusco convent. In this confrontation the North Americans captured 85 soldiers of the Battalion. 75 were court-martialed and sentenced to hang. The first 16 were hanged in San Ángel on September 10, 1847. The execution of another 30 of them happened days later.

On April 29, 1999, the Mexican Congress of the Union declared the civilian and military combatants of the US invasion war as "Beneméritos de la Patria" to a heroic degree, and to honor them they were given the generic name of "Defenders of the Homeland 1846-1848".

That legend was affixed with gold letters on the Wall of Honor of the Legislative Branch building, along with the name "San Patricio Battalion" in homage to the foreign soldiers who formed that contingent.