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Title details for Saint Patrick's Battalion by James Alexander Thom - Available

Saint Patrick's Battalion

A Novel

by James Alexander Thom
William Dufris
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A stirring fictional account of the amazing real-life story of John Riley, an Irishman who led his men to desert the American military during the Mexican-American War, as seen through the eyes of two memorable narrators.


It is June 1845, and Paddy Quinn is a camp boy for the American army—which, by order of President Polk, is bound for Mexico. A young man with journalistic aspirations, Paddy writes letters for illiterate soldiers and learns that, like him, many are Irish, including the enigmatic John Riley. Riley rattles camp hierarchy when he rails against the brutal treatment of Irish soldiers, but he soon goes further, sneaking away at night to switch sides. Riley is not alone. Fed up with mistreatment and drawn by a Catholic bond, Irish, German, and other soldiers join Mexico. Led by Riley, a corps of Irishman called the San Patricios—in English, St. Patrick's Battalion—fights for the enemy in the war's major campaigns. But when they are captured, their resolve is tested in the extreme—as are Paddy's loyalties, to his country and to the man he most admires.


Alternating between Paddy's account and that of Augustin Juvero, a Mexican soldier, nationally bestselling author James Alexander Thom constructs an enlightening novel about war, duty, and loyalty, and draws intriguing parallels to our current conflict in Iraq in his most powerful and relevant novel since Follow the River.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 15, 2006

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400123032
      • File size: 304740 KB
      • Duration: 10:34:52

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 19, 2006
      In June of 1845, a group of immigrant Americans—called the San Patricio's, or St. Patrick's, Battalion—deserted Gen. Zachary Taylor's army and fought on the opposite side in the Mexican-American war, under the leadership of the elusive, charismatic James Riley. Thom (Panther in the Sky
      ) has taken this forgotten incident from an almost forgotten war and turned it into a stirring tale that does everything that smart historical fiction ought to do: illuminating the past while throwing new light on the present. The story of this motley band of mostly Irish and German Catholics, driven to rebellion by the endemic racism and capricious cruelty of their officers, is told from two points of view. Augustin Juvero, a Mexican soldier speaking years later, provides essential context, but most of the novel is taken up by the journal (complete with vivid pencil drawings) of Paddy Quinn, a camp boy. Guerillas, gangs of rancheros that kill Americans on sight, torture, border disputation—all are portrayed with brutal and unsentimental simplicity in Quinn's voice. Not only a striking (and often horrific) account of pre–Civil War army life, Quinn's narrative beautifully conveys the boy's coming of age against a backdrop of eerily familiar war and rebellion.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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