In the United States, the name Benedict Arnold is synonymous with treason, treachery, and betrayal. However, general Arnold almost succeeded in driving the British out of Canada, which was the first step to take if the Revolution was to be a success.

General Benedict Arnold (1741–1801).

In 1775, general Benedict Arnold's militia almost succeeded in making Canada the 14th Colony. General Sir Guy Carleton used smallpox to wipe out the invasion force in front of Quebec City. Papal Canada was destined to remain part of the British Empire and a deadly foe on the northern flank of the newborn Republic.

General Sir Guy Carleton (1724–1808).

After the failed invasion, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase, Charles and John Carroll set out on a top secret mission to Canada. Their mission was to obtain Canadian support for the coming Revolution.

They failed to obtain Canadian support but they did obtain a promise of neutrality. General Sir Guy Carleton also promised not to use smallpox on the newly created Continental Army. This ban on the use of smallpox did not apply to the slaves who fled their plantations and joined the British:

The surrender of general Burgoyne at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

In 1777, general Arnold and his militia won the first battle of the Revolution in Saratoga, New York. After his great victory at Saratoga, general Arnold was retired to become military governor of Philadelphia.

Saratoga National Historic Park, site of the famous battle.

General Arnold suffered a broken leg when his horse was shot out from under him. If general Arnold had died from his wounds at Saratoga, he would be considered one of the greatest HEROES of the Revolution.

His leg wound left Arnold bedridden for five months. Later, while still unfit for field service and serving as military governor of Philadelphia, Arnold had a falling out with General Washington over the entire conduct of the war.

After the falling out with general Washington, the only option left for Arnold was to go to Canada . . . or British controlled Florida....He was not welcome in Canada, and Florida didn't appeal to him, so he became a turncoat and accepted a commission in the British Army.

The British gave Arnold a brigadier general's commission, with an annual income of several hundred pounds, but paid him only £6,315, plus an annual pension of £360, because his plot to capture West Point had failed.

In the United States, his only monument is a BOOT . . . with no name....Arnold's memory suffers from damnatio memoriae which is a Latin phrase literally meaning "condemnation of memory" in the sense of a judgment that a person must not be remembered. It was a form of dishonor that was passed by the Roman Senate upon traitors or others who brought discredit to the Roman state. The intent was to erase someone from history, or consign them to oblivion.

The Irish Benedict Arnold!!

In 1817, John Riley or O'Reilly was born in Clifden, Co. Galway, Ireland. As today, Hibernia was a vital part of the British Empire. As a youth, he joined the British Army in Canada, and by 1845 he attained the rank of sergeant.

In 1843, sergeant John Riley "deserted" from the British Army in Canada, and crossed the undefended border into Michigan. In September 1845, he enlisted in the United States Army and took the oath of allegiance to this country.

Riley knew that war between Mexico and the U.S. was imminent. Just 2 weeks before the war started, he was stationed at the Rio Grande, opposite the Mexican town of Metamoros. That was when he deserted the U.S. Army and took about 200 fellow turncoats with him.

After obtaining a pass to attend mass, sergeant Riley swam the Rio Grande, and joined the Mexican Army, stationed in the town of Matamoros, across the river from Fort Texas.

The siege of Fort Texas began on May 3, 1845.

Sergeant Riley swam the Rio Grande on April 12, 1845, and joined the Mexican Army. By the end of April, he had persuaded 200 other turncoats to join him. Riley helped in the bombardment of Fort Texas, under Mexican general Mariano Arista.

General Mariano Arista (1802–1855).

The Siege of Fort Texas marked the beginning of active campaigning by the armies of the United States and Mexico during the Mexican-U.S. War.

The Mexicans were supremely confident of victory, because they had a large professional army, supplied with the latest British rifles and cannon.

To their complete surprise, they lost battle after battle, until Santa Ana had to be recalled from exile to help their faltering army.

In August 1846, Santa Anna returned from exile in Havana. He proceeded immediately to Mexico City. By that time the British controlled all the silver mines in Mexico, so with the help of British ambassador Charles Bankhead, he was "elected" President, with Gómez Farías as his Vice President.

General Santa Anna (1794–1876).

In August 1846, general Santa Ana assumed command of the Mexican Army. He promoted Riley to major, and ordered him to form his own battalion. With about 200 deserter, Riley formed the San Patricios.

The turncoat's banner.

Riley was promoted to major, and his prior combat experience with the British Army caused heavy casualties among his former "comrades" in the U.S. Army.

Santa Anna turned over his heaviest guns, 24- and 16-pounders, to the deserters. On the parade ground of San Luis Potosi, Riley drilled his men hour after hour, the crews shoving the one-ton cannons into battery, firing hundreds of practice rounds, hitching the cast-iron behemoths to six-horse wagons, and hauling the guns to another spot to unlimber them and repeat the drill-again and again. Riley and Moreno also trained the men to ferry ammunition from the caissons to the cannons with a speed that startled Mexican artillerymen. Before long, Santa Anna had Riley and his most experienced gunners teaching their European techniques to other batteries. (Stevens, Rogue's March, p. 163).

At the battle of Buena Vista, Riley's battery was the most deadly in the Mexican arsenal, causing a high percentage of the 272 U.S. casualties.

Benedict Arnold Riley made a last stand at Churubusco!!

With the Mexican Army in full retreat, Riley and his deserters decided to make a last stand at the San Mateo convent in Churubusco.

U.S. soldiers marching against the San Mateo Convent in Churubusco.

The Mexican army, with Riley and 200 deserters, took up positions in the San Mateo Convent. The convent was taken after huge U.S. losses. Riley and about 80 deserters surrendered.

Brave U.S. troops storming the convent of San Mateo.

General Scott and his small army of just over 6,000 men entered Mexico City in triumph, on September 14, 1847. Admiral Seymour and his British Squadron off the coast of California was eagerly awaiting the final outcome of the war, and the admiral was bitterly disappointed!!

General Scott entered Mexico City in triumph on September 14, 1847.

To the astonishment of everybody, the gallant U.S. Army, comprised mostly of militia, entered Mexico City in triumph.

30 deserters were hung within sight of Chapultepec Castle.

The great victory of general Scott and his small army was marred by the hanging of the deserters. British propaganda began to circulate among the huge number of Irish immigrants stating that the hangings were motivated by religious prejudice. After the peace treaty was signed, and the U.S. fulfilled its Manifest Destiny by extending from sea to shining sea, the sore losers in Mexico and the U.S. began to gripe that Mexico lost half of its territory!

General David Twiggs (1790–1862).

Generals Twiggs and Harney (rhymes with blarney) were responsible for the branding and hanging of the San Patricios. Twiggs fought for the Confederacy, and Harney was a "devout" member of the Latin Church, whose ancestors came from Ireland!! British propaganda began to circulate that the branding and hanging of the "victims" was motivated by "religious prejudice."

General William S. Harney (1800–1889).

Judas Riley escaped the noose; he received a big reward from Santa Anna, and made his way back to Canada and a comfortable retirement!!

The USS Jamestown's mission of mercy to Ireland in 1847

In the early part of the 19th century, the staple diet of the Irish people was the POTATO. In 1847, "blight" struck the potato crop. Although the potato crop failed, the country was still producing and exporting more than enough grain crops to feed the population. Records show that during that period, Ireland was exporting approximately thirty to fifty shiploads per day of food produce.

In addition, the seas around the island were teeming with FISH.

Only a people in dire straits would risk the voyage around Cape Horn to California. The only other option was crossing the disease ridden Isthmus of Panama . . . or joining the U.S. pioneers on the dangerous overland trek.

In 1847, both Houses of Congress, with the President and Secretary of the Navy, authorized 2 ships to sail to Ireland with relief supplies for that "famine" stricken country:

You are aware that certain Boston merchants, on the twenty-second day of February, the birth-day of the "Father of our Country," forwarded a petition to the Honorable Robert C. Winthrop, asking Congress to lend one of their ships of war, for the purpose of carrying to Ireland a cargo of provisions; on the third day of March, the last stormy day of the session, when the attention of every mind in Congress was taken up with the discussion of financial and warlike measures, the people of the United States, be it said to their honor, voted the loan of the Frigate Macedonian, to Captain George C. DeKay, of New Jersey, and the loan of the "Sloop of War" Jamestown, to myself, and by a joint resolution of both Houses, the President and Secretary of the Navy, were authorized to send these vessels at the expense of the United States, or to put them into our hands, for the benevolent purpose indicated. The Honorable Secretary of the Navy, J. Y. Mason, in view of "the demand for all the resources of the United States, to carry on operations against the public enemy," wisely chose the latter alternative, and accordingly, under date of the 8th March, ordered Commodore F. A. Parker, Commandant of the Naval Station, at Charlestown, to prepare the Jamestown by the removal of her armament, and to deliver her to me; this order was received on the 11th March, and on the 17th, being St. Patrick's day, the "Laborers Aid Society," of Boston, composed principally, if not entirely, of poor Irishmen, put their hands and minds to the holy work, and in the course of that day, one-seventh part of the cargo was stowed away; and by the 27th, after an interruption by bad weather, the ship was full, drawing nearly twenty feet, and having, with her stores, about 8,000 barrels bulk, of provisions, grain, meal, &c. &c., on board. (Forbes, The Voyage of the Jamestown, pp. 8-9).

The ship was loaded up with food by volunteers at Boston Harbor.

When Forbes arrived in Cork, he was invited to a BANQUET:

On Thursday, the 15th of April, the citizens of Cove invited me to a banquet. We assembled at 6 o'clock, and after the usual regular toasts, "The Queen," and "Prince Albert and the Royal Family," the chairman, Mr. Power, J. P., introduced my health with some flattering encomiums on the generosity of the people of New England, to which I replied. Great unanimity of sentiment prevailed, and the town being there represented by all classes in politics and religion, nearly everything of a political nature was properly omitted. The evening passed off with great harmony and much to my satisfaction. (Forbes, The Voyage of the Jamestown, p. 11).

There was plenty of food available for everybody....The "famine" was just a perfidious trick to get the Latin Church Irish to start California dreamin!!

The President of Ireland unveiled a "monument" to Benedict Arnold Riley!!

It is almost beyond belief . . . but the President of Ireland unveiled a "monument" to Judas Riley in October 2013.

Mexico’s foreign minister José Antonio Meade, President Michael D. Higgins, and Joe Costello at the unveiling of a monument to Riley in 2013.

No image of Judas Riley exists, so they made him look like the handsome Irish actor Pierce Brosnan!!

José Antonio Meade, Michael D. Higgins,and José Antonio Meade admiring the handsome Pierce Brosnan look-alike bust of "Riley."

There is no date on the plaque showing the birth or death of Riley. Most people believe that he was born in 1817, it is probable that he returned to Canada in 1850, and rejoined his regiment there.

It is certain that when Judas Riley finally met his Maker, the real Saint Patrick was first in line to throw him into HADES, for disgracing the name of Hibernia's patron saint!!

The whole scheme of colonizing California with Papal Irish was doomed to failure, because the revived State of Israel was destined to extend from sea to shining sea:

He (Messiah) shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river (Mississippi) unto the ends of the earth (Psalm 72:8).

In the Book of Ezekiel, written about 2,500 years ago, the Prophet also predicted that the borders of reborn Israel would extend from East to West:

From the border unto the east sea this is the east side . . . the west side also shall be the great sea; from the border, this is the west side (Ezekiel 47: 18-20).

Vital links

References

Eisenhower, John S.D. Agent of Destiny: The Life and Times of General Winfield Scott, The Free Press, New York, 1997.

Fowler, Will. Santa Anna of Mexico. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln & London, 2007.

Fox, John. Macnamara's Irish Colony and the United States Taking of California in 1846. McFarland & Co., Pub., Jefferson, North Carolina, and London. 2000.

Forbes, Robert Bennet. The Voyage of the Jamestown On Her Errand of Mercy. Eastburn's Press, Boston, 1847.

Johnson, Timothy D. A Gallant Little Army: The Mexico City Campaign. University Press of Kansas City, 2007.

Miller, Robert Ryal. Shamrock and Sword. The Saint Patrick's Battalion in the U.S.-Mexican War. University of Oklahoma Press, OK. 1989.

Stevens, Peter F. The Rogue's March: John Riley and the St. Patrick's Battalion, 1846–48. Potomac Books, Washington City, 1999.

Copyright © 2014 by Patrick Scrivener

Back to Main Menu