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according to an officer's whim. George Ballantine was a former soldier in the British army, and he recorded that: "I have frequently seen foolish young officers violently strike and assault soldiers on the most slight provocation... In fact, such a bad state of feeling seemed to exist between men and officers throughout the service, that I am not surprised that it would lead to numerous desertions."

One of the men who changed sides before the war broke out was John Riley, a private in the American army, who may once have served in the British army, probably as an artilleryman. Certainly he knew how to service cannons, and could train the men under his command to do the same. This suggests that he was rather more than a gunner when he served in Britain's army; most likely he was a sergeant, as he certainly knew how to command men in action.

Historians have always assumed that Riley deserted first from the British army in Canada, but this may not be the case, and certainly no evidence has emerged to back up the claim that he deserted from two armies. When he enlisted in New York in 1845 he gave his age as 28, but people who met him during his time as an American prisoner in 1847/8 wrote that he was a man in his mid-30s. When he died in August 1850, the parish priest who conducted his burial gave his age as 45. Now, if Riley was closer to 45 than 28 when he died, that might suggest that he could have completed his service with the British and received a discharge from them. When he joined the American army he wrote that he was determined to recover his former rank; and the fact that he was still a private when he deserted leads one to speculate that anger at the American army's failure to promote him could have been one of the factors that led to his desertion. The Mexicans did not make the same mistake. Private John Riley deserted from the American army on the 12th April 1846 and by the end of that month he was a first lieutenant in Mexico's service.

Along with the others who were changing sides he served in the regular Mexican army, but at some point it was probably decided that they should all serve together, probably in Riley's artillery regiment. That made sense, given the language problems. Thus was born, probably in May or June 1846, the St. Patrick's Company which served as part of the Mexican artillery. The name probably reflects nothing more than Lt. Riley's whim, although in a letter that he wrote to the Mexican President, he did boast that he recruited

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