tionary War whom Washington once toasted as "The Butlers
and their five sons," General Butler succeeded General Scott in
command of the entire American army in Mexico in February, 1848.
Another of clear Irish descent who fought under Zachary Taylor was
Major-General George Croghan, whose father, born in Sligo, Ireland,
had fought in the Revolution. He himself took part, as we have seen,
in the War of 1812, and now was at the front before Monterey. Once,
when a Tennessee regiment wavered under a hot converging fire,
Croghan rushed to the front and, taking off his hat, shouted, "Men of
Tennessee, your fathers conquered with Jackson at New Orleans. Come,
follow me!" and they followed in a successful assault. Major-General
Robert Paterson, who was born at Strabane, Ireland, and was the son
of a '98 man, saw service in 1812, and became major-general of
militia in Pennsylvania, whence he went to the Mexican War. He also
lived to serve in the War of the States.

Among Irish-named officers mentioned honorably in official despatches
are Major Edward H. Fitzgerald, Major Patrick J. O'Brien; Captain
Casey, chosen to lead the first storming party at Chapultepec;
Captains Hogan, Byrne, Kane, McElvin, McGill, Burke, Barny,
O'Sullivan, McCarthy, McGarry, and McKeon. Captain Mayne Reid, the
novelist, a native of Ireland, was in the storming of Chapultepec.
Theodore O'Hara, the poet, served with the Kentucky troops and was
brevetted major for gallantry at Contreras and Churubusco, while on
the staff of General Franklin Pierce (afterwards President of the
United States). O'Hara's magnificent poem, "The Bivouac of the Dead,"
has made his name immortal. It was written on the occasion of the
interment at Frankfort, Ky., of the Kentucky dead of the Mexican War,
where

"Glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead."

Irwin C. McDowell, who was brevetted captain at Buena Vista,
commanded a corps in the Civil War. George A. McCall, brevetted
lieutenant-colonel at Palo Alto, was a major-general in the Civil
War. Francis T. Bryan was a hero of Buena Vista. Lieutenant-Colonel
Thomas P. Moore and Captain James Hogan both won fame in the 3rd
Dragoons. Lieutenant Thomas Claiborn of the Mounted Rifles became a
colonel in the Confederate Army. Lieutenant-Colonel J.W. Geary fought
brilliantly and was to be heard from later with renown.

Colonel John F. Reynolds of the 3rd Artillery lived to be
major-general in the Civil War,