The San Blas Battalion was a Mexican infantry unit founded in 1823 in San Blas,

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

. Under the name ''Batallón Activo Guardacostas de San Blas'' (San Blas Active Coastguard Battalion), it saw action on several occasions culminating in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. The battalion participated in the

Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The building, sitting a ...

, where commanded by Lt. Colonel

Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl (May 1, 1804 – September 13, 1847) was a colonel in the Mexican Army under president Antonio López de Santa Anna. Xicoténcatl was born in the town of San Bernandino Contla in the state of Tlaxcala. He joined t ...

, aided in the defense of the Military Academy in the Chapultepec Castle. Of the 300 men comprising the battalion, only a few survived the battle. It is said that Lt. Col. Xicoténcatl, refusing the idea of letting the American forces capture the Mexican flag identifying his battalion and severely wounded, wrapped himself with the flag and died beside his men. Nowadays, this flag is displayed in the

National Museum of History The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the Nanhai Academy in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. After the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Taiwa ...

located in Chapultepec Castle. An inscription below it reads as follows:

''La defensa del Castillo de Chapultepec estuvo bajo la responsabilidad del general Nicolás Bravo, quien disponía de 200 cadetes del Colegio Militar y 300 soldados del Batallón de San Blas, al mando del teniente coronel Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl, que trató de contener a los invasores en el bosque.''

''Aniquilado el batallón de San Blas, los norteamericanos embistieron por el poniente y el sur del Colegio Militar, donde fueron detenidos durante algunas horas por los cadetes; pero más tarde las divisiones de Quitman y Pillow lograron escalar el cerro a costa de muchas bajas mortales.''

Translation:

The Defense of Chapultepec Castle was under the responsibility of General Nicolás Bravo, who used 200 cadets of the Military Academy and 300 soldiers of the San Blas battalion under the command of lieutenant colonel Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl and tried to stop the invaders in the woods.

With the San Blas Battalion annihilated, the Americans pushed on the western and southern wings of the Castle, where they were stopped for some hours by the cadets, even though later the divisions of Quitman and Pillow managed to ascend the hill at the cost of many casualties.

External links

The Battle of Chapultepec
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batallon de San Blas Military units and formations of Mexico Military units and formations of the Mexican–American War Military units and formations established in 1823 Military units and formations disestablished in 1848