Pancho Villa Raids Columbus, New Mexico

Context

By early 1916 the Mexican Revolution had entered a turbulent phase marked by shifting alliances and foreign involvement. Francisco 'Pancho' Villa, once a dominant figure in northern Mexico with his Division of the North, suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Celaya in 1915 against forces loyal to Venustiano Carranza. Villa's subsequent break with Carranza left him isolated and short of supplies and ammunition.

What Happened

President Woodrow Wilson had initially backed Villa but shifted official U.S. recognition and support to Carranza once the latter consolidated power and appeared to move toward democratic reforms. Feeling betrayed, Villa turned his anger toward the United States. In January 1916 his men stopped a train in northern Mexico and killed a group of American mining engineers, an act that heightened border tensions.

Aftermath

Seeking both material goods and retribution, Villa assembled several hundred fighters and crossed the international boundary near Columbus late on March 8. At approximately 4:15 a.m. on March 9 the raiders struck the small town and the adjacent Camp Furlong, home to elements of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment. Villistas looted stores and homes, set buildings ablaze, and exchanged fire with American troops before the garrison, reinforced by machine guns, drove them back across the border with heavy losses.

Legacy

Wilson immediately ordered Brigadier General John J. Pershing to lead a punitive expedition into Mexico with the goal of capturing Villa. Roughly 6,000 U.S. troops entered Mexican territory in mid-March 1916, operating with Carranza's reluctant permission. Pershing's forces never located their quarry despite months of pursuit across northern Mexico, though they did engage Villista bands and, in one instance, Carrancista troops at the Battle of Carrizal.