Félix Uresti Gómez (Gómez Farías,

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

; July 1, 1887 — Carrizal,

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

21 June 1916) was a Mexican revolutionary holding the rank of General and leading Mexican forces at

Carrizal, Chihuahua Ahumada is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Villa Ahumada. The municipality covers an area of 17,131.5 km². As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 11,457, down from 11,727 ...

on June 21, 1916. His life was spent between Gomez Farias,

, where he was born, had his house and now his grave, and San Salvador, Zacatecas, where his uncle Marcos Uresti and his grandfather Jeronimo Uresti lived. In this city he had his first school lessons, later he started to work in the mines. In 1913 he aligned with the forces of Venustiano Carranza and was commissioned a general officer. In October 1914 the revolutionary movement suffered additional internal divisions, but he remained faithful to the Carrancista faction. On June 21, 1916, Gomez was leading a force of 400 Mexican soldiers tasked with repelling a US Army cavalry detachment composed of soldiers from Troops "C" and "K" of the 10th US Cavalry at the town of Carrizal, Chihuahua. His orders were to prevent the Americans from moving any direction but north—an action contrary to the cavalry detachment's orders. The Americans, buffalo soldiers under

General John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

, had entered Mexican territory on the so-called Punitive Expedition in pursuit of Pancho Villa following his attack on Columbus, New Mexico. An attempt to peacefully pass through Carrizal in violation of Gomez's orders, resulted in a gun battle that saw the deaths of Gomez along with 79 other Mexican soldiers. All the American officers present were killed and the surviving enlisted soldiers taken prisoner and held until they were repatriated several months later.Prieto, 46 For his role in this battle, the Mexican government named Gomez the "Hero of Carrizal."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uresti, Felix People from Chihuahua (state) Military personnel from Coahuila 1916 deaths Mexican military personnel killed in action 1887 births Mexican generals