Battle Of Columbus (1916)
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The Battle of Columbus (Burning of Columbus or the Columbus Raid), March 9, 1916, began as a
raid Raid, RAID or Raids may refer to: Attack * Raid (military), a sudden attack behind the enemy's lines without the intention of holding ground * Corporate raid, a type of hostile takeover in business * Panty raid, a prankish raid by male college ...
conducted by remnants of
Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''Collins English Dictionary''.
; ;
's
Division of the North The Division of the North ( es, División del Norte) was a Spanish infantry division that existed in 1808. Spain was, at that time, an ally of France and the division, composed of 15,000 men under the command of the Marquis de la Romana, Pedro ...
on the small United States border town of
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
, located north of the border with Mexico. The raid escalated into a full-scale battle between Villistas and the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. Villa himself led the assault, only to be driven back into Mexico by elements of the 13th Cavalry Regiment stationed at the town. The attack angered Americans, and President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
ordered the
Punitive Expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...
in which the US Army invaded
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and defeated General Villa's troops, but failed to capture him.


Battle

After the 1915
Battle of Celaya The Battle of Celaya, 6–15 April 1915, was part of a series of military engagements in the Bajío during the Mexican Revolution between the winners, who had allied against the regime of Gen. Victoriano Huerta (February 1913-July 1914) and then ...
during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
, where Villa sustained his greatest defeat, the Division of the North was in a disorganised condition, wandering around northern
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
foraging for supplies. Lacking the military supplies, money, and munitions he needed in order to pursue his war against Mexican President
Venustiano Carranza José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...
, Villa planned the raid and camped his army of an estimated 1,500 horsemen outside of Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Palomas">''Huachuca Illustrated'', vol 1, 1993: "Villa's Raid on Columbus, New Mexico" Villa planned the raid and camped his army of an estimated 1,500 horsemen outside of Puerto Palomas, Chihuahua, Palomas
on the border three miles south of Columbus, which was populated by about 300 Americans and about as many Mexicans that had fled north from the advancing Villistas. The reasons for the raid have never been established with any certainty. An American kidnap victim travelling with the raiding party, Maude Hauke Wright, said that Villa came with 1,500 men but only attacked with about 600 because there was not enough ammunition for more raiders. At their camp, Villa sent spies into the town to assess the presence of U.S. military personnel. When the returning spies told him that only about thirty soldiers garrisoned Columbus (a significant error), Villa moved north and crossed the border about midnight. The garrison came from the 13th Cavalry Regiment usually stationed at Cavalry Camp Columbus, which was located immediately south of downtown and consisted of the headquarters troop, machine gun troop, and four of the seven rifle troops deployed to patrol the border, totaling in all 12 officers and 341 men, of which approximately 270 were combat troops. On this night, half were out of camp on patrol or other assignments Tompkins, Col. Frank (1934, 1996). ''Chasing Villa: The Last Campaign of the U.S. Cavalry'', High-Lonesome Books, Silver City, New Mexico. , p. 44 Villa divided his force into two columns, most of which approached the town on foot, and launched a two-pronged attack on the town in the dark at 4:15 am on March 9. The town's population was asleep, along with most of the garrison, when they entered Columbus from the west and southeast shouting "Viva Villa! Viva Mexico!" and other phrases. The townspeople awoke to an army of Villistas burning their settlement and looting their homes. The commander of the 13th Cavalry was Colonel Herbert Jermain Slocum. He had been advised the day before, from three conflicting reports from Mexican sources, that Villa and his soldiers were on the move, possibly against Columbus. One warning was given by Juan Favela, the foreman of a ranch near Palomas (three miles south in Mexico), who had seen them headed north the day before the attack. Amidst many such reports that had proved false, the warning was ignored as unreliable, although the troop at the Border Gate was reinforced and all three troops in the field were ordered to step up patrolling of the 65-mile long border. However, U.S. soldiers were forbidden to reconnoiter inside Mexico and thus unable to check reports of Villa's whereabouts. Despite being taken by surprise, the Americans quickly recovered. Soon after the attack began, 2nd Lt.
John P. Lucas Major General John Porter Lucas (January 14, 1890 – December 24, 1949) was a senior officer of the United States Army who saw service in World War I and World War II. He is most remembered for being the commander of VI Corps during the Battle of ...
, commanding the 13th Cavalry's machine gun troop, made his way barefooted from his quarters to the camp's barracks. He organized a hasty defense around the camp's guard tent, where his troop's machine guns were kept under lock, with two men and a
Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié machine gun The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I, Hotchkiss Portative and M1909 Benét–Mercié. Design It was based on a design ...
. He was soon joined by the remainder of his unit and 30 troopers armed with M1903 Springfield rifles led by 2nd Lt. Horace Stringfellow, Jr. The troop's four machine guns fired more than 5,000 rounds apiece during a 90-minute fight, their targets illuminated by fires of burning buildings. In addition, many of the townspeople were armed with rifles and shotguns. Villa's men looted and burned several houses and commercial buildings, fighting civilians that were defending their homes. It is not known if Villa was with the raiding party at any time. However, it is known that during most of the battle, Villa, his commanders, and about two dozen other men took up position on Cootes Hill overlooking Columbus where they could observe the action and where some of Villa's men acted as sharpshooters to fire upon the town. The Villistas fought the pursuing American troops and civilians until a bugler sounded the order to retreat.
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Frank Tompkins, commanding the regiment's 3rd Squadron and acting as its
executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...
, asked and received permission from Slocum to pursue the withdrawing Mexicans. Disregarding the
rules of engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...
, he led two troops 15 miles into Mexico in pursuit of a force approximately six times the size of his, engaged Villa's rearguard four times, and inflicted some losses on them before withdrawing back across the border after running low on ammunition and water. Tompkins was awarded the
Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...
and the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
in 1918 for this action. Captain A.W. Brock and his troops from Company 1 of the National Guard arrived as the sun came up. They were alerted by the 19 year old telephone switchboard operator, Susie Parks, who was trapped with her baby in the Courier Newspaper office during the battle. She was later awarded a tribute for her bravery by Mrs. L.B. Prince of Santa Fe, (wife of former territorial governor of New Mexico), and the Daughters of the American Revolution on August 27, 1916 at the Crystal Theater in Columbus.


Aftermath

On March 9, 1916, after the attack, President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
appointed Newton Diehl Baker, Jr. to fill the vacant position of
United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
. In spite of Villa proclaiming that the raid was a success by evidence of captured arms and equipment from the camp, which included over 300 rifles and shotguns, 80 horses, and 30 mules, the raid was a tactical disaster for him with ill-afforded casualties of 90 to 170 dead from an original force that had numbered 484 men, including at least 63 killed in action and at least seven more who later died from wounds during the raid itself. Of those captured during the raid, seven were tried; of those, one sentence was commuted to life in prison; and six were convicted and executed by
hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
. Two were hanged on June 9, 1916; four were hanged on June 30, 1916. The sixty-three dead Villa soldiers and all the dead Villa horses that were left behind in Columbus after the raid were dragged south of the stockyards, soaked with kerosene and burned. Various official reports state that the American dead included 8 or 10 or 11 soldiers and 7 or 8 civilians and the names on the lists are not consistent. The United States government wasted no time in responding.
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
units from around the United States were called up and by the end of August 1916 over 100,000 troops were on the border. The Battle of Columbus resulted in the creation of the
Punitive Expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...
led by General John J. Pershing to track down and capture or kill Villa or disperse the attackers. In the operation, the Army used Curtiss Jenny airplanes for reconnaissance and trucks to carry supplies (both firsts for the Army). They scoured portions of
northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( es, el Norte de México ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California ...
for six months but Villa was not found. In January 1917, with the United States likely to enter
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
soon, and under intense diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government, these troops were withdrawn from Mexico. In commemoration of Pancho Villa's attack on Columbus, the State of New Mexico Parks Commission established Pancho Villa Historical Park and its museum in Columbus, near Cootes Hill across the Palomas road from the site of Camp Furlong.


See also

*
Village of Columbus and Camp Furlong The Village of Columbus and Camp Furlong is a National Historic Landmark District commemorating the 1916 raid by Pancho Villa on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and the American military response to that raid, the "Punitive Expedition" led by Ge ...
, a U.S.
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
District


References

THE COLUMBUS COURIER Telephone Operator Will Be Honored In-text: (The Columbus Courier, 1916) Your Bibliography: The Columbus Courier, 1916. Telephone Operator Will Be Honored. nlineAvailable at: ccessed 19 May 2022


Further reading

* Braddy, Haldeen (1965) ''Pancho Villa at Columbus'' Texas Western College Press, El Paso, Texas, * De Quesada, Alejandro (2012) ''The Hunt For Pancho Villa; The Columbus Raid and Pershing's Punitive Expedition 1916-17''. Osprey Publishing. Osprey Raid Series #29. * Finley, James P. (1993) "Buffalo Soldiers at Huachuca: Villa's Raid on Columbus"] ''Huachuca Illustrated: a magazine of the Fort Huachuca Museum'' Vol. 1, Part 1
online
* Katz, Friedrich. "Pancho Villa and the Attack on Columbus, New Mexico," ''American Historical Review'' 83#1 (1978), pp. 101–13
in JSTOR
* Rakocy, Bill (1981) ''Villa raids Columbus, N.Mex., March 9, 1916'' Bravo Press, El Paso, Texas, * White, E. Bruce and Francisco Villa, "The Muddied Waters of Columbus, New Mexico," ''The Americas'' 32#1 (July 1975), pp. 72–9
in JSTOR
* List of Americans Killed and Wounded in Raid of Mexican Bandits at Columbus, N.M.

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', March 10, 1916, p. 1. * Investigation of Mexican Affairs - Hearing Before A Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations - 66th Congress, 1st Session - United States Senate

U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., pp. 858 and 860. {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Columbus (1916) 1916 in New Mexico 1916 in Mexico
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
History of New Mexico
Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
March 1916 events Military raids Invasions of the United States