General Francisco "Pancho" Villa

Mexican General "Pancho" Villa's

raid of Columbus, NM, 1916

On March 9, 1916, at 4:15 am, a Mexican raiding force of 485 men attacked Columbus, New Mexico, southwest United States, shouting "Viva Villa" and "Viva Mexico". These raiders wore sombreros and khaki-colored uniforms with criss-cross bandoliers over their chests.

Leader of the attack was Mexican revolutionary General Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Villa strung his men out in a long line just south of Columbus hidden in an arroyo or ditch within a hundred yards of an army outpost where a sentry paced his beat. From their positions in the arroyo, the Villistas silently watched their leader and when he raised his arm they sprung up and attacked.

The evening before, when they went to bed, the 300 or so Columbus residents in 1916 felt quite safe from attack from Mexico. They had the protection of soldiers of the 13th US Cavalry stationed at an outpost across the railroad tracks, south of town. That evening, no one knew that on March 8, the previous day, Lieutenant Colonel Cipriano Vargas of General Villa's staff had scouted Columbus including the military garrison. No one knew that evening that Colonel Vargas had reported back to his General Villa that there were only about 30 soldiers at the post, wrongly underestimating the camp's true strength of 120 soldiers.

There was so much confidence in their safety that, on the evening before the attack, Colonel Herbert Slocum, Army Chief at Columbus, together with other officers, had gone 30 miles north to Deming to attend a polo match playoff.

Columbus in 1916 consisted of a cluster of adobe houses and frame buildings, a railroad station, two hotels, an army outpost, several stores, and a few other buildings. Broadway, the main street, ran from east to west and on it was a hardware store operated by J. L. Walker, a grocery owned by J. T. Dean, and C. Dewitt Miller's drug store. On Taft Street, near the railroad station, was the two-story Commercial Hotel, operated by Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Ritchie. Across
was a movie theater and over the tracks was the Customs House with an arroyo (a natural ditch) running nearby and parallel to the road to the Mexico border 3 miles southborder.

One of the largest stores was the Ravel Brothers Mercantile on Boulevard Street. Sam and Louis Ravel handled bolt goods, cooking utensils, boots, overalls, sundries and--rifles, pistols and ammunition. Arthur, their 12-year-old brother, worked as chore boy. The Ravels encouraged Mexican customers to shop as long as they paid in American dollars. And when Mexicans ordered arms, the Ravels never asked embarrassing questions about what use was to be made of them.

On one arms deal, it's said, General Villa paid cash in advance for a large quantity of rifles and ammunition, but after his order arrived he found he'd been cheated out of $2,500 worth of arms that he'd paid for in advance. Some say this sour deal added to General Villa's growing hatred of Americans.

The attack began with the thunder of Villistas' rifles dropping the sentry. Then in a hostile wave, Villa and his men rose from the arroyo, some afoot and some mounted, swarming across the town, shooting, yelling, smashing windows and doors, looting, destroying, burning, and killing.

Deans' grocery store went up in flames. The Commercial Hotel was a roaring holocaust. Miller, the druggist, died trying to protect his store. Among the first to die were Dr. H. M. Hart, W. A. Davidson, J. J. Moore, and N. H. Walker.

The raiders broke down the doors of Ravel's Mercantile store and once inside searched every nook for Sam Ravel, stealing and destroying as they went. They tore into a pile of cowhides stopping when they were down to the last few not finding Mr. Ravel who was flattened out beneath the very last hide. Two of Villa's men caught young Arthur Ravel on the street, in his underwear. Lieutenant Castleman saw them manhandling Arthur and shot and killed both of the Villistas. It's said that 12-year-old Arthur broke loose and ran four miles before stopping for breath.

At the army encampment, in the absence of Colonel Slocum, Lieutenant Castleman, officer of the day, took charge. He found the guard house locked with no way to reach rifles and ammunition stored inside. Soldiers were forced to fight with whatever they could find. There was one machine gun, which, after a splendid burst, jammed. By sunrise, about 2 hours later, General Villa finally realized that the American forces were greater than his scouts had reported, and ordered retreat. By 7:30 withdrawal was complete.

The raid cost Americans 18 lives while 90 Villistas were killed. Official records list in detail the quantity of food and supplies the raiders stole from Columbus, including 80 fine-bred horses, 30 mules, and an assortment of military equipment including some 300 Mausers. Abortive as the Columbus raid was, Villa succeeded in terms of booty.

At sunrise on March 9, 1916, Columbus was a smoking ruin. Word of Pancho Villa's attack flashed by telegraph made newspaper headlines across the nation. Here was the first military intrusion into the United States since the War of 1812.

The army outpost at Columbus seethed with activity the next few days as fresh troops arrived by train and the Army prepared to pursue Villa into Mexico in a "Punitive Expedition".

The Expedition was led by General "Black Jack" Pershing, who would later command the Allied forces of World War I. The Punitive Expedition forged south from Columbus on March 16, 1916. The search for Villa would ultimately lead American troops some 400 miles into Mexico, as far south as the city of Parral where, after a skirmish, they turned back to bases in northern Mexico. For 11 months, the 10,000 soldiers of Pershing's Punitive Expedition endured parching heat and bone-chilling cold as they ranged the wild deserts and mountains of the vast state of Chihuahua, tracking the Villista raiders. The Punitive Expedition was the last true cavalry action mounted by the Army, and also was the first US military operation to employ mechanized vehicles.

In what would prove to be preparation for World War I, Pershing experimented in Mexico with the use of automobiles, trucks and airplanes. Fuel for these then new-fangled machines often had to be transported on pack mules.

Pershing succeeded in dispersing the Mexican forces that had attacked Columbus, but the revolutionary General, Pancho Villa, vanished into the Mexican backcountry and was never captured. In February, 1917, the Punitive Expedition returned to the United States where troops, toughened by the rigorous march through Chihuahua, boarded trains that would carry them to other conflicts. Many would see action in World War I.

The military post at Columbus was closed in 1926, and the extensive cactus gardens of Pancho Villa State Park now cover its site. Several buildings dating from the time of Villa's raid still stand in Columbus, including the adobe Hoover Hotel, the restored Columbus railroad depot, and the old U. S. Customs House building.

The Customs House, build in 1902, is now the Pancho Villa State Park Visitor Center, with exhibits describing the history of Pancho Villa, the Columbus raid of 1916, and Pershing's Punitive Expedition.

What are some reasons why Pancho Villa might have decided to attack Columbus, New Mexico, southwest United States, on March 9, 1916?

There's no doubt that on March 9, 1916, at about 4:15 am, a Mexican raiding force of about 500 men attacked Columbus, New Mexico to cries of "Viva Villa" and "Viva Mexico". These men wore sombreros with khaki-colored uniforms and criss-cross bandoliers over their chests. Leader of the attack was Mexican Revolutionary General, Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

The assault on the small town of close to 400 was a complete surprise. Villa had been leaning toward El Paso, Texas, while, in fact, moving his troops closer to Columbus. But citizens of El Paso were familiar with Villa's previous attacks across the Rio Grande in neighboring Juarez. So at nearby Fort Bliss, military forces remained on alert for a sudden attack.

But residents of Columbus felt less cause for alarm, confident with their garrison of soldiers, that Villa never attack them. The 13th U.S. Cavalry, headquartered at Camp Furlong, Columbus, may have provided a false sense of security for Columbus.

They didn't know that on March 8th, Villa's Lieutenant Colonel Cipriano Vargas and another officer returned from scouting Columbus and the garrison at Camp Furlong. They reported there were only about thirty American soldiers at the Camp. It's true that the military at Camp Furlong felt secure for on the night of the attack, Colonel Herbert Slocum, Army Chief at Columbus, had gone out of town.

Columbus in 1916 consisted of a cluster of adobe house, some frame buildings, a railroad station, two hotels, Camp Furlong, and a few other establishments.

Though some officers of the 13th Cavalry were away, the raiders almost immediately encountered resistance from American soldiers. At daylight, Villa realized the American forces were greater than his scouts reported, and he began his retreat. By 7:30 am the General was back over the border into Mexico.

The raid cost Americans eighteen lives--counting civilians and soldiers. About ninety Villistas were killed and more captured. The raiders stole food and supplies from the town--missing were eighty fine-bred American horses, 30 mules, an assortment of military equipment, including some 300 Mausers, and ammunition.

Perhaps Villa didn't choose to come to Columbus to kill Americans, but to gather loot. Evidence is that the Villistas concentrated on guests in the hotels robbing them of cash and valuables. They looted well-stocked stores. They didn't pillage individual homes--maybe becuase there was little to steal. No women were raped and no captives were taken.

* Villa was angry because he didn't receive ammunition he paid for and wanted to revenge himself on U. S. arms speculators who had cheated him.

* Villa went to Columbus to board a train for Washington, DC, where he intended to confer with President Wilson, and the attack just happened.

* Villa crossed the border to New Mexico intending to surrender himself and his troops to Colonel Slocum.

* Villa crossed the border to go to California or perhaps to Havana, Cuba to rejoin his legal wife he had already sent there.

* Villa hoped to obtain German arms and support in return for his attack against the U. S.

* Villa harbored a hatred of the U. S. because the Wilson administration supported his rival, Carranza, even though VillaU. S. aims and did not interfere with U. S. business interests.

Was Villa's primary motivation his belief that President Wilson had concluded an agreement with Carranza that would convert Mexico into a U. S. protectorate? Such an agreement probably never existed, though Villa may have believed that one did, and that Carranza had surrendered Mexico's independence to President Wilson.

Actually, U. S. mining companies and other major players favored Villa. Early on, the New York media even blamed President Wilson for not recognizing Villa as President of Mexico. But as the Mexican civil war wore on, many U. S. enterprises suspended operations in Mexico, diminishing Villa's income so his economic and financial situation worsened.

Villa increased what pressures he could on U. S. companies and so increased tensions with the Wilson administration. Wilson's advisors assured Villa that under no circumstances would the U. S. government recognize Carranza. But just the opposite happened in October, 1915, when Wilson, citing fears of German intrigues in Mexico, decided to recognize Carranza's government. Villa, having been told this wouldn't happen, became suspicious that something had changed Wilson's mind--perhaps that Carranza had agreed to make Mexico a controlled American protectorate.

We will never know for sure. We do know that one week after the Columbus attack, a punitive expedition of 4,800 soldiers (quickly increased to 10,000), commanded by General John Pershing, invaded the Mexican state of Chihuahua. President Wilson ordered them to capture Pancho Villa. but the expedition failed to do so, and on February 5, 1917, they withdrew to the U. S.

Villa became a symbol of national resistance in Chihuahua and his standing among his own countrymen was enhanced. General Francisco "Pancho" Villa is still today celebrated as the man who attacked the United States--and got away with it. These many years later, Columbus citizens celebrate Raid Day every March with streets estooned with flags, with parades and speeches, and happy events in the village and at the State Park grounds--the former site of Camp Furlong.