Posted on 06/21/2007 8:50:10 AM PDT by DogByte6RER
(On This Day in History) June 21, 1916: (General John J.) Pershing attacked by Mexican troops
The controversial U.S. military expedition against Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa brings the United States and Mexico closer to war when Mexican government troops attack U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing's force at Carrizal, Mexico. The Americans suffered 22 casualties, and more than 30 Mexicans were killed. Against the protests of Venustiano Carranza's government, Pershing had been penetrating deep into Mexico in pursuit of Pancho Villa. After routing the small Mexican force at Carrizal, the U.S. expedition continued on its southern course.
In 1914, following the resignation of Mexican leader Victoriano Huerta, Pancho Villa and his former revolutionary ally Venustiano Carranza battled each other in a struggle for succession. By the end of 1915, Villa had been driven north into the mountains, and the U.S. government recognized General Carranza as the president of Mexico.
In January 1916, to protest President Woodrow Wilson's support for Carranza, Villa executed 16 U.S. citizens at Santa Isabel in northern Mexico. Then, on March 9, he ordered a raid on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, in which 17 Americans were killed and the center of town was burned. Cavalry from the nearby Camp Furlong U.S. Army outpost pursued the Mexicans, killing several dozen rebels on U.S. soil and in Mexico before turning back. On March 15, under orders from President Wilson, U.S. Brigadier General John J. Pershing launched a punitive expedition into Mexico to capture or kill Villa and disperse his rebels. The expedition eventually involved some 10,000 U.S. troops and personnel. It was the first U.S. military operation to employ mechanized vehicles, including automobiles and airplanes.
For 11 months, Pershing failed to capture the elusive revolutionary, who was aided by his intimate knowledge of the terrain of northern Mexico and his popular support from the people there. Meanwhile, resentment over the U.S. intrusion into Mexican territory led to a diplomatic crisis with the government in Mexico City. On June 21, the crisis escalated into violence when Mexican government troops attacked a detachment of the 10th Cavalry at Carrizal. If not for the critical situation in Europe, war might have been declared. In January 1917, having failed in their mission to capture Villa, and under continued pressure from the Mexican government, the Americans were ordered home.
Pancho Villa continued his guerrilla activities in northern Mexico until Adolfo de la Huerta took over the government and drafted a reformist constitution. Villa entered into an amicable agreement with Huerta and agreed to retire from politics. In 1920, the government pardoned Villa, but three years later he was assassinated at his ranch in Parral.
In May, 1916, First Lieutenant George Patton saw combat for the first time. Based on information about the location of Julio Cardenas, one of Villas most trusted subordinates and commander of his personal bodyguard; Patton, accompanied by ten soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment, and two civilian guides traveling in three Dodge open top touring automobiles, conducted a surprise raid on a ranch house at San Miguelito (Map 2) near Rubio. During the ensuing fire-fight, Patton and his men killed three men. One was identified as Cardenas. The other two dead Mexicans were an unnamed Villista captain and a private. Pattons men tied the bodies to the hoods of the cars, while Patton put Cardenas silver-studded saddle and sword into his vehicle. The spectacle of the three cars with the bodies tied on the hoods caused a great commotion along the road, but Patton and his party sped through the countryside to their headquarters at Dublan without incident.
At around 4 p.m., Patton arrived at Dublan with the three bloody corpses strapped across the blistering-hot hoods of the automobiles. War correspondents crowded around to get a first hand account of his adventure. The stories they filed made Patton a national hero for several weeks. His photograph appeared in newspapers around the United States. Pershing was pleased that someone had enlivened the hunt for Villa and actually taken out a key member of his band. He even permitted Patton to keep Cardenas sword and silver saddle as trophies of his first fight.12
This would seem to be the answer here...
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“II. PARK DESCRIPTION
A. BACKGROUND
A state park was created 32 miles south of Deming, at the intersections of State Highway 9 and State Highway 11 to commemorate the Pancho Villa Raid on Columbus, New Mexico and to promote better relations between the United States and Mexico. PVSP was dedicated on November 18, 1961 by Governor Edwin Mechem.
PVSP is located in Columbus, New Mexico on 61 acres of the historic Camp Furlong,”
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So there it be...
“...to commemorate the Pancho Villa Raid on Columbus, New Mexico and to promote better relations between the United States and Mexico.”
Others spread rumors that the “Skull and Bones” also have Che Guevara’s skull too.
I’d love to have both of these. They would look great on the ends of my shovel and garage broom. Or...I could use them as hood ornaments on my Hummer. They would also make great Halloween props. The skulls of executed or assassinated commie revolutionaries might scare some sense into a few red diaper doper babies on October 31.
Here...read up about the “Skull and Bones” legend at:
http://www.yaleherald.com/article.php?Article=2801
Oh yeah...the nutcase Ernesto Cienfuegos from La Voz de Aztlan who is quoted in this Yale article has a racist separatist website at:
Cienfuegos and a few other racist “La Raza” types like UC Riverside’s Armando Navarro seem to be the nucleus of this nut-case radical contingent.
The Wright Brothers would train two signal Corp officers to fly but Capt Foulois would teach himself to fly and would correspond with the Wright Brothers whenever he experienced any problems.
--The Ballad of Pancho and Lefty (1983)
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