In the early hours of March 9, 1916, Mexican Revolutionaries under the leadership of General Francisco Pancho Villa raided the small border town of Columbus, New Mexico. Remembrance of this attack, and the Americans who gave their lives defending their town are memorialized in the park and throughout the city.
All that was left of the bank, the safe.
The Commercial Hotel
This is the school where the towns people retreated and hunkered down during the attack and after as city blocks burned.
A cute theater and cafe opening soon!
Well, that's all I have about Columbus, New Mexico
Pancho Villa and his band of men were roaming around northern Mexico in the winter of 1915. They were in need of ammunition, arms, food, clothing and other supplies to revitalize their revolutionary goals. Villa's lack of resources forced him to begin preying on American mining companies and ranches in northern Mexico, robbing payroll and taking supplies. It became obvious to him that he would have to take drastic measures to get weapons.
There was an army camp and small town in Columbus, just north of him. Villa was misinformed that 30 to 50 soldiers was garrisoned in the camp but in reality there were 350 soldiers here and the result was disastrous for him. He expected to get horses, supplies , machine guns, and small arms. He also felt it would boost morale in his soldiers who were discouraged.
As the attack progressed the raiders were forced to retreat but not before the town burned, 10 Americans civilians, 8 U.S.Soldiers and 70-75 raiders were killed.
After the raid President Woodrow Wilson ordered General John Pershing to capture Villa in the Punitive Expedition. Pershing pursued Villas raiders back into Mexico but were called back after eleven months because of the start of World War I. Pershing kept his army under strict military exercises and they were trained for battle like no other because of the conditions they were trained in while in Mexico. They trained in parching heat and bone chilling cold as they roamed around the desert and hiked the mountains chasing the raiders. It was the first U.S military operation to employ mechanized vehicles and airplanes.
The punitive expedition would prove to be a valuable preparation for the soldiers called back to serve in WWI. They had been using automobiles, trucks and airplanes even though the fuel needed to be carried in by mules.
Oil and lube please
Quick firing field gun
Armored Quad Truck called the Jeffery
From the top of Cootes Hill you could get a clear view of approaching raiders, and now our campground.
The Customs House
The Train Depot
Camp Furlong. The original name of the camp. After the attack 10,000 troops were sent to Mexico with Pershing.
Pershing's Car
We knew we were close to Mexico when we saw this plate in the lot by the Visitors center.
"Adios!"
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