Background
Trouble between the United States and Pancho Villa had been growing since 1915, when the United States government disappointed Villa by siding with and giving its official recognition to Venustiano Carranza's national government. Feeling betrayed, Villa began attacking American property and citizens in northern Mexico. The most serious incident occurred on January 11, 1916, when sixteen American employees of the American Smelting and Refining Company were removed from a train near Santa Isabel, Chihuahua, and summarily stripped and executed. Villa kept his men south of the border to avoid direct confrontation with the United States Army forces deployed to protect the border.
At approximately 4:00 am on March 9, 1916, Villa's troops attacked Columbus, New Mexico, and its local detachment of the 13th Cavalry Regiment, killing ten civilians and eight soldiers, and wounding two civilians and six soldiers. The raiders also burned the town, took many horses and mules and seized available machine guns, ammunition and merchandise, before being pursued back into Mexico. However, Villa's troops suffered considerable losses, with at least sixty-seven dead and dozens more wounded. About thirteen of the wounded later died of their wounds, and five Villistas were taken prisoner by the Americans and later executed. The battle may have been spurred by an American merchant in Columbus who supplied Villa with weapons and ammunition. After Villa paid several thousand dollars in cash in advance, the merchant decided to stop supplying him with weapons and demanded payment in gold.
Read more about this topic: Pancho Villa Expedition
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