Pancho Villa and Columbus, New Mexico

Our road trip today we went to Columbus, New Mexico. Columbus is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of the attack in 1916 by Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, that caused America to send 10,000 troops there in the Punitive Mexican Expedition.

On March 9, 1916, on the orders of Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa, five hundred men attacked the town, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the 13th Cavalry Regiment. Villa's army burned a part of the town and killed seven or eight soldiers and 10 residents before retreating back into Mexico.

President Woodrow Wilson responded to the Columbus raid by sending 10,000 troops under Brigadier General John J. Pershing to Mexico to pursue Villa. This was known as the Punitive Mexican Expedition or Pancho Villa Expedition. The expedition was eventually called off after failing to find Villa, who had successfully escaped. The Pershing expedition brought prosperity and international attention to Columbus and a realization that war had come to the border of the United States.

Columbus is also noted as the location where the 1st Aero Squadron claims the distinction of the first American aviation unit to engage in combat operations in US history.