VIVA MEXICO! VIVA LA REVOLUCION! November 20th is
Mexican Revolution Day
The Mexican Revolution took
place from 1910 to 1920. It was a "constitutionalist war", basically a
fight between the have's and the have not's. Pretty much everyone has
heard of its most famous hero, Pancho Villa. Well - here's the story
behind this holiday.
Pancho Villa was born Doroteo Arango in 1877 in San Juan del Río,
Durango, in north-central Mexico. He lived there until the age of 16,
when he murdered a man who had raped his younger sister and was forced
to flee for his life. Not much is known about how he spent the next few
years of his life, other than that he changed his name to Francisco "Pancho"
Villa to elude the law.
By the time he was 20, Pancho Villa had moved northward and was living
in Chihuahua, working first as a miner and then as a cattle rustler.
Official government biographies list his occupation then as "wholesale
meat-seller." In 1899 he returned to mining, this time in Santa Eulalia
near Chihuahua. However, he soon tired of the laborer's life and began
robbing banks, adding that to the list of crimes he was wanted for by
the Mexican government.
In order to avoid capture, Pancho Villa took off with his group of
bandit followers into the Sierra mountains of central Mexico in 1900.
Over the next decade he became a legendary hero-a Robin Hood to the poor
in his country, robbing the rich and sharing with the hungry masses-all
the while skillfully evading the government's troops.
On November 20, 1910, the war to overthrow General Porfirio Díaz
officially began when Francisco Madero escaped from prison in San Luis
Potosí and declared the electoral process in Mexico invalid. General
Díaz had been in power since 1876. During those 34 years, Mexico's
political stability had improved. Its economy had grown. New industries
were established, railroads were built and foreign investment increased.
Yet, none of this made any difference in the lives of the vast majority
of Mexicans. Peasants and laborers, they were poorer than ever. They
were also seriously fed up with their government.
Thus, soon after Francisco I. Madero's declaration of war, Pancho Villa
led his men down from the hills to join the revolutionary forces-making
the historical transition from bandito to revolucionario.
The charismatic Pancho was able
to recruit an army of thousands, including a substantial number of
Americans, some of whom were made captains in the División del Norte.
Madero's forces were successful. Díaz was overthrown and Madero elected
president of Mexico in 1911. However, he was captured and assassinated
by one of his own generals-a traitor named Victoriano Huerta soon after.
Following Madero's short-lived victory and assassination, Villa remained
in command of his División del Norte army in resistance-along with
Coahuila's Venustiano Carranza and Sonora's Alvaro Obregon. Together
they fought in 1913 and 1914 against the Huerta dictatorship. About this
time, Villa also became a folk hero north of the border, in the United
States. Hollywood filmmakers and newspaper photographers flocked to
Northern Mexico to record his battle exploits-plenty of which were
staged for the benefit of the cameras.
Villa's forces were based in Chihuahua, and he ruled over northern
Mexico like a medieval warlord. Financing his army by stealing from the
seemingly endless cattle herds in northern Mexico, he sold the beef
north of the border, where he found plenty of Norteamericano merchants
willing to sell him guns and ammunition. In true Robin Hood style, he
broke up the vast land holdings of local hacendados and parceled them
out to the widows and orphans of his fallen soldiers. Rather
than use the government's
despised peso, he produced his own money, and any merchant who refused
to accept this "new" currency faced the risk of being shot.
Executions-often ordered on a whim-weren't often carried out by Pancho
himself. Instead, they were carried out by his friend Rodolfo Fierro,
best known by his nickname El Carnicero, or The Butcher.
Fighting continued in Mexico until 1920, even though in 1917 a new
constitution was adopted. When the U.S. government came out openly in
support of the new Carranza presidency, Villa was incensed. He
retaliated by raiding U.S border towns-most significantly, Columbus, New
Mexico. North of the border, Villa's image plummeted. However, many in
Mexico saw him as the avenger of decades of yanqui (Yankee) oppression.
Despite his popularity, the combined forces of Carranza and Obregón
defeated his army in battle after battle. After two U.S. Army "punitive
expeditions" into Mexico in 1916 and 1919 failed to
capture and conquer the "Villistas,"
the Mexican government accepted Villa's surrender and retired him on a
general's salary to Canutillo, Durango. He was assassinated near there
in 1923.
Pancho Villa is remembered with pride and respect by most people in
Mexico. He led the most important military campaigns of the
constitutionalist revolution. His troops were victorious as far south as
Zacatecas and Mexico City, as far east as Tampico, and as far west as
Casas Grandes. Because of Villa's raid into Columbus, New Mexico, and
his subsequent evasion of U.S. troops, he also has the added notoriety
of being the only foreign military personage ever to have successfully
invaded continental U.S. territory!
Pancho Villa was born Doroteo Arango, the son of a sharecropper at the hacienda in San Juan del Rio, Durango. While growing up, Pancho Villa witnessed and experienced the harshness of peasant life. In Mexico during the late 19th century, the rich were becoming richer by taking advantage of the lower classes, often treating them like slaves. Along with Emiliano Zapata and Francisco I. Madero, Villa led peasant armies to a swift victory over the corrupt and repressive regime of the aging dictator, Porfirio Diaz, only to see Madero betrayed by reactionary plotters. Undaunted, the rebel generals led their armies in another uprising against the usurpers, routing them at every stage and ultimately driving them into exile.
When Villa was 15, his father died, so Villa began to work as a sharecropper to help support his mother and four siblings. One day in 1894, Villa came home from the fields to find that the owner of the hacienda intended to have sex with Villa's 12-year old sister. Villa, only 16-years old, grabbed a pistol, shot the owner of the hacienda, and then took off to the mountains.
From 1894 to 1910, Villa spent most of his time in the mountains running from the law. At first he did what he could to survive by himself, but by 1896, he had joined some other bandits and soon became their leader. Villa and his group of bandits would steal cattle, rob shipments of money, and commit additional crimes against the wealthy. By stealing from the rich and often giving to the poor, some saw Pancho Villa as a modern-day Robin Hood.
It was during this time that Doroteo Arango began using the name Francisco "Pancho" Villa. ("Pancho" is a common nickname for "Francisco.") There are many theories as to why he chose that name. Some say it was the name of a bandit leader he met; others say it was Villa's fraternal grandfather's last name.
Pancho Villa's notoriety as a bandit and his prowess at escaping capture caught the attention of men who were planning a revolution. These men understood that Villa's skills could be used as a guerilla fighter during the revolution. Since Porfirio Diaz, the sitting president of Mexico, had created much of the current problems for the poor and Francisco Madero promised change for the lower classes, Pancho Villa joined Madero's cause and agreed to be a leader in the revolutionary army.
From October 1910 to May 1911, Pancho Villa was a very effective revolutionary leader. However, in May 1911, Villa resigned from command because of differences he had with another commander, Pascual Orozco, Jr. On May 29, 1911, Villa married Maria Luz Corral and tried to settle down to a quiet life. Unfortunately, though Madero had become president, political unrest again appeared in Mexico.
Orozco, angered by being left out of what he considered his rightful place in the new government, challenged Madero by starting a new rebellion in the spring of 1912. Villa gathered troops and worked with General Victoriano Huerta to support Madero. In June 1912, Huerta accused Villa of stealing a horse and ordered him to be executed. A reprieve from Madero came for Villa at the very last minute but Villa was still remitted to prison. Villa remained in prison from June 1912 to December 27, 1912, when he escaped. By the time Villa escaped from prison, Huerta had switched from a Madero supporter to a Madero adversary.
On February 22, 1913, Huerta killed Madero and claimed the presidency for himself. Villa then allied himself with Venustiano Carranza to fight against Huerta. Pancho Villa was extremely successful, winning battle after battle during the next several years. Since Pancho Villa conquered Chihuahua and other northern areas, he spent much of his time reallocating land and stabilizing the economy.
In the summer of 1914, Villa and Carranza split and became enemies. For the next several years, Mexico continues to be embroiled in a civil war between the factions of Pancho Villa and Venustiano Carranza. The United States took sides in the battle and supported Carranza.
On March 9, 1916, Villa attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. His attack was the first on American soil since 1812. The U.S. sent several thousand soldiers across the border to hunt for Pancho Villa. Though they spent over a year searching, they never caught him.
On May 20, 1920, Carranza was assassinated and Adolfo De la Huerta became the interim president of Mexico. De la Huerta wanted peace in Mexico so negotiated with Villa for his retirement. Part of the peace agreement was that Villa would receive a hacienda in Chihuahua.
Villa retired from revolutionary life in 1920 but had only a short retirement for he was gunned down in his car on July 20, 1923 in Parral, in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, where he was buried. His body was reportedly later moved and reburied. Some controversy exists today exactly where his remains lie.
The Battle of Ojinaga - Pancho Villa's Own Account
Villa's account of the Battle of Ojinaga begins shortly after the Battle of Tierra Blanca, as he was advancing on Chihuahua, and the city was expected to fall to him, and General Salvador Mercado, "The Great Evacuator", decided to abandon the city and retreat towards Ojinaga. Villa's account is as follows:
At the end of November I received reports of the panic which had struck the rich men of Chihuahua when they learned of my victory at Tierra Blanca. To discredit my forces, they spread rumors of crimes we were committing. But the discipline and good behavior of my troops had been demonstrated in Ciudad Juarez, where no one was killed or robbed, and no one was punished without cause. General Salvador Mercado, chief of the Huertista forces in Chihuahua, was responsible for fears. When the Battle of Tierra Blanca ended on November 25, he was in such a hurry to leave that he was already on the road to Ojinaga by the twenty-eighth, taking the principal families of the town along with him. Marcelo Caraveo, the last to leave, abandoned the city three days later, and after that - that is, after December 1, 1913 - it was at my mercy.
As I remember, I left Juarez December 3, and after five days of marching entered Chihuahua. We were met by a commission of civilians headed by a man named Don Federico Moye, who said, "Sr. Villa, we come in the interests of peace. General Mercado's troops have abandoned the place and it is yours. We hope for the treatment great conquerors give to peaceful towns. Your orders will be carried out, but respect our lives, Señor, and those of our families, and do not despoil us."
I listened calmly and answered without arrogance, but I knew the ways of people who were submissive when helpless but who continued to work under cover as implacable enemies. I explained that the inhabitants of Chihuahua, rich and poor, would have to unite in aiding the cause of the people, saying, "Señores, my forces are not puffed up with their triumphs. They will not mistreat you. But don't deceive yourselves. There will be punishment for those who commit evil acts against us. No one shall withhold the supplies my troops need or engage in conspiracies against our cause. My soldiers are ready to inflict the death penalty for such acts."
My entrance made a great impression perhaps because I had so many troops, for I had left only the Hernandez and Zaragoza brigades in Juarez. Our enemies could hardly contain their fear, but the humble people received us with affection. On my arrival I found two hundred soldiers of the 6th battalion, under three Federal officers: a captain, a lieutenant, and a second lieutenant. They were there to guarantee order but were no longer needed. I called the captain and said to him, "You are not afraid of Pancho Villa or deceived by the slanders about me. Well, you shall see you are right. I give you and your officers safe conduct to any place you wish. But as for your troops, who are from this town, don't reproach me if I keep them to fight for the popular side."
At first I assumed the office of governor of Chihuahua to stimulate public business. But after two weeks of work I transferred it to General Chao in obedience to Carranza's orders and occupied myself with military affairs only. I made a trip to Ciudad Juarez in connection with financial arrangements and the international situation. The American general at Fort Bliss, Hugh L. Scott, wanted to talk to me. We had exchanged greetings in the middle of the bridge at Ciudad Juarez, and now he wanted to visit me.
I appointed Lazaro de la Garza to attend to the collection of money. He had served me well after the taking of Torreon. As assistant collector I appointed and engineer, Felicitos Villareal, who was also a financier. These appointment were needed because the loan we received in Torreon was getting low and the Torreon bankers were showing bad faith. They were hardly free of troops when they refused to pay the drafts which I had drawn on them. They said, "We sign under duress and are not obligated to keep the agreement." But they were wrong. It was not rue that they had agreed under duress to honor the drafts. It was from fear of my troops, quite a different thing. I did not take them by the had and compel them to sign. They signed of their own free will that otherwise the people would treat them as enemies. Furthermore, the money they gave me did not really belong to them. It belonged to the people, the true owners of all the money there is in a country. The people are the ones who produce it. I , the representative of the people, had the right to demand, and it was just for them to deliver, all the money necessary for the cause. I was also necessary to settle the conflict and find all possible resources.
I returned to Chihuahua and organized a column of three brigades to advance on Ojinaga. It numbered about three thousand men, including artillery. My problem was to find a leader, since I had duties I could not leave. I summoned the generals and principal commanders to a meeting in the Federal palace. I explained the importance of the operation and suggested that they chose a leader. Present were Tomas Urbina, Herrera, Hernandez, Ortega, Jose Rodriguez, Chao, Trinidad Rodriguez, and a few others. Also present was General Panfilo Natera, chief of the Central Division, who had been on his way to consult with Carranza but was returning from Juarez by way of Zacatecas because the United States would not let him cross to Nogales.
Taking advantage of his presence, I said, "My friends, the operation is of great importance. I can rid the state of Chihuahua of our enemies and leave us the masters of our action on the march south. But I cannot go, and you should choose General Natera, who is here, or General Ortega, who is familiar with the region." I expected Natera to be chosen. I was hoping to avoid rivalries and jealousies. As it happened, Natera declined, having little knowledge of the terrain and troops, and spoke for Toribio. Not to be outdone, Toribio, though he wanted the command, responded with praise of Natera. He extolled Natera's ability and said he would gladly yield to him. The others quickly took him up on his offer, none of them wanting Toribio as his superior.
The column to take Ojinaga consisted of 500 men in the Villa brigade, under the command of Jose Rodriguez; 550 men from the Gonzales Ortega brigade, under the command of Toribio Ortega; 450 men from the Morelos brigade, under Faustino Borunda; 400 men from the Cuauhtemoc Brigade, under Trinidad Rodriguez, then a lieutenant colonel; 300 from the Contreras Brigade, under Luis Diaz Cuder. Also, there were two batteries of 75 and 80-millimeter cannon under the command of Martiniano Servin and a machine-gun regiment under Margarito Gomez.
They left Chihuahua on December 22, 1913, with munitions and equipment of all kinds. In San Sostenes they found a great deal of railroad material, arms, ammunition, and clothing which the enemy had abandoned. Four days later they were at the ranch La Mula. Two days later they were in Mulato. The next day the fought with Caraveo and Flores Alatorre, who were defeated and forced to flee. Caraveo was wounded, and 260 prisoners were taken. They got four machine guns and ten mules loaded with ammunition. Three days later, on January 1, 1914, they made contact with the enemy at Ojinaga. This time the enemy attacked, dismantled a piece of artillery, caused many casualties, and forced a retreat. The next day the battle continued, and the enemy killed 200 men. On the third day enemy cavalry came out, supported by artillery. There was a furious encounter resulting in great bloodshed, and although the enemy withdrew, driven back by Servin's cannon and the action of our troops, Ortega ceased fire during the combat, and 80 of our men were killed and 130 taken prisoner. Señor! Our forces saw the enemy withdraw without loss or damage, and the 130 prisoners were shot in Ojinaga.
Our action was paralyzed in spite of Natera's effort and ability. The trouble came of disputes and quarrels among brigade leaders, who were angry with Toribio because he was apparently unwilling to win under Natera. So, on the second day, in the heaviest of fighting, our forces retired to rest; and two days later there weariness and discontent increased; and a day later, Martin Lopez and Carlos Almeida wanted to return to Chihuahua and Jose and Trinidad Rodriguez wanted to withdraw to Jimenez. Failure demoralized them, and it was only because Servin would not follow them that that they decided either to wait one more day longer and take Servin by force or to keep fighting until the end if Natera would shoot Toribio, whom they held responsible.
On January 6, I was advised in Juarez of these events and took my measures. The news reached me at eight at night. At once I gave General Rosalio Hernandez orders to march with his troops and horses, and by two we were on the road. By telegraph I ordered Herrera and Juarez Brigade to advance by train toward Ojinaga. In this way, without preparations or supplies, I started to Ojinaga with my two brigades. In three days we were in La Mula. Having nothing to eat, we began to kill cattle on the ranches and our food was roast beef without salt. I sent General Hernandez and General Herrera to El Mulato to await my orders, and with an escort of twenty-five men, I myself made forced march to the Hacienda de San Juan. I reached camp at four on the afternoon of January 10. There was a heavy frost, and the wind almost blew us from our mounts. I appeared when spirits were lowest, and as the news of my arrival spread, everyone began to feel better. I dismounted under a cottonwood tree and stretched out on the ground. I sent for the chiefs. As soon as they came, I began to talk to them. wanting to give them an impression of calm, I had picked up a sprig of grass, and as I talked indulgently, nibbled at it.
I asked them, "How have you been doing, boys? The reports are bad. But the coyote has had his last hen from my hen house. I am to blame. Natera told me he wasn't familiar with conditions here. But nothing will happen now I am here. Don't worry, and get some sleep." That night I heard them all singing.
The next day I dictated the following orders for the attack: the troops would be divided in three columns; on the south Hernandez and Jose Rodriguez with eight hundred men, supported by Servin's artillery; on the right, that is on the east between the Conchos and the Bravo, my headquarters and nine hundred men under Trinidad Rodriguez and Herrera; on the left, Toribio Ortega with seven hundred men and Auxiliaries of San Carlos under Chavarria. All were to be ready by seven at night. The horses would be chained, guarded by one man for every ten, and at 7:30 we would advance on the city, with our hats on our backs for identification.
Before the generals and chiefs withdrew, I called Toribio Ortega and said, "Compañero, it seems that you forgot the instructions I gave you in Chihuahua and because of that many Revolutionaries like Onesimo Martinez are dead. Well, I won't pardon you a second time. Good-bye."
We were ready to take Ojinaga, and that afternoon I addressed my chiefs and soldiers: "Chiefs and soldiers of liberty, any man who turns back will be shot then and there. The password is 'Juarez', and the countersign is 'Faithful Ones'. When your gun is trained on a man, ask him, 'what number', and if he is one of us, he will answer, 'One'; if he does not answer or gives a different number, fire. Do you understand?" They shouted yes.
My right wing, under Herrera and Trinidad Rodriguez, defeated Antonio Rojas and Fernandez Ortinel in fifteen minutes and gained their objective. On the south, Mansilla and Salazar offered hardly any resistance to Jose Rodriguez and Rosalio Hernandez. And on the west, where the fighting was the heaviest, Caraveo's troops, after battling for forty-five minutes, abandoned their position when told of our success elsewhere. The action was much shorter than I could have expected. We took Ojinaga, not in an hour and a half, as I had ordered, but an hour and five minutes. When the firing was dying down in every sector, I advanced at a moderate pace and entered the streets. Everywhere I heard soldiers shouting my name and advancing without opposition.
That is all I had to do to take Ojinaga, but it was not my triumph, it was that of my officers and soldiers. Thirty five of my men were killed, among them Jesus Felipe Moya, a Revolutionary whom I had just promoted to general and for whom I wept. Four hundred of the enemy fell. We secured their horses, saddles, rifles, machine guns, and cannons.
Salvador Mercado and Pascual Orozco, who directed the battle from the Old Customs House, crossed the river and took refuge in the united States. Of the generals, chiefs, officers, and soldiers who crossed the frontier with them, only Marcelo Caraveo, with eighteen men as an escort, and Desiderio Garcia, with three or four others, ventured back into Mexican territory and set out for the south.
The next day I gave orders to clear camp, after giving the inhabitants of the town assurances of safety. Colonel John J. Pershing, in command on the other side of the river, asked permission to visit me in our territory. We greeted each other courteously. He congratulated me on my successes and I praised him for sheltering the defeated troops, since this spared me form being responsible for further casualties. When he offered me his hospitals for my wounded I answered that I could take care of them with my own facilities, but told him I was grateful for the offer and would have accepted it if necessary. In less than forty-eight hors I was ready to return to Chihuahua, leaving only the Gonzales Ortega Brigade behind as a garrison.
I made the trip by automobile, with Raul Madero, Rodolfo Fierro, Luis Aguirre Benevides, and a chauffeur.
