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The battle of Carrizal occurred on the 21st of June 1916. This was a major skirmish between US troops of the General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition force and Mexican Army troops.
[edit] Description
In June 1916, General Pershing was informed that Pancho Villa could be taken at Carrizal, northwest of Budlan. When he sent Captains Boyd and Morey to investigate with C and K troop of the 7th Cavalry, they were confronted with Mexican Federal troops, not Villa's men. The officers ordered the men to attack anyway. According the the US Army Center of Military History, the Colored U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment was heavily involved in this battle.
By legend, Villa supposedly watched with delight as his two enemies fought it out with each other, this story is of doubtful veracity as Villa was badly injured at the time and being pursued by both the US Army and the Federales. The Cavalry lost 2 officers, 14 men, and 23 were taken prisoner, the Mexican troops lost twice as many, including the commanding Officer, General Felix Gomez and 10 other officers. This clash caused enough tension that war between the USA and Mexico seemed possible.
The simultaneous deterioration of German-American relations while World War I raged in Europe made any escalation in Mexico undesirable and so negotiations followed.
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