Battle of Carrizal

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Battle of Carrizal
Part of the Mexican Revolution
Date June 21, 1916 Location Carrizal, Chihuahua, Mexico Result Mexican Victory
Belligerents
US Army, C, K Troop of 7th Cavalry, Colored 10th Cavalry	Mexican Federal troops
Commanders
Capt. Boyd, Capt. Morey	Gen. Felix Gomez
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties and losses
14 men, 23 taken prisoner	5 men, including Gen. Félix Gómez.

Mexican Revolution Celaya-Casas Grandes-1st Rellano-2nd Rellano-Tierra Blanca-Torreon-Leon-Agua Prieta-Zacatecas-Carrizal

The Battle of Carrizal occurred on the June 21, 1916. This was a major skirmish between US troops of the General John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition force and Mexican Army troops.

Contents 1 Description 2 Legacy 3 References 4 See also

[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 to 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. However, 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 and 14 men, and 23 were taken prisoner, the Mexican forces lost half as many, including the commanding Officer, General Felix Gomez. Ten other officers were injured.

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.

[edit] Legacy

Capt. Henry Rodney Adair was the first casualty in this battle and Pershing's expedition against Mexico. During World War II, Camp Adair was established in the Willamette Valley, Oregon as an Army training facility in honor of his service. ^[1]

[edit] References

• Braddy, Haldeen (1957). "Pancho Villa: Fact, Fiction, or Folklore." Journal of American Folklore 70 (1957).
• Calhoun, Frederick (1986). Power and Principle: Armed Intervention in Wilsonian Foreign Policy. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press.
• Eisenhower, John (1993). Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917. New York: Norton.
• (1916) "Seek Only Nation's Peace." New York Times June 23.
• Sweeney, William (1919). History of the American Negro in the Great War. Chicago: Sapp.

[edit] See also

• Mexican Service Campaigns
• Battles of the United States
• United States involvement in the Mexican Revolution