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Mexican Revolution
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Maneuver Division
In response to rising tension with the Diaz regime, Taft deviated from his non-intervention policy to create the Manuever Division, a group of men stationed in San Antonio, Texas, who were to train soldiers and enforce neutrality in the region. They were also prepared to enter Mexico if the need arose, but Diaz was overthrown before it escalated too far. -
The Madero Coup
The U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Henry Lane Wilson, plotted with Victoriano Huerta to assassinate Francisco Madero and put Huerta in power. Following Madero's resignation, Madero (and his vice-president, Suarez) were shot while being transferred between prisons. Wilson and Huerta celebrated over champagne, but Woodrow Wilson was horrified and promised to overthrow Huerta. -
Pershing and Villa
At Fort Bliss, Texas, John J. Pershing and Pancho Villa met on civil terms. They would meet again in 1914 at Ojinaga, before Villa raided New Mexico. -
Tampico Affair
On April 2, 1914, the U.S. gunboat Dolphin gave a 21-gun salute to the Mexican flag to preserve the diplomatic relationship between Wilson and Huerta. One week later, Rear Admiral Mayo sent eight soldiers from the Dolphin into the city to fetch fuel and supplies, where they were mistakenly captured by a Mexican general. Less than an hour later, they were released with an official apology, but Mayo demanded extra concessions: the American flag raised in the city, and a 21-gun salute to it. -
Veracruz Invasion
U.S.-made weapons destined for the Huerta regime arrived in the city of Veracruz aboard a German cargo ship (the SS Ypiranga). Wilson ordered the Marines to storm the city, killing hundreds and capturing the ship. However, since no formal blockade had been created and war was not declared on Mexico, the ship could not be legally held, and it was released, where it sailed south and successfully delivered the shipment in Puerto Mexico. -
Pancho Villa's Attack
Pancho Villa, angry that the U.S. has begun to support Carranza, took his revenge by leading a hundred-man charge into New Mexico. On March 9, he killed eighteen Americans (some civilians, some soldiers) while losing eighty of his own men, razing the town and retreating back across the border. -
Mexican Expedition
In response, the U.S. sent John J. Pershing and approximately ten thousand sodliers into Mexico to track him down. Villa resorted to guerrilla tactics to fight back, attacking the expedition from all sides and cutting telegraph wires. Diplomatic relations between Carranza and President Wilson were strained as the expedition continued. Eventually, just as it seemed that war might break out, the expedition halted, four hundred miles into Mexico. -
Battle of Carrizal
General Pershing was informed that Villa could be found in Carrizal, but when he sent scouts to investigate, they discovered Mexican Army troops instead of Villa's Division del Norte. Captain Boyd ordered his men to attack anyway, but they were repelled. The U.S. lost sixteen men and twenty-three prisoners, and the Mexican Army lost forty-five soldiers, including their commanding officer. -
National Guard
President Wilson ordered the National Guard to reinforce garrisons all along the American-Mexican border. By August of 1916 nearly 120,000 soldiers had been stationed in California, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
The Battle of Ambos Nogales
Tensions between the U.S. and Mexico reached a height on the 27th of August. A Mexican civlian attempted to pass the border, and in the resulting scuffle over whether or not he was smuggling weapons, a shot was fired, causing a gunfight to break out. The U.S. lost four men, one of whom died from his wounds, and Mexico lost anywhere from fifteen to one hundred and twenty five soldiers and civilians combined.
