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The Mexican Border (1916-1917)
History of The Iowa National Guard
CW2 David L. Snook
On March 9, 1916,
Mexican rebels, led by General Francisco (Pancho) Villa, attacked
the U. S. Army garrison at Columbus, New Mexico. A number of
American soldiers and civilians were killed and considerable
property was destroyed. Mexico was in the midst of a decade-long
period of revolution and civil war, and Villa and his followers
were retaliating against United States recognition of the
government of his political rival, Venustiano Carranza. On the
day following the raid, President Woodrow Wilson ordered
Brigadier General John J. Pershing to organize an expeditionary
force to assist the Mexican government in apprehending Villa.
On March 15,
Pershing’s expedition entered Mexico. It chased Villa
through much of northern Mexico, never quite catching him but
managing to disperse most of his forces. As American troops
pursued Villa deeper into Mexico, clashes with Carranza’s
followers also took place. The threat of a wider war led
President Wilson to call 75,000 National Guardsmen into federal
service to help police the border.
On May 9, the
National Guards of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas were called into
federal service. On June 18, the entire National Guard, except
for coast artillery units, was called to duty. Within days, the
first of 158,664 National Guardsmen were on their way to camps in
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. All units of the Iowa National
Guard were mustered into federal service and dispatched to the
Mexican border.
In 1916, the Iowa
National Guard consisted of three infantry regiments, one cavalry
squadron and one field artillery battalion. First Infantry
elements were from Tipton, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Waterloo, Cedar
Falls, Charles City, Manchester, Burlington, Washington, Keokuk,
Fairfield and Clinton. Units of the Second Infantry were from
Webster City, Eagle Grove, Mason City, Ida Grove, Sheldon, Fort
Dodge, Sioux City, Ames, Le Mars and Cherokee. Soldiers of the
Third Infantry came from Des Moines, Winterset, Creston,
Centerville, Shenandoah, Villisca, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Glenwood,
Corning, Council Bluffs, Red Oak and Boone. The First Cavalry
Squadron had troops in Grinnell, Ida Grove, Manchester, Mason
City and Red Oak. Batteries of the First Field Artillery
Battalion were located in Clinton, Davenport and Muscatine.
Almost thirty
days of training and conditioning at Camp Dodge, near Des Moines,
preceded the deployment of Iowa troops, known as the Iowa
Brigade, to the Mexican border. All Iowa soldiers were assigned
to duty on the Mexican border near Brownsville, Texas, with the
exception of the First Cavalry Squadron, which was sent to Donna,
Texas.
U. S. Army
Brigadier General James Parker, commander of the Brownsville
District, had these words of praise for the Iowa Brigade: "It
came here well-trained as far as marksmanship was concerned, and
it has added to its record since being here by the high scores of
its teams at the Jacksonville competition. In respect to other
training, no troops in this district have performed more faithful
service than the Iowa Brigade. Its camp has always been a model
of precision and cleanliness. The discipline and subordination of
the Iowa troops has been excellent. The appearance of the
regiments of the Iowa Brigade, on review or on parade, always
shows precision, steadiness and neatness of uniform. For these
results, we are indebted to the spirit of pride which has
animated the men and the intelligent supervision of the officers,
especially their commander, Brigadier General H. A. Allen. It has
been a great pleasure to command such troops."
In late 1916 and
early 1917, as the threat of war with Imperial Germany began to
loom larger, U. S. forces were gradually withdrawn from Mexico.
In January of 1917, all Iowa troops had been returned to state
control. Although Pancho Villa was never captured, the efforts of
American troops in Mexico and along the border were not entirely
wasted. Dispersal of Villa’s band put an end to serious
border incidents. Equally important, from a military point of
view, was the intensive field training received by both Regular
Army and National Guard troops. The full mobilization of the
National Guard and the excellent training which took place would
be valuable experience for the mobilization for World War I,
which the United States would enter in only a few months.
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