Columbus marks 1916 Pancho Villa raid with memorial ride

COLUMBUS — Thousands turned out Saturday to welcome nearly three dozen horses that trekked from the Columbus Port of Entry over three miles into the village center for the annual commemoration of Pancho Villa’s attack on the border community.

On March 9, 1916, over a dozen soldiers and civilians were killed in an early-morning raid that saw fighters under the command of Mexican revolutionary general Francisco “Pancho” Villa loot and burn businesses and homes in a bid to bait the U.S. into invading Mexico. A hotel that came under intense fire still stands, now vacant, a few blocks away from where the festivities took place.

Precise counts of the casualties vary, but the Columbus Historical Society, which hosts the annual memorial service including a roll call of those killed in the attack, lists eight service members and nine U.S. civilians. Villa’s contingent of nearly 100 fighters sustained heavy losses in the battle and an unknown number of Mexican citizens also fell.

Major Trevor Thompson of the New Mexico Army National Guard described the raid as “an event that tested the resolve of our military and shaped our relationship with our neighbor to the south” in a memorial address. Thompson stood in front of a replica of the bandstand from which General John J. Pershing greeted U.S. soldiers as they returned from an unsuccessful mission to hunt Villa down. Villa was ultimately assassinated by political enemies in the Chihuahuan city of Parral in 1923.

The horseback contingent, including a performer in the guise of Villa, was slightly smaller than in recent years when private organizers branded the event as the Cabalgata Binacional and Fiesta de Amistad, linking it with annual horse rides commemorating Villa in Mexico. This year, the village of Columbus assumed responsibility for the event.

Approximately 20 people attended the memorial service, and families lined up their cars along the state highway running from the port of entry into the village to greet the riders, who circled the village and assembled in the central plaza as the national anthems of Mexico and the United States were played. Taco trucks, a small crafts fair and activities for children lined the square.

Meanwhile, in the village’s public library, genealogist Brandon Baird presented findings from his recent research of historic documents and DNA testing of descendants of Villa and his 17 known children, to fill in or correct details of his ancestry.

The festivities were attended by officials from the county, the New Mexico Border Authority, state Rep. Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, and delegates from municipalities in Mexico who participated in a luncheon convened by Mayor Philip Skinner.

The solemn memorial service juxtaposed with a more celebratory atmosphere in the village square, reflecting different facets of Villa’s legend in a community where he is remembered both as an inspirational revolutionary figure and a man who directed a fatal attack on civilians.

Villa is also a figure whose history is mixed with legend. Baird fielded some questions himself about conflicting stories and historical claims about Villa, to which he suggested, “Sometimes it depends on the history you believe.”

Algernon D’Ammassa is the Journal’s southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.