Rhode Island National Guard Mobilization for the Mexican Border 1916, 2013

1 ring-bound publication and 1 CD

This publication is not meant to replace or supersede any historical account of the Punitive Expedition or the “Picket Duty” along the Mexican border. Its basic function is to relay some basic information concerning the conflict and document all personnel mobilized. It can be of help to researchers, military historians, and genealogists.

Rhode Island. National Guard

The Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa from 1916 to 1917 during the Mexican Revolution. The expedition was launched in retaliation for Villa's attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico, and was the most remembered event of the Border War. The National Defense Act of 1916 was passed while the Mexican bandit and revolutionary Pancho Villa was raiding the border towns of the Southwest. The entire National Guard was called to active duty by President Woodrow Wilson, and within four months, 158,000 Guardsmen were in place along the Mexican border. The expeditions had one objective; to capture Villa dead or alive and put a stop to any future forays by his paramilitary forces on American soil. The official beginning and ending dates of the Mexican Expedition are March 14, 1916, and February 7, 1917. In May, President Wilson requested Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to send troops to protect the border. These states sent 5,260 Guardsmen. On June 18, as the crisis grew with Mexico, a partial call-up of 158,664 is made. In Rhode Island, the Adjutant General received the first orders to mobilize units with necessary equipment at the campground known as Quonset Point in preparation for a train movement to El Paso, Texas. The War Department reported at that time that only one other state was able to comply with the mobilization in such a timely manner. Troops were very quickly moved into the camp where units reported full authorization of troops and equipment. By July 4, the National Guards of 14 states were on duty in makeshift camps at their assigned border stations. The presence of 112,000 Guardsmen on the border by late July, 1916, undoubtedly discouraged serious incursions into the United States by border bandits. There were no major clashes and only a few Guardsmen ever crossed into Mexico. The primary value of the whole operation was not the protection of border citizens, but the training it provided the National Guard. The men were hardened physically and learned the fundamentals of soldiering in the field. Non-Coms and Officers gained valuable experience in handling men and in providing for their basic needs. Deficiencies and weaknesses in the Guard units were revealed and shortages of equipment and clothing were to some extent corrected by the army. As a result, those Guard organizations sent to the border in 1916 were partially equipped and trained when the United States entered World War 1. Guardsmen stationed on the border in 1916 saw no action. But in the spring of 1917, the U.S. declared war on Germany and entered World War I, and the Guardsmen had a chance to put their training to good use. Author: MSG James A. Loffler, Command Historian Rhode Island National Guard

Rhode Island--History.
United States. Army--History--Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916
United States. Army--History--Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916--Military personnel--American.
United States. Army--History--Punitive Expedition into Mexico, 1916--People.