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Missouri
National Guard Soldiers from Lamar, Missouri
Second Infantry
Protecting the Mexican Border in 1916
General Harvey C. Clark commanded the Missouri troops on the Mexican Border in 1916, patrolling 145 miles of the Laredo District, which was regarded as the most troublesome on the Border. This was the era when Pancho Villa was attacking American towns.
National Guard on the Mexican Border
Pancho Villa
instigated a series of border incidents that culminated in a surprise attack by
500 to 1,000 of
his men against Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916. Villa’s troops killed
a substantial
number of American soldiers and civilians and destroyed considerable property
before units of
the 13th Cavalry drove them off. The following day President Wilson ordered
Brig. Gen. John J.
Pershing into Mexico to assist the Mexican government in capturing Villa.
On March 15 the advance elements of this
punitive expedition of the U. S. Army entered Mexico in "hot pursuit." For the next several
months Pershing’s troops chased Villa through unfriendly territory for hundreds of miles, never
quite catching up with him but managing to disperse most of his followers.
Although Carranza’s troops also failed to capture Villa, Presidente Carranza soon showed that he had no desire to have the United States do the job for him. He protested the continued presence of American troops in Mexico and insisted upon their withdrawal.
Carranza’s unfriendly attitude, plus orders from the War Department forbidding attacks on Mexicans who were not followers of Villa, made it difficult for Pershing to deal effectively with other hostile Mexicans who blocked his path without running the risk of precipitating war.
Some clashes with Mexican government troops occurred. The most important took place in June at Carrizal, where scores were killed or wounded. This action once again created a critical situation and led President Wilson to call 75,000 National Guardsmen into federal service to police the border. Each Guard unit was assigned a section of the border to guard, usually 100 to 200 miles in length.
Aware that the majority of Americans favored a peaceful solution, Wilson persuaded Carranza to resume diplomatic negotiations. The two leaders agreed in late July to submit the disputes arising out of the punitive expedition to a joint commission for settlement. Some time later the commission ruled that the American unit commander in the Carrizal affair was at fault.
Although the commission broke up in January 1917 without reaching agreement on a plan for evacuating Pershing’s troops, relations between the United States and Germany had reached so critical a stage that Wilson had no alternative but to order withdrawal of the punitive expedition.
The National Guard troops were recalled, and then sent to France.
Note: Many of these men were still in the Guard in 1918 and went to France during WW One.
Name Rank
Company Section Regiment
Lawrence W.
Anderson Corporal Company C Second
Infantry
Wilton W. Anderson Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Northrup Banks Private Company C Second Infantry
Alfred Barth Private Company C Second Infantry
Fred Bayles Private Company C Second Infantry
William Benford Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Roy Bowker Private Company C Second Infantry
David W. Boyd Mechanic Company C Second Infantry
Harry Campbell Private Company C Second Infantry
Cecil D. Chandler Private Company C Second Infantry
Frank Cooper Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Albert Cox Private Company C Second Infantry
Carl Daetwyler Private Company C Second Infantry
Amos B. Davis Private Company C Second Infantry
Earl Davis Bugler Company C Second Infantry
Charles Dixon Private Company C Second Infantry
Sidney Duncan Private Company C Second Infantry
George J. Earp Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Sidney Fisher Private Company C Second Infantry
Joseph Glenn Private Company C Second Infantry
Carl Green Private Company C Second Infantry
James R. Hadden Private Company C Second Infantry
Joseph H. Hall Captain Company C Second Infantry
George Harrington Private Company C Second Infantry
Fred D. Hays Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Charles P. Hedrick Private Company C Second Infantry
Lee H. Hess Private Company C Second Infantry
Charles W. Hickman Supply Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Rolla Holmes Private Company C Second Infantry
William E. Hooton 1st Lieutenant Company C Second Infantry
James Horn Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Dillon L. Hurt Cook Company C Second Infantry
Gordon Inglish Private Company C Second Infantry
Ewart C. Jackson Private Company C Second Infantry
James W. Jobe Mess Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Ben Johnson Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Claude E. Kessler Private Company C Second Infantry
Leonard I. Knight Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Levoda Labove Private Company C Second Infantry
Hugh Long Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Alva Manley Private Company C Second Infantry
Gay Mann Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Alonzo C. Marwick 1st Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Mally B. McKinney Private Company C Second Infantry
Robert C. Millard Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Everett Miller Corporal Company C Second Infantry
George Montgomery Private Company C Second Infantry
Hobart Moody Private Company C Second Infantry
Troy C. Peak Private Company C Second Infantry
Ross Pierce Private Company C Second Infantry
Fred Pike Private Company C Second Infantry
Jesse C. Rains Corporal Company C Second Infantry
John Rains Corporal Company C Second Infantry
Fred Randolph Private Company C Second Infantry
Guy Rapp Private Company C Second Infantry
William H. Reed Private Company C Second Infantry
Glenn E. Roberts Private Company C Second Infantry
Edward
Schubert Private Company C Second
Infantry
Albert J. Shaw Private Company C Second Infantry
Elver Shaw Private Company C Second Infantry
Joseph Shipman Bugler Company C Second Infantry
William R. Smith Private Company C Second Infantry
Charles Squires Private Company C Second Infantry
Walter E. Stewart Private Company C Second Infantry
Maurice Tennant Private Company C Second Infantry
Robert Thompson 2d Lieutenant Company C Second Infantry
Harry Tyler Private Company C Second Infantry
Thomas J. Underhill Private Company C Second Infantry
Frank D. Vlazny Private Company C Second Infantry
Frank D. Vlazny* Private Company C Infantry Second Regiment
Alger Walker Private Company C Second Infantry
Frank E. Watson Private Company C Second Infantry
Olliver S. Williams Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Tom Willoughby Sergeant Company C Second Infantry
Lester Wills Private Company C Second Infantry
Carl Wilson Private Company C Second Infantry
Ray T. Wilson Cook Company C Second Infantry
Charles C. Wines Private Company C Second Infantry