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Sale 33
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Lot 162
1916 Mexican Border War (Punitive Expedition). Notebook of approximately 150 pages kept by Captain Fitzhugh Lee, Aide-de-Camp to Maj. Gen. Funston, containing a detailed day-to-day account of the 1916 Mexican Border War. Some one hundred pages pertain to the Punitive Expedition; the remainder deals with Lee's career as Col. commanding the 7th Cavalry, up to 1927. The pages include General Orders, telegrams between Funston and the War Department, to Gen. John Pershing, who headed the Expedition ("Hostilities have begun…Take same action as if you had been attacked"), and between the War Dept. and Maj. Gen. Hugh L. Scott, Chief of Staff of the Army. It also includes 38 pages of notes in Lee's hand of day-to-day reports on Pershing's movements, and typewritten synopses of military actions, as well as notes that Lee took to a May 2nd conference between Gen. Obregon, Funston, and Scott regarding the "dis-occupation of Mexican territory by American troops." There are also typed charts and lists, such as the names of Americans killed from Mar. 9-May 25, and a May 15th mention that "Detachment under Lieut. Patton…while at Rubio…was fired on by Mexicans" (this was the famous incident in which Patton shot Gen. Cardenas and lashed him and two other dead Villa subordinates to the fender of his car as a trophy). Lists giving the breakdown of numerous provisional divisions and two separate brigades, and a memo shows the status of National Guard organizations in the Southern Dept. A fascinating, inside look at the events of the Punitive Expedition.
The communications are very detailed, with precise times and troop movements. A few of Lee's notes: (Mar. 15) "Gen'l Pershing Reports: Columbus / Columns crossed Border" (Mar. 28) "…Villa trail not yet located" (Mar 30) "Dodd struck Villa…at Guerrero. Villa dead….Carranzista troops being held for execution were liberated…" (Mar. 31) "Only 2 Aero's can reach altitude 2000 ft…not sufficient for scouting duty…" (Apr. 2) "misleading information being spread by Villa sympathizers…can not obtain reliable guides…" Instructions from War Dept. to Maj. Gen. Scott include: (Apr. 26) "…meet Gen. Obregon and discuss…future military operations…avoid…appearance of intervention in the domestic affairs of the Republic of Mexico…" (May 1) "…in case matters come to open break telegraph 'Send them at once.'" War Dept. to Funston: (July 2) "The Government in Washington has a very definite policy…to force the Mexicans…to evacuate the widest possible strip of their territory from the border south. The foregoing must be distinctly understood by you and be your guide of action."
The Mexican Border War of 1916, or Punitive Expedition, was the American reaction to a March 9th raid on Columbus, New Mexico by Pancho Villa. The American government doubted that Mexican president Carranza had the power to hunt Villa down, and Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, a Congressional Medal of Honor winner from the Spanish American War (stationed at Fort Sam Houston), wired Washington recommending a pursuit of Villa; he received a go-ahead from Secretary of War Newton D. Baker on March 10. On March 13, Mexican General Alvaro Obregon, Mexican Secretary of War, issued a telegram outlining an agreement between the two governments permitting them to cross the border "in pursuit of bandits who are committing depredations along our frontier." General Orders No. 1, published on March 14, 1916, organized the Punitive Expedition, headed by Gen. John Pershing. The forces were ordered home in January 1917, having failed to capture Villa but with experience that would serve them well in World War I.
Estimated Value $2,500 - 5,000.
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| Realized $2,415 |
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