Horseshoer Killed in Pancho Villa's Famous 1916 "Invasion" of New Mexico

General Francisco "Pancho" Villa was the people's hero during the Mexican Civil War in the early 1900s; depending on which history book you read, he was Braveheart with a great mustache...or Osama bin Laden in a sombrero.

Here's some history you won't find in any textbook. 

Montana farrier Scott Simpson and I share a fascination with the history of a raid by Mexican General Francisco "Pancho" Villa, who slipped across the border and raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico at dawn on March 9, 1916.  But I didn't expect there to be a horseshoer involved. Now I know otherwise.

I've always been interested in the raid because it inspired my uncle to enlist in the Cavalry to go after Villa, which he did...and his adventures in Texas and Mexico became the fodder for great storytelling sessions at family gatherings. General Patton, then a young officer, was there too. And they were all on horseback. 

Here's what happened: Pancho Villa and 500 of his followers raided the border town of Columbus, New Mexico (due west of El Paso, Texas and south of Deming, New Mexico). Historical accounts are sympathetic to the rebels and tell us that they were raiding, not attacking; call it what you like, the Mexicans killed eight US soldiers and 10 civilians. 

One of the soldiers killed was Frank Kingvall, aged 26. He was the horseshoer for the troop.

According to an old clipping from the New York Times, Kingvall's horse was draped with black crepe and left standing at the depot as the train bearing the horseshoer's body pulled out for the long trip back east.

The horseshoer's horse was draped in black crepe and left standing at the train station as raid victim Frank Kingvall was carried back home in a casket.

Pancho Villa's bold raid into US territory was the last time a foreign government invaded the United States.  The horseshoer part has been lost to history.

This photo is identified as showing Pancho Villa's blacksmiths, but these men are using what looks like a new mobile field forge, as would have been used by Pershing's forces who were chasing Villa. It would be great to know more about this photo, which is the property of the Library of Congress.

President Woodrow Wilson called it just that--an invasion--and sent General "Black Jack" Pershing across the border into the Mexican state of Chihuahua in pursuit of Pancho Villa, but it turned into a failed campaign. Villa was able to hide out in the countryside, aided by the Mexican people. 

You know the songs, especially Townes van Zandt's famous "Pancho and Lefty", which may or may not have been based on Pancho Villa and his real-life pal, Lefty. The song's origin has always been shrouded in doubt, but that seems to make people want to sing it even more.

Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, with cameos by the late songwriter Townes van Zandt, dramatized the song.

Pershing pulled out all the stops; this was probably the US military's first confrontation with guerilla warfare tactics. It was also the first time that cars, motorcycles and airplanes joined horses and mules for combat transport, although they often had to build roads for the cars. Records also tell us that Pershing's horses suffered from a horseshoe shortage, out there in the Mexican desert.

Among Pershing's officers was George S. Patton, then a young lieutenant, fresh out of West Point. Although Patton rode showjumpers on the US Olympic Team, he was in charge of a motorized unit in Mexico, the first of its kind in US history.

Back in New Mexico, a troop of crack Apache scouts was sent to Columbus from Arizona to track down Pancho Villa in the desert. In their documents was a specific military decree stating "The appointment or mustering of farriers or horseshoers on the rolls of Indian scouts is illegal." The Apaches had to supply their own horses, saddles, and shoe them themselves. 

The story doesn't end there; apparently Pancho Villa had blacksmithing skills.  The late farrier-turned-artist/blacksmith teacher Frank Turley wrote about his relationship with Victor Vera, a Mexican smith he met in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1960s. Victor had been pressed into Villa's revolutionary forces because of the high level of his smithing skills. He served the revolution, until he escaped and went as far away as he could--Chicago! Perhaps he told his story to Townes van Zandt, as well. 

And maybe they just let him slip away.

You can also hear Frank Turley tell the Victor Vera legend in this video. Fast forward to 3:30 to get to the storytelling. 

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