Last Hostile Action by Foreign Troops
Site of the Last Hostile Action by Foreign Troops in the Continental United States.
Led by General Francisco (Pancho) Villa, insurgent Mexican forces on the night of March 9, 1916 raided camp Furlong a United States army cantonment, and the nearby town of Columbus. Several people were killed, many others were wounded and numerous buildings and tents were burned. The underlying motive of the raid is still a dispute among survivors and historian.
Six days later United States punitive forces under General John J. (Black Jack) Pershing entered Mexico and pursued Pancho Villa and his band without success.
In recognition of the subsequent, long continued, friendly relations of the two countries the New Mexico State Legislature in 1959 designated this site as a State Park.
Courtesy hmdb.org
