Have a question? Need assistance? Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. At the end of the Mexican Revolution, after his army dwindles, Villa negotiates an amnesty with the Mexican government and retires his military pursuits in , only to be assassinated in an ambush three years later in Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
Villa even created one squadron made up entirely of Americans under the leadership of Capt. Tracy Richardson, a man who apparently fought with many different insurgent armies around the world at that time.
Around this time Villa also became something of a folk hero in the U. S, and Hollywood filmmakers as well as U. Villa financed his army by stealing from the endless cattle herds in northern Mexico and selling beeves north of the border, where he found plenty of U.
Faced with a stagnant economy, he issued his own money; if merchants refused to take it, they risked being shot. He never wore a white collar and seldom wore a tie. He said they choked him and hurt his neck. When he made a contract with a moving picture company to film some pictures on a fifty-fifty basis, one of the stipulations was that he was to wear a fawn-colored uniform, cap and sword.
He wore it once and was so disgusted with himself he never wore it again. He answered, and left his hat on the back of his head. That visit to the border was the last one Villa made as person grata. He and Obregon, both Carranza commanders of the constitutionalist army, were making an inspection trip of the Mexican border garrisons, and made the trip in a private car from El Paso to Nogales. They were given reception at every town on the American side and were apparently good friends.
Obregon then was a striking looking man and Villa felt ill at ease beside the Sonora leader, who had the polish and training of a well-to-do ranchero. A short time after their return Villa, and Obregon became bitter enemies, Villa declared the Carranza banner for his own revolution, started to shoot Obregon at Chihuahua City, freed him only to regret it a few hours later and started a special train after him as Obregon fled south and escaped.
Villa admitted that this was a tactical error, as Obregon later defeated him at Celays and broke the backbone of the Villa revolution.
Villa and his leading generals always insisted that he was not present at the Columbus raid. I talked to his general at the ranch and on the train and all told the same story, although many in Columbus claimed to have seen Villa.
After the Pershing expedition Villa was very bitter toward Americans. He was approached by Americans who offered to finance a moving picture of him and his men, to be taken soon after the surrender at San Pedro. Villa declared empathatically that he never wanted his pictures shown before an American audience and said he did not want any Americans to approach him on the subject. Later he was said to have reconsidered this ultimatum, but he had ceased to be a front page story and the moving picture company interested in making the picture declined to go ahead with their part of the proposed agreement.
He grew fat after quitting the field and when I last saw him at the Canutillo ranch he weighed more than pounds and lost much of the resiliency he had when as leader of the north, he would outride, outshoot and outmarch any man in his command. Villa liked to eat good food, American preferred, and he said one of the reasons for considering the offer for him to retire was the fact that he could get the kind of food he liked best after a monotonous fare of beans, tortillas and chili in the field.
With the passing of Villa the most picturesque character Mexico has produced in modern times takes his place in the history of the war-torn republic.
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