The long walk back from Chihuahua
US infantrymen in Mexico during the hunt for Pancho Villa. January 1917. Image via The Great War 1914-1918
100 years ago today, the end of the Punitive Expedition:
In the image above, a column of 6th and 16th Infantry regiments, are shown en route back to the States, between Corralitos Rancho and Ojo Federico, Jan 29th, 1917. Co. A, 16th Inf. in the foreground. Note the “Montana” campaign hats and Springfield 1903s.
This was the longest hike of the return march, 28 miles.
The longest “march” in one day on the way down was actually a lighting fast ride of the made by the artillery of the “Flying Column” consisting of Battery B of the 6th (horse-drawn) Field Artillery, who covered 145 miles in hours over March 15-16, 1916 including a blistering 88 on the first day alone.
As noted by Col. Frank Tompkins, who rode as a Major with the 13th Cav on the Expedition and later penned an excellent work on the subject, that rate of travel was unmatched by any artillery unit anywhere in prior military history.