Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico
edited by Michael S. Werner
edited by Michael S. Werner
·
Francisco (Pancho) Villa pg 794-97
-Chihuahua Occupation pg136
-Chihuahua Occupation pg136
·
"Villa was able to attract thousands of men
to his new army, and mercilessly tracked down Orozquistas, anarchists and
members of the oligarchy who had supported Huerta."
·
"In Chihuahua, Villa regrouped his forces
and attacked Agua Prieta, Sonora, with 13000 men and 42 heavy caliber
cannon."
·
Villa was defeated by Agua Prieta.
·
"Shortly after his return to Chihuahua, he
was forced to abandon the capital and withdrasw to Bustillos, where he decided
to continue the war."
Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History
by Don M Coerrer, Suzanne B. Pasztor and Robert M. Buffington
Copyright 2004 Don M Coerrer, Suzanne B. Pasztor and Robert M. Buffington
by Don M Coerrer, Suzanne B. Pasztor and Robert M. Buffington
Copyright 2004 Don M Coerrer, Suzanne B. Pasztor and Robert M. Buffington
Executes Americans in Santa Ysabel, Chihuahua - pg 378,532
·
"After the overthrow of the dictatorship of
General Victoriano Huerta in July 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson found it
hard to sort out and influence the different Revolutionary leaders contending
for power in Mexico. Francisco 'Pancho' Villa was Wilson's first choice for the
presidency. Villa was the only one who had not denounced the US Occupation of
Vera Cruz in April 1914. Wilson also believed that Villa would be the Mexican
leader most likely to accept guidance from the US in the ways of democracy. The
'Constitutionalist' forces loyal to the First Chief Venustiano Carranza,
however, inflicted a series of military defeats on Villain 1915, eliminating
him as a national leader. The Wilson administration reluctantly granted
diplomatic recognition to Carranza's government in October 1915." pg 378 -
Villa felt betrayed.
·
"Although his military resources were
considerably reduced and his forces scattered, Villa was still a regional power
in northern Mexico with the capability of threatening the US-Mexico border region.
The first major incident occurred in January 1916 at Santa Ysabel, Chihuahua. A
group of American employees of the Cusi Mining company were returning to
Chihuahua to renew operations interrupted by Revolutionary activity. They were
travelling with the entouragement, and supposedly under the protection of
Carranza officials. On 9 January 1916, some of Villa's forces stopped their
train near Santa Ysabel. The rebels systematically killed sixteen of the
seventeen Americans on the train. The massacre badly shook US confidence that
Carranza was restoring law and order to Mexico and produced strong demands for
US military action, which were rejected by the Wilson administration." pg
378
To me it seems quite unlikely that Bierce survived past 1914 unless he swore alegiance to Villa or Carranza. He probably committed suicide, became a hermit far away from civilization or got in the way of a bullet, as his life seemed to be fairly desolate and depressing after his wife, Mary, died.
Did some research on your topic. His death in Mexico is something of a mystery, as you say, in fact some argue he wasn't even IN Mexico! I suppose your topic could focus on the various theories, and the evidence they use, in which case the topic is something like, "Evaluate the theories of the death of Ambrose Bierce." Alternatively you could focus on the value of his work as source material for his own time. The "Future Historian" stories are interesting in this sense.
ReplyDeleteI love the Ambrose Bierce quote, "History is an account, mostly false, of events, mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers, mostly knaves, and soldiers, mostly fools."
Apparently there is a book called "Ambrose Bierce is Missing and other Historical Mysteries".