Talk:Battle of Carrizal

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"- Early June. Pershing sends some of his troops south of his headquarters to investigate a reported troop buildup near the city of Carrizal. Two troops of black cavalry under the command of Captain's Charles T. Boyd and Lewis S. Morley were sent. Boyd and several soldiers were killed and captured by some 400 Carrancista soldiers. Some forty - five Mexicans and fourteen Americans were killed. The captured twenty-three soldiers taken at Carrizal were released by Carranza and sent by train to the city of El Paso where they were received as heroes." So only five mexicans died in the batlle.

~~Forty-five=45. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.131.210.244 (talk) 01:41, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

The article has so many things wrong with it. The cavalry was dispersed at Colonia Dublán (Troop C) and Oro Frederico (Troop K), which were west of Carrizal, and could not approach from the north. Villa was not involved in any way, being in Durango at the time assembling new forces. The two troops, 3 officers and 87 men, were used for a low-profile reconnaissance to determine reported Carrancista troop dispositions along the railroad near Ahumada because the 1st Aero Squadron had no operational aircraft to do the job by air. Boyd and Morey (who was a 9th Cavalry officer attached to the 10th for troop duty) were ordered independently to conduct the recon and both told not to provoke a fight (because of Mexican sovereignty--Carranza was the "de facto" government). On June 18 they left their camps and marched east by separate routes on five days' rations. The troops converged at Santa Domingo Ranch west of Carrizal, as ordered, and completed their tasked mission, contacting locals at ranch and determining the size of the Carrancista presence. However Boyd decided to push on and see for himself. A large force was awaiting their arrival, dug in to prevent them from entering Carrizal. The Mexican commander warned Boyd to turn back (head west) but finally assented to allow the companies to pass through in column of fours. Boyd declined, fearing an ambush. Instead he deployed his men in line of foragers, Troop K on the right and Troop C on the left, each with a platoon protecting the flanks. They dismounted at 500 yards from the Carrancistas, horses sent to the rear, continued the advance as skirmishers with approximately 60 men on the firing line. Troop C was taken under fire by a pair of hidden machineguns. As it crossed an irrigation ditch Boyd, already twice wounded, was shot in the head and killed. Their horses were stampeded by the fire, so Adair pressed the attack and succeeded in knocking out the guns and reaching the town. However Troop K was outflanked and attacked by mounted troops. When the opposing force had closed to about 30 yards from the right flank, Troop K fell back at a walk, firing as it withdrew. Morey was wounded and had to be carried across the irrigation ditch. At that point Troop K collapsed and troops fled individually. Troop C's right flank was now exposed but it remained in line firing over its sights. Adair went back with a trooper to retrieve ammunition belts from the wounded and as he was returning, was shot in the chest crossing the irrigation ditch. Troop C lost all cohesion and its survivors fled. Troop C lost both officers and six men killed, had four wounded, and eight captured. Troop K lost four dead, Morey and six men wounded, and had fifteen men captured. Approximately 20 men including Morey were picked up by a relief force of the 1st Squadron, 11th Cavalry sent out on June 22, west of Carrizal. The rest evaded captured in small groups on foot and were picked up over the next several days. All of the prisoners were brought to El Paso and released on June 29. 45 Carrancistas were killed, including 12 officers, and 53 wounded. --Reedmalloy (talk) 22:48, 27 February 2015 (UTC)

Casualties

The two sources in the infobox I checked, gave different numbers than is currently listed.. FutureFlowsLoveYou (talk) 16:36, 1 August 2023 (UTC)