The Plan de San Diego: Tejano Rebellion, Mexican Intrigue

15. New Raids

15New Raids The ill-considered invasion plan had been shelved, and on June 13 the Mexican Foreign Office formally notified the American representative in Mexico City that de la Rosa had been captured, this news based on a telegram from the military commandant in Tamaulipas.1 But Carranza fully intended to continue exerting pressure on the United States in hopes of forcing the withdrawal of the Punitive Expedition. Therefore he reverted to the successful 1915 strategy: a wave of raids into Texas, none of which would be serious enough to provoke American retaliation. The Fierros Brigade would mount these raids under the aegis of the Plan de San Diego. A report from the bureau’s informant García stated that Generals Osuna, Garza, de la Rosa, and Fierros had met in Monterrey and agreed they would simultaneously attack along the Texas border, selecting the most vulnerable points. Furthermore, three manifestos were being prepared urging Tejanos to rebel. García promised to secure copies before they were published and mail them to Barnes.2 The revised strategy was quickly implemented. On June 10 a large party of Mexicans attacked the Coleman and Johnson San Samuel ranch near La Jarita. They began to round up horses; the two Anglo and one Hispanic cowboys on the scene fled. One Cenobio Méndez 168 New Raids said he had been captured by the party and was forced to accompany them to the American side of the river. When the raiders started for Webb Station, twenty miles north of Laredo on the International and Great Northern Railroad, he was given a red flag with the wording diagonally across it “Libertad, Igualdad y Independencia.” Nearing Webb, Méndez was able to escape, carrying the flag and a can of kerosene , and galloped to alert the nearest cavalry detachment, at Minera, warning that raiders were heading for Webb Station to loot the place and burn the railroad bridge. A posse of fifteen ranchers and cowboys quickly formed under the leadership of Tom Ross, the ex-Ranger captain and currently Bureau of Investigation agent. They raced to Webb in autos, arriving there about midnight on June ll. They deployed in the brush to await the Mexicans. Shortly after their arrival they spotted and seized two men who proved to be members of the raiding party. Subsequently another raider was captured. Throughout the rest of the night posses and a detachment of the Fourteenth Cavalry searched for the other marauders. Early the next morning a posse encountered them and a firefight ensued.3 From Laredo came the following report: “A small party of armed Mexicans invaded Texas last night with a red flag and a can of kerosene oil.” The report referred to the commando that had crossed the Rio Grande above Laredo, dispatched by Maurilio Rodríguez to cut the telephone and telegraph wires at Webb Station and burn several bridges, “in order that the Carranza force which had been augmented at Nuevo Laredo could attack Laredo, Texas.” As we’ve seen, the planned attack on Laredo had been hurriedly canceled. The commando’s mission failed. In a running fight with a posse and an army detachment the raiders fought desperately but were overwhelmed and three were killed. Deputy Sheriff Dolores Cano killed Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Villarreal in single combat. Villarreal was in full carrancista uniform wearing a Stetson and with a Carranza commission in his pocket; three raiders, also wearing Carranza uniforms, were captured, and Tom Ross took them to Laredo. Ross also took charge of the red-and-white flag that the raiders had carried. One of the prisoners was taken back to the battlefield and identified the body of Lieutenant Colonel Villarreal . On June 12 a posse killed Antonio Carbajal, who lived on a ranch New Raids 169 near Webb Station. Whether he’d been involved in the raid is unclear. Posses composed of stockmen continued to scour the area, and a company of the Ninth Infantry was rushed by truck to Webb Station. As a further security measure the army converted some freight cars into mobile blockhouses, sandbagged and loopholed, to protect railroad bridges from attacks.4 The prisoners confessed to belonging to Luis de la Rosa’s command. Simón Solís said he was a Laredo native and had lived there for many years. He had recently gone to Lampazos to visit his father and while there was approached by...