Few remember how the Maine Guard helped secure the Mexican border 100 years ago

By Jonathan Bratten, Special to the BDN

Posted May 27, 2016, at 2:46 p.m.

One hundred years ago, Mexico was wracked by a civil war, as rival factions vied for power: Venustiano Carranza, backed by the United States, versus Emiliano Zapata, a revolutionary who was supported by renowned fighter Pancho Villa.

In a series of battles, the U.S.-backed forces defeated the revolutionaries, so that by the end of 1915 most of Mexico was controlled by Carranza. In a desperate gamble to try to get the U.S. involved in the war, Villa began raiding border towns in New Mexico.

In response, the U.S. commander of Fort Bliss, Brigadier General John J. Pershing, mounted raids — to which there were counter-raids — into 1916. Tensions between the two countries grew.

To help the border states, President Woodrow Wilson authorized the activation of some 140,000 National Guardsmen from across the nation in what has since been referred to as “ The Great Call-up.”

To read the full article from the Bangor Daily News, click here.