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Mexican raiders strike Texas ranch
On this day in 1918, in what proved to be the last serious incident of
the border troubles initiated by the Mexican Revolution, Mexican raiders
attacked the Neville ranch in northwest Presidio County. Edwin W.
Neville's isolated ranch stretched for eighteen miles along the Rio
Grande, six miles upriver from Porvenir. Neville and his son Glen were
discussing the rumors of an attack when they heard a disturbance
outside. Neville looked out and saw fifty approaching horsemen who
opened fire on the house. Seeking protection, the Nevilles ran toward a
ditch about 300 yards away. The older Neville reached the ditch
uninjured, but the raiders shot Glen in the head and beat him with their
rifle butts as he lay dying. The Nevilles' housekeeper, Rosa Castillo,
was also shot and her body mutilated. As Neville wandered in the
darkness, the raiders stole horses, clothes, bedding, and supplies. U.S.
cavalry arrived soon after the raid and followed the trail of the
bandits across the Rio Grande. In a gunfight at the village of Pilares
thirty-three Mexicans were killed and eight were wounded. One American,
private Carl Alberts, was also killed. The American soldiers destroyed
all but one house in Pilares and recovered some of Neville's stolen
property. It is likely that the Neville ranch raid was not a simple act
of robbery, but retaliation for the Porvenir Massacre, which had taken
place two months before. It is also likely that the raiders had Villista
connections. In addition, soldiers found German-made Mauser rifles at
Pilares, a fact that may suggest German involvement in the raid.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- NEVILLE RANCH RAID
- MEXICAN REVOLUTION
- PORVENIR MASSACRE
- VILLA, FRANCISCO [PANCHO]
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Texas force decimated after black bean lottery (1843)
- General Land Office gets new seal (1986)
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