Snapshots of the Past

Burning the bodies of dead bandits at Columbus, N.M. – Historic Print

Burning the bodies of dead bandits at Columbus, N.M., [1916 March] — historic photograph
Burning the bodies of dead bandits at Columbus, N.M., [1916 March]. Historic photograph from the Columbus collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic photograph of Burning the bodies of dead bandits at Columbus, N.M. brings a moment of history to your wall. The original is held by the Library of Congress, so what you hang is a true record of its time.

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Burning the bodies of dead bandits at Columbus, N.M.

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The picture shows the disposal of Villagers' bodies... more precisely, the bodies of raiders killed in Francisco "Pancho" Villa's attack on Columbus, New Mexico, on March 9, 1916. Villa's force struck the border town before dawn, and U.S. soldiers and local residents fought them off, leaving dozens of attackers dead in and around the town. Because the bodies lay in the heat and posed a health risk, they were burned in open pyres, a grim scene that the El Paso firm W.H. Horne Co. photographed and sold as a view of the raid's aftermath. The image was made just days before Gen. John J. Pershing's Punitive Expedition crossed into Mexico in pursuit of Villa.

Created / published[1916 March]
Medium1 photographic print.
GenrePhotographic prints 1910-1920.
NotesCopyright by W.H. Horne Co., El Paso, Texas. No. 3004.
SubjectsDead persons--New Mexico--Columbus--1910-1920. Cremation--New Mexico--Columbus--1910-1920. Criminals--New Mexico--Columbus--1910-1920.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 839 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-163721

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