August 27 of 1918

To cover this incident, we will have to go back in time and see the antecedents that will produce this climatic act. These antecedents will take place, one after another, during the whole time period between the evacuation of Nogales, Sonora, in July, 1916, up to this moment.

For instance, in May 1917, several US soldiers that had gone to the red district of Nogales, Sonora, make a scandal in the Water Tank Hill, located west of town; while the last day of that year, a mexican Customs agent, Francisco Mercado, that used to go to the border ridiculing the US soldiers was shot to death.

These and other deaths happened because the US guards that had been located every 100 yds to watch the border and impede the free crossing, as was the custom up until then, didn´t warn of their transgression to people that attempted to cross the border through forbidden points. They only shooted the infractors. The only point throgh which people were allowed to cross, was right next to the railroad crossing.

The last days of 1917, Engineers Henry Corbin and Manuel Bancaleri, from the International Boundary Commission, finished installing the International Monuments No. 122-A, 122-B and 122-C inside Nogales, as well as Nos. 123-A and 123-B, west of town. The monuments inside town were built to have a better delineation of the border, as the US Military Camp was located very close to the border, and had been the reason for some of the incidents provoqued by the soldiers.

Besides these Monuments, another one, No. 118, was located at the crossing of Santa Cruz River, in Mascareñas, which had been destroyed by a flood.

On February 11, 1918, four US armed policemen crossed the border and entered the home of Gregoria Torres, near the border, and after knocking down the door, arrested Gabriel Cota (mexican), and Jesus Santa Cruz (US citizen), taking them to Nogales, Az. A month later, on the 22, an unknown is killed by a US soldier while trying to cross the border.

On April 1, the Presidente Municipal, Felix B. Peñaloza, notifies the Mexican Consul in Nogales, Az, that some shots had been fired East of Nogales, and when the police went to find out, they found a woman crying, who told them that some US soldiers had entered Mexico and shot her two kids. Peñaloza finished his notification with a comment that will be prophetic, complaining against:

“the attacks that more than once have happened in this frontier, which thanks to the prudence of the authorities here, we have avoided a bloodshed which could have caused some serious consequences, and I think that you must make an energic reclamation to stop these criminal acts that the US guardians are making against out people, because they think we are savages, which will provoque an international conflict that we must avoid…”

This report will cause another complaint to be sent to the Mexican Ambassador in Washington, dated July 21, in which it said:

I want to mention the vigilance service at the border, which the US soldiers are undertaking, that they have orders to shoot anybody who tries to cross it through any place not allowed by the US authorities. Until now, in the cases that have happened… these circunstances in this border, the victims have always been mexicans of humble condition which, not knowing how they could have saved themselves of such an unexpected as well as unjustified death, their ignorance has taken them to an unjustified as well as unnecessary sacrifice.

However, the incidents continued: On July 18, several US soldiers satationed East of town, across from a new barrio, “Pueblo Nuevo,” crossed the border and entered Mexico, while on the 22, two soldiers attacked Macario Rodriguez in Las Canoas Canyon, and on August 6, other soldiers shot Rafael Sosa Fuentes, although he defended himself and returned fire.

In the inquiry of these incidents, the US authorities argumented that the last two ones happened because the Mexicans had entered US territory, while the Mexican authorities, to avoid further problems East of town, ordered in October the evacuation of Pueblo Nuevo and that any house there must remain at a minimum distance of 500 M. from the border. And the same is ordered to those living near Hotel Cananea, as it is located near the border.

The intensification of international tensions will turn for the worse due to the imposition of more restrictive measures to avoid the crossing of Mexicans to Nogales, Arizona. Among these, the disposition of the US Consul in Nogales, Sonora, E. M. Lawton, who announces that all the Mexicans working in the US will be allowed to cross the border only twice daily, and that their border crossing cards will be stamped with the legend DAILY. It is thought that about 75% of Nogalians lived then from the labor offer of Nogales, Az. The rest, those who didn´t work in Nogales, Arizona, were to be allowed to cross only once a week.

Without knowing it, this disposition will be the last measure before things come to a crisis.

It is the afternoon of August 27. Guarding the border on the US side are A. G. Barber, Customs Agent, the soldier William A Tucker (from the 35 Infantry Batallion), while the soldier William H. Kling, who was among those assigned to watch the border, was a little further South, almost at the border.

On the Mexican side, the Customs Agents Francisco Gallego, single, 21 years old, who lives with his parents, Vicente Gallego and Mercedes Gonzalez on Hidalgo Street, between Vazquez and Aguirre; Andres Ceceña, married to Josefa Miranda, proud parents of a girl, and Alfredo Galván.

Tucker is sitting in a chair, talking to Barber, and cleaning the sweat that runs down his neck, when around 4:10 PM (Nogales, Az time, while in Nogales, Son it is 3:40 PM), they see a Mexican approaching the border, who walks towards Nogales, Son, between the rail tracks.

According to their later declarations, they thought that under his white shirt the man was hiding something, so Barber ordered him to stop three times, in Spanish, although the Mexican didn´t obey.

Seeing this, Tucker gets up to assist the Customs Agent, while Barber takes out his gun and again orders the man to stop.

On seeing the commotion, the Mexican Officers approach the border, and they start calling the man not to stop. Tucker takes out his gun and shouts the Mexican in English, as he doesn´t speak Spanish: “If you cross the border there is going to be one more face in hell!” On hearing this order, the Mexican stops momentarily and answers, in Spanish: “Ahorita vuelvo”

The guard located at the border then tries to stop the man with his rifle, and here the versions vary. While the US agents says that Gallego then shot the guard, injuring him, the Mexicans said that it was the US soldier who shot first the Mexican who attempted to cross into Mexico, whose name was Zeferino Gil Lamadrid, missing him, and then Gallego shot the soldier. Whatever happened at this moment, then Tucker shot the Mexican officer from a distance of some 6 meters.

It is not known if he killed him then, because while some say that he was killed then, others say that he was only injured and died later. In this exchange of shots, Ceceña is also killed, as well as Jose Maria Celis, who worked at the Ayuntamiento offices.

Then comes a moment of temporary calm during which both sides run to take cover in the neighboring buildings, while the people begin to approach, attracted by the sound of the shots.

Half an hour later, US reinforcements arrive at the border, among whom are Cap. Robert J Mashburn, Commander of the 35 Batallion, who commanding some 200 color soldiers goes West of Nogales and orders a machine gun to be emplaced in the hill of Crawford St, while at the same time sends Cap Joseph D. Hungerford to cross the border and take the hill located East of Nogales, to control from there downtown Nogales, Sonora.

These actions will provoque the intensification of the battle, which will reach it´s climax between 3:40 and 5:15PM.

In the assault East of town, Hungerford is killed, although his soldiers continue their advance that side ot town.

Besides this, inside Nogales, Cap. Roy Morledge commanding troop A of the 10th of Cavalry, takes Hotel Abadie, and from it his soldiers start shooting the Mexicans nearby.

When he hears the first shots, the Presidente Municipal de Nogales, Félix B. Peñaloza, comes out of the narrow street located between Calle Elías and the railroad, trying to stop the violence, although in a moment he tells a group that is hiding in front of Dr. Priego´s office, not to shoot, and they answer that they don´t have weapons, he is shot by one of the US soldiers, and falls to the ground, while he remains until a group of people, using ropes, pull him into the alley and take him to Dr. Priego´s offices.

Inside the doctor office, Dr. Priego starts looking at him, while Peñaloza remains aware of everything, and according to Dr. Priego´s later declaration, he tells the doctor that “he didn´t doubt for a moment to risk being killed, but in his position of Presidente Municipal he thought that he should live up to his obligation, as he told me personally, while he was already been shot”

About half an hour he dies through an internal hemorrage. Dr. Priego will express later the generalized opinion of nogalians about his actions during this crisis:

“In my opinion, the act of Mr. Peñaloza, besides being heroic, was also patriotic, because he tried to avoid to our Motherland an international conflict, which as an authority was his duty to do, so he died abiding by his duty”

While all of this is happening near the border, the Military Commander of Nogales, Sonora, Cap. Adalberto Abasolo, orders his soldiers not to participate in the battle, although he distributes rifles to those civilians that go to his offices, located on Campillo St.

Out of town, where today Plaza Hidalgo is located, a train with Yaqui soldiers was parked, and when they hear the shots, under the command of Tte Cor Enrique Buelna they go to the hill located East of Nogales, trying to remove the US soldiers.

At the same time, the Mexican Consul in Nogales, Arizona, Garza Zertuche, speaks through the phone with the Mexican Military authorities, with the proposal that at 5:30 PM, on both sides of the border white flags be raised to end the battle.

While on the Mexican side he gets the approval, on the US side he doesn´t get to speak to Cor. Herman, who is inspecting the battle, and only can send him this message through a US Captain.

Herman, who has been slightly wounded in the leg, is being cured at the infirmary, and there are two versions to the Consul proposal. One says that he answered that under no condition the US side would rise a white flag, and that on the contrary, he gave 10 minutes for the rising of a white flag on the Mexican side, or he would burn the Mexican town. The other, by Zertuche, limits to say that the US side didn´t raise any flat at 5:30 PM, and only ordered a cease fire.

An hour later a conference in Puente Bonillas takes place between the Commanders on both sides, where it is decided to close the border.

That night, the cease fire is broken several times, and in the afternoon of the following day Governor Calles and Commander Cabell meet. Then they agree to reopen the border for the rest of the day, until 6 PM.

That night of the 28, some 30 or 40 shots are fired from the hill located West of Nogales, Sonora, one of which wounds slightly a US soldier, so his companions shoot their machine guns against the mexican side. Calles orders then martial law on the Sonoran side.

On Thursday, the soldier who had been wounded shoots now against a Mexican, Refugio Garcia, who was walking on the Sonoran side, wounding him also slightly. That night meet again Cabell and Calles, where the first promises he will punish the soldier who fired. Also, during the meeting, Consul Lawton informs Calles that during the batte a group of sonorenses came into the US Consulate and hurt Mr. Coley, who worked there.

An investigation will then be made, and it´s findings are that Coley had worked previously as a US Customs Agent, and had always had very bad treatment towards Mexicans, like ripping their border crossing cards and other acts. Later, because of complains against him, the US Customs Administrator had decided to fire him, but that during those days of August there had been a heavy work load in the US Consulate, and he had been employed there since August 26, and that when this was known, some nogalenses took advantage of the situation to try to avenge themselves. In the explanation of these causes, it was added that the aggression had been only directed towards Mr. Coley and not towards the Consulate.

Cabell, on his side, promises to make an inquiry on the causes of the incident. When it is made, among it´s conclusions is that: “Mexicans resent the rough treatment and some times crude language that the US Customs Agents employ,” and among the measures taken to avoid future problems, they take away the weapons from the Border guards, issuing them with pistols.

Later, the Nogales Sonora government will try to make a collection to erect a monument to the heroes of August 27, although the precarious economic conditions will make it impossible. It will be three years later, when the President of Mexico, Gral. Alvaro Obregon, will give the then City of Nogales the monument we know, who was made by the sculptor Francisco Cafagna. This monument will be inaugurated during the Independence commemoration of 1921, and will be located in a park built expressely fot that commemoration, just South of today´s Plaza Hidalgo.

It has been said that this international incident was provoqued by some german influence on Mexican politics then. The Zimerman telegram, intercepted by the British Government and made public, on which the German Government, then at war with the US, promised to help Carranza´s government to reccuperate the territory lost against the US.

This argument sustains that there several german agents then in Sonora, who radicalized the population against the US neighbors, and this was the cause behind the incident.

However, the First World War ended on November of that same year, and in spite of this the international incidents between US soldiers and Mexican civilians continued, which proves false this argument.

Among these incidents we have that, on September 28, still of 1918, three foreign soldiers are seen crossing the Puente Bonillas. When they are stopped later walking along the railroad tracks. When they were asked why they had crossed through a forbidden point, first they answered that they were german soldiers, although later they said they were US soldiers.

A few days before this incident, another soldier had been stopped under the same conditions, while on October 1, another US soldier crossed through Juarez St. and joined the rest of his comrades. This way, the constant violation of US citizens to the rules for crossing will continue during all of these months. To avoid more problems, the Government of Sonora orders the building of a wire fence to delimit the border.

However, even this measure won´t avoid the continuation of incidents. On October 19, at 9 AM, a US army plane will fire several shots on Nogales, Sonora, without causing any damage, and two days later a group of firewood collectors is attacked outside of town, near the Rosario graveyard by a group of US soldiers, who kill a horse. Even later, on January 7, 1919, another group of six US soldiers make another incursion into Mexico.

For many years there were several attempts to declare the city of Nogales as “Heroica” by the Federal Congress. It was until July 22, 1961, when Law No. 77 finally gave Nogales this title, thanks to the participation that all of the Nogalenses had in the defence of the city, that August 27, 1918.