On 9 March 1916, the Mexican rebel General Francisco "Pancho" Villa ordered nearly 500 Mexican revolutionaries to make a cross-border attack into the United States at New Mexico. The raid was in response to Woodrow Wilson's recognition and support of the Carranza regime. Commander of the Army 8th Brigade John J. Pershing led a failed punitive expedition to kill or capture Villa. However, Villa was not caught and by 1919 had assembled a sizable force and had initiated several battles against Mexican military troops in an attempt to rally the Mexican people against President Carranza. On the morning of 15 June 1919, Villa's forces attacked Mexican military troops at Fort Hidalgo.