Before dawn on March 16, 1916, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led several hundred of his rebel soldiers across the Mexican border into the southern county village of Columbus. The invaders raided and burned much of the town, causing many residents to flee to the desert. Although the raid completely surprised everyone in the town, it also awakened 350 United States Army soldiers at Camp Furlong at the edge of town, who defended the town with two machine guns. The fighting continued until dawn, when Villa fled back across the Mexican border, five hours after invading and approximately ninety minutes after attacking the town. Despite the U.S. Army's counter "Mexican Expedition" into Mexico, Villa was never caught; United States forces began engagement into The Great War and was unable to commit to Pancho Villas capture; he died seven years later at the hands of an assassin. Eighteen Columbus residents and U.S. soldiers were killed in the raid, while approximately seventy-five of Villa's soldiers were killed.