Mounted Inspector Robert L. Wood

Robert L. Wood

Mounted Inspector Robert Wood was shot and killed approximately five miles south of Fort Hancock after a group of Mexican bandits who were being pursued by Carranzistas crossed the Rio Grande River into the United States.

Inspector Wood, a second mounted inspector, and several U.S. Army soldiers surrounded the hut that the group was hiding in. The bandits opened fire from within the hut, killing Inspector Wood and U.S. Army Private John Towney.

At the request of the troops, the Carranzistas also crossed the border and assisted the Army troops in a prolonged gun battle in which at least three of the bandits were killed. Several others were able to escape back across the river into Mexico.