Mexican or "Punitive" Expedition into Mexico, 1st. Lt. C. Lininger Correspondence, April 1916 to May 1917. 150+ covers written by First Lieutenant of the 13 Cavalry C. Lininger to his wife stationed in Fort Riley Kan. dated from April 16, 1916 to May 9, 1917, spanning the entire period of the Mexican Expedition, most are 2c U.S. Postal Stationery entires postmarked in Columbus, N. Mex. (latter part of covers from El Paso Tex.) with "Soldier's Mail" endorsement, each cover is accompanied by original content, many of the covers with edgewear of little significance, also incl. a series of five small cards (possibly due to lack of paper?) making up a letter with each receiving "Postage Due 1 Cents" and a single 1c Postage Due stamp

FINE-VERY FINE. A REMARKABLE FIRST-HAND CORRESPONDENCE FROM THE MEXICAN OR "PUNITIVE" EXPEDITION AGAINST PANCHO VILLA. A GROUP WORTHY OF FURTHER STUDY OF THIS WELL-KNOWN MILITARY OPERATION.

The few letters checked by us in this group contain information about political situation, battles fought, conditions endured by soldiers, soldier morale, troop movement and much more. They begin with his outbound train journey toward New Mexico and end with him in El Paso awaiting further instructions. Most letters range from a page to six pages, and those written in the field are datelined about a week prior to their postmark in Columbus. The lack of censorship of these letters makes for a true in-depth account of the incursion.

The American Air Mail Catalogue (AAMC 92) mentions "new planes arrived at a later date and made flights into the field but it is unclear when mail was flown after April 20." Therefore, it is our assumption that many of these letters were flown from the field to Columbus, N. Mex. on planes used for reconnaissance purposes and to carry mail to and from the expedition.

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