Rodolfo Fierro was a railway worker, railway superintendent, federal soldier and lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in the army of Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa

José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....

 during the Mexican Revolution

Mexican Revolution

The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...

 in the . Fierro and his counter part and fellow lieutenant, Tomas Urbina

Tomás Urbina

Tomás Urbina was a general during the Mexican Revolution who allied with Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.-References:...

, have been cited as the two halves of Pancho Villa, Fierro representing his malicious side. It is believed Fierro met Pancho Villa in 1913 following the Madero revolution. Originating from Sonora

Sonora

Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....

, Fierro was a former federal officer having taken part in fighting against the Yaqui Indians. Following his role as a federal officer, Fierro went on to work as a railway man, eventually being absorbed into Villa's ranks.

Soldier

Fierro's prominence is often cited back to the Battle of Tierra Blanca

Battle of Tierra Blanca

The Battle of Tierra Blanca was fought during the Mexican Revolution. It took place about 35 miles south of Ciudad Juárez. It was a major victory for Francisco "Pancho" Villa over the forces of José Inés Salazar, commander of the forces loyal to Victoriano Huerta.The two armies were of relatively...

 on 23 November 1913. The battle included 5,500 of Villa's soldiers, against an estimated 7,000 federal soldiers. Before the battle began Fierro had been sent South to destroy the railroad tracks, forcing the federal soldiers to halt. As Villa flanked the well armed federal soldiers with cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

, a locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 filled with dynamite

Dynamite

Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...

 and percussion caps was rammed into the federal soldiers train cars, the resulting explosion caused the federal soldiers to flee to nearby undamaged train cars in retreat. Fierro is then noted as riding on horseback after the escaping locomotive, climbing on to the locomotive, running across the roofs of the train cars, and shooting dead the boilerman and conductor

Conductor (transportation)

A conductor is a member of a railway train's crew that is responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve the actual operation of the train. The title of conductor is most associated with railway operations in North America, but the role of conductor is common to railways...

, pulling the train to a complete stop. All federal soldiers captured were executed and in the battle Villa captured 4 locomotives, 7 machine guns, horses, rifles and 400,000 rounds of small arms ammunition. The death toll during the battle stood around 1,000 federal soldiers killed and 300 of Villa's.

Executioner

Fierro is most known as Villa's executioner, known as (the butcher). Fierro's originates from a story documented by Martín Luis Guzmán

Martín Luis Guzmán

Martín Luis Guzmán Franco was a Mexican novelist and journalist.-Life:Guzmán was born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Along with Mariano Azuela, he is considered a pioneer of the revolutionary novel, a genre inspired by the experiences of the Mexican Revolution of 1910...

. Guzmán describes events following the capture of over 300 soldiers known as Orozquistas. The captured soldiers were led into a large field with Fierro on one end, and a wall on the other. They were informed, if they were to reach the opposite end and climb over the wall they would be allowed to continue on free. In groups of ten the captured men were set out to run, Fierro alone firing his pistol at them as they ran, his soldiers handing him fresh pistols to continue firing without delay. One captive is noted as making it over the wall and to freedom, only after Fierro stopped to massage an achy trigger finger.The shooting went on for two hours. It is said that Fierro would ask each prisoner if they would rather return to their family, or join the army of Pancho Villa. Those deciding to return to their family were seen as men who would head back to their old regiment and were executed. Those choosing to join Pancho Villa were provided with a horse, a gun, and three bullets.

Other stories exist of Fierro shooting a man dead in public in the state of Chihuahua. The person, sitting across from Fierro, argued that a man shot would fall backwards, Fierro disagreed. To settle the bet Fierro shot the man, and watched as he fell forward, confirming to Fierro that he was correct. A similar story is tolds by John Reed

John Reed

-Arts, letters, and entertainment:* John Reed , New York novelist and author* John Reed , actor and singer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company* John Reed , Australian critic and art patron...

: outside the theater of Durango

Durango

Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...

, a drunken man asked Fierro what time it was; Fierro said: "You! How dare you speak to me before I speak to you first-" and shot him dead.

While working as Villa's railway superintendent, Fierro was publicly reprimanded by Villa for a train of supply water running 35 minutes late. Fierro, when the train arrived is said to have shot the conductor dead as an act of vengeance for his humiliation. This incident sparked strife amongst the railway workers, who primarily supported Villa. In another incident, a drunken Fierro killed a railway worker for bumping into him, this final incident caused Villa to act. Villa permitted a judge to begin collecting evidence against Fierro into his actions, a judge who begged to be removed from the case for fear of repercussion. The case never went to trial but Fierro was removed from the position of railway superintendent. It is often stated the case was a sham, simply to continue to retain support from the much needed railway workers.

Fierro is also known for the murder of William Benton on 17 February 1914, an Englishman and land owner in Mexico who had his land confiscated by Villa's forces. Numerous stories exist around what happened. Benton is cited as having stormed into Villa's headquarters in Ciudad Juárez

Ciudad Juárez

Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...

, demanding his land back from Villa, in which Villa refused. Following his refusal, Villa maintains Benton unsuccessfully attempted to draw a six-shooter pistol

Pistol

When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

, he was wrestled to the floor and given a formal court martial and found guilty of attempted assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

, he was then executed and buried. A conflicting story exists in which Benton drew his pistol but was detained and removed from the town at night. He taken to the desert, where a hole was dug and Fierro is believed to have struck Benton in the head with a shovel, dumping into the grave without checking to see if Benton was still alive.

Commander

On 15 January 1915, Villa turned over command of the western forces to Fierro and Calixto Contreras. The decision was made following the election of Roque González Garza

Roque González Garza

Roque González Garza was a Mexican general and acting president of the Republic from January to June 1915....

 by the Mexico City Convention. Fierro and Contreras were defeated following being put in command. In Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...

 on 17 January 1915, Fierro's forces were surprised by an attack and forced to flee to Irapuato, Guanajuato

Irapuato, Guanajuato

Irapuato is a Mexican city located at the foot of the Arandas mountain , in the south central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of the Lerma River, at 1,724 m above sea level. It is located at...

. Villa was forced to pull troops from Mexico city to North West Mexico to assist Fierro and Contreras. With the larger number of forces, (11,000 soldiers strong), Villa was able to take Guadalajara without a fight, Villa pursued but was repelled, after sustaining heavy casualties, he ordered a withdrawal moving himself and a large force of soldiers from the area. Fierro was again in charge of the west, and on March 22, attacked a well dug-in force at Tuxpan, Veracruz. Fierro was again defeated, losing two thousand men and eight hundred horses, the loss forced him to abandon Guadalajara as well.

Death

On 14 October 1915, Fierro died after being thrown from his horse and landing in quicksand. At the time, Fierro was marching toward Sonora when he encountered the quicksand at the Casas Grandes Lagoon. The weight of his belt, loaded with gold coins and material is said to have prevented him from being able to escape.