had just previously been fought in were the perfect location for foraging. Once the soldiers had left the women would loot stores for food and search through the dead bodies looking for anything that could be of value or use. Taking care of and nursing the wounded and sick was also another important task women had to fulfill. It was an extremely important role since medical care was not available to most of the soldiers and these women were their only chance of survival if they were wounded. If the army was in an area close enough to a hospital, then the women would also be responsible to get the soldiers that were badly wounded there, pulling them along in ox-carts. Not only did camp followers perform these duties, but also had a much more war-like task. They would have to smuggle hundreds and hundreds of rounds of ammunition to the fighting forces, especially from the United States into Mexico. They would hide the ammunition under their skirts and breasts and were given this duty because they were perceived as harmless women and therefore hardly ever caught. Defense of symbols of the revolution After the forced resignation and murder of Francisco I. Madero during the counter-revolutionary coup of February 1913, Madero's grave in Mexico City was subject to vandalism by adherents of the new regime. María Arias Bernal defended it against all odds, and was given public recognition for her bravery by Constitutionalist Army General Álvaro Obregón. Medical support An important role that women played during the Mexican Revolution's violence was as nurses. Most were likely anonymous, and nursed without being part of a formal organization or equipment. However, a significant figure was Elena Arizmendi Mejia, who created the Neutral White Cross when the Red Cross refused to treat revolutionary soldiers. Arizmendi was from an elite family and knew Francisco Madero before he was president. The Neutral White Cross leadership attempted to oust her from leadership when she was photographed in the pose of a soldadera or coronela, with crossed bandoliers, supposedly as a joke for her paramour, José Vasconcelos, later to become Minister of Public Education in the Obregón government. Female combatants A number of women served as combatants, but how many is not known. Some women became combatants by first joining the army passing as male, speaking in deep voices, wearing men’s clothing, and wrapping their breasts tightly