combatants, without the female camp followers, the armies fighting in the Revolution would have been much worse off. When Pancho Villa banned soldaderas from his elite corps of Dorados within his División del Norte, the incidence of rape increased. They joined the revolution for many different reasons; however, joining was not always voluntary. Differences between army factions The Federal Army had large numbers of camp followers, often whole families of the troops. Women were important logistical support to male combatants, since the army did not have an organized way to provision troops. Women sourced food and cooked it for individual soldiers. For the Federal Army, its forced recruitment of soldiers (leva) meant that desertion rates were extremely high, since army service was a form of "semi-slavery." By allowing families to remain together, desertion rates were reduced. Much is known about the soldaderas of General Salvador Mercado's army, since he crossed the U.S. border after being beaten by Pancho Villa's army. Some 1,256 women and 554 children were interned in Fort Bliss along with 3,357 army officers and troops. When Villa heard of the plight of the destitute Mexican women at Fort Bliss who had appealed to Victoriano Huerta's government, Villa sent them 1,000 pesos in gold. In Northern Mexico, the early revolutionary forces (followers of Francisco I. Madero) that helped overthrow Porfirio Díaz in 1911 lacked camp followers, because there was not much need for them. Revolutionary combatants were mostly cavalry who operated locally rather than far from home as the Federal Army did. Horses were expensive and in short supply, so in general, women remained at home. There were some female Maderista combatants, but there are no reports of there being significant numbers of them. In Southern Mexico, the Zapatista army, for the decade of revolutionary struggle, the combatants were usually based in their home villages and largely operated locally, so that camp followers were not necessary. The revolutionary army of the south recruited volunteers from villages, with many campesino villagers remaining non-combatants (pacificos). Sourcing food in the agriculturally rich region of Morelos did not necessitate camp followers, since villages would help out and feed the troops. When the Zapatistas operated farther from home and because the Zapatistas forces lacked camp followers, Zapatistas' rape of village women was a well-known phenomenon. After the overhrow of President Madero in February 1913 by General Victoriano Huerta, northern armies became armies of