San Antonio, March 12, 1860.
I shall proceed at once to the Rio Grande and use every exertion to put an end to these incursions, if they still continue.
You will perceive by the report of Major Heintzelman, of the 29th ultimo, which has been forwarded to your office, that he considers the force of Cortinas to have dispersed, and that he will not make another effort to collect one.
I shall therefore take with me but one company of cavalry, as frequent reports of Indian incursions have recently been made on the northern frontier, and there are not a sufficient number of troops on that line, in my opinion, to prevent them.
I have drawn the cavalry company from Camp Verdé, (where there is a company of infantry stationed,) the nearest point, and directed its march towards Fort McIntosh, and will join it on its route.
I regret to state that the horses of the cavalry regiment are so worn down by constant service, exposure, the scarcity of grass, &c., that they fail, sometimes perish, on every expedition. Some of the commanders of companies report that their horses are reduced to almost “total insufficiency.”
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Brevet Colonel, Commanding Department.
Adjutant General United States Army,
Washington city, D. C.
Difficulties on Southwestern Border, House Documents, Volume 126; Volume 128, United States House of Representatives, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1860
During the 12 years following the Mexican-American War, there were present on the frontiers of Texas and Mexico many factors that tended to create disturbances. The topography of the country, the sparsity and general character of its population, the lack of an extradition treaty and of sufficient national authority, wild Indians of uncertain abode, the Mexican tariff system, all caused friction and gave encouragement to lawlessness which not only retarded the development of the region but often threatened to interrupt friendly relations between the two republics. [Border Troubles along the Rio Grande, 1848-1860, The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 2 (OCTOBER, 1919)]