head of stock, including goats, sheep, and horses, as well as cattle, occupied the area between the Río de las Nueces and the Río Grande in 1835.[24] 

The defense of the trans-Nueces region was not intentionally neglected by the Republic of Texas, but due largely to an impoverished financial condition, the great distances involved, the scarcity of population, and often the nature and character of the persons upon whom it depended for military service, the government's policy lacked continuity in both planning and leadership. This is not to say that the average Texan did not make a good fighter or that the Republic did not have a number of competent military officers, but that various and sundry conditions served as handicaps. These will be noted as we progress with our story. In the meantime, a brief resume of the military establishment of Texas during the days immediately following the battle of San Jacinto may be in order at this point.[25]