Nueces Strip facts for kids

The Nueces Strip or Wild Horse Desert is a special area in South Texas. It's located between two rivers: the Nueces River and the Rio Grande.

Long ago, in 1777, a missionary named Juan Agustín Morfi wrote about how many wild horses lived there. He said there were so many that their trails made the empty land look like it was full of people!

In the 1830s, the Republic of Texas (which was its own country back then) said the Rio Grande was its southern border. But Mexico disagreed and claimed the Nueces River as the border. This river was about 150 miles (240 km) north of the Rio Grande. Because of this disagreement, the land between these two rivers became known as the Nueces Strip. Both Texas and Mexico tried to control it, but neither truly settled it.

The Mexican-American War and the Nueces Strip

The Nueces Strip was where the first fights of the Mexican–American War happened in 1846. After the war, in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. In this treaty, Mexico officially gave the Nueces Strip to the United States.

Since 1848, this border area has been known for being a bit wild. It was a place where Texas Rangers were very active. It was also a route for enslaved people who were escaping to freedom on a lesser-known southern path of the Underground Railroad.

How the War Started in the Strip

U.S. President James K. Polk sent General Zachary Taylor and his soldiers south to the Rio Grande. This meant they entered the Nueces Strip. The U.S. said this land belonged to them because of agreements made in 1836 called the Treaties of Velasco. Mexico, however, did not accept these agreements and refused to talk about them. Mexico still claimed all of Texas.

General Taylor did not listen to Mexico's demands to go back to the Nueces River. Instead, he built a temporary fort on the banks of the Rio Grande. This fort was across from the Mexican city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas and was later known as Fort Brown.

The First Fight: Thornton Affair

Mexican forces, led by General Mariano Arista, got ready for war. On April 25, 1846, about 2,000 Mexican cavalry soldiers attacked a group of 70 U.S. soldiers. These U.S. soldiers had been sent into the disputed land north of the Rio Grande. In this event, known as the Thornton Affair, the Mexican cavalry defeated the U.S. patrol. Sixteen American soldiers were killed in this first clash of the war.