And on the frontier of Texas, where citizens needed the protection of U.S. soldiers, there was none.

Raiding on the Texas Indian frontier had been even worse than usual in 1859 and 1860. A correspondent from Jack County reports that the area is "almost entirely depopulated" from citizens fleeing the violence and asks for more protection. The failure of the U.S. Army to defend against Indian attacks had greatly increased secessionist sentiments in frontier Texas.