Major General Philip H. Sheridan, appointed to command the post-war military district covering Texas and Louisiana on March 19, 1867, at first ignored reports of raiding by indigenous peoples. But later that year, the US Army was ordered to reoccupy its pre-war Texas billets early in 1867, and that May Fort Chadbourne was reoccupied by the 4th Cavalry. Fort Chadbourne was, however, poorly supplied with water. The US Army decided to replace Fort Chadbourne with a new installation and identified the junction of the Concho Rivers as an ideal site because of the abundance of water. The site was also desirable for its proximity to the routes it was to guard and for the abundance of nearby grazing land.