 When Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845, the area was stabilized by the presence of U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor.In 1845, the county was formed (San Patricio is Spanish for Saint Patrick, the primary patron saint of the colonists home country of Ireland), and Corpus Christi was designated as the county seat.The following year, the county south of the Nueces River was reorganized as Nueces County, and San Patricio became its county seat.