The Texas Militia are the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

forces of the

State of Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It currently consists of the

Texas Army National Guard The Texas Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army, the United States National Guard and the Texas Military Forces (along with the Texas Air National Guard and the Texas State Guard). Texas Army National Guard units are train ...

Texas Air National Guard The Texas Air National Guard (TX ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Texas, United States of America. It is, along with the Texas Army National Guard, an element of the Texas National Guard. No element of the Texas Air National Guard is und ...

, and

Texas State Guard The Texas State Guard (TXSG) is part of the state military force of Texas, and one of three branches of the Texas Military Forces. Along with the other two branches, the TXSG falls under the command of the Governor of Texas and is administered by ...

. It is administered by the

Texas Military Department The Texas Military Department (TMD) is an executive branch agency of the Texas government. Along with the Texas Department of Public Safety, it is charged with providing the security of Texas, which has the second largest population, border, and ...

under command of the Texas Adjutant General. Since 1846, the Texas Militia constitutes the entirety of the

Texas Military Forces The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest econ ...

History

The Texas Militia descends from the

Texian Militia The Texian Militia was the militia forces of Texian colonists in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas from 1823 to 1835 and the inaugurate force of the Texas Military Forces, Texas Military. It was established by Stephen F. Austin on August 5, 1 ...

established by

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

in 1823 to protect the

Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of married men. Austin was an American approved in 18 ...

in the Colony of Texas. Its most notable unit, the Texas Rangers, remained in continuous service of

until 1935. Following the Texas Revolution, the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

authorized the Texas Militia,

Texas Army The Texas Army, officially the Army of the Republic of Texas, was the land warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Army, which was established in October 1835 to fight for independe ...

, and

Texas Navy The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established ...

in the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

on September 5, 1836. On December 6, 1836, the First Congress officially established the militia declaring "Every free able bodied male citizen of this republic, resident therein, who is or shall be...seventeen...and under the age of fifty years shall...be enrolled in the militia." However, no funds were appropriated. In 1837, the Second Congress passed the Militia Act of 1837 with appropriations, which established one division composed of four brigades. It was initially led by

Thomas Rusk Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 5, 1803July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first Secretary of War as well as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a US politician and ...

, who was replaced by

Felix Huston Felix Huston (1800–1857) was a lawyer, soldier, military opportunist and the first commanding general of the Army of the Republic of Texas under the Constitution of 1836. Early life and career Huston was born in Kentucky. He was a slave trade ...

in 1839, and

Sidney Sherman Sidney Sherman (July 23, 1805 – August 1, 1873) was a Texian general and a key leader in the Army of Texas, Texas Army during the Texas Revolution and afterwards. Early life Sherman was born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, a son of Michah and Sus ...

in 1840. On March 9, 1838, the Milam Guards were established by Joseph Daniels in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, the first new militia unit of the Republic of Texas (after the Texas Rangers). It was followed by the Travis Guards (Rifles) on March 1, 1840, and Galveston Artillery on September 13, 1840. The Texas Army and Navy were merged with the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

on February 19, 1846, after the Republic of Texas became the 28th state of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, leaving the Texas Militia (including the Texas Rangers) as the only authorized force under the United States

Militia Acts of 1792 Two Militia Acts were enacted by the 2nd United States Congress in 1792 that provided for the organization of militias and empowered the President of the United States to take command of the state militias in times of imminent invasion or insur ...

. After annexation, the

First Texas Legislature The First Texas Legislature convened from February 16 to May 13, 1846 in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on October 13, 1845 that ratified the proposed state const ...

passed the Militia Act of 1846, which established five divisions each composed of two brigades. During the Frontier /

Antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

period, notable units included the Texas Rangers, Alamo Rifles of San Antonio, the Galveston Artillery Company, the Lone Star Military Company of Galveston, the Washington Light Guards of Houston, the Milam Rifles of Houston, the Turner Rifles of Houston, and the Refugio Riflemen. During the America Civil War, the Texas Militia was generally was designated the Home Guard or State Troops and tasked with defense of the frontier against Indian and Mexican incursion, defense of the coast against

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

invasion, and suppression of Union loyalists. The Texas Militia was initially disbanded during

reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

military occupation Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

, but reestablished as the Texas Volunteer Guard and

Texas State Police The Texas State Police (TSP) was created following the Civil War by order of Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis. The TSP worked primarily against racially based crimes in Texas, and included black police officers. It was replaced by a renewed Texas ...

in 1871. Following the

Militia Act of 1903 The Militia Act of 1903 (), also known as the Efficiency in Militia Act of 1903 or the Dick Act, was legislation enacted by the United States Congress to create an early National Guard and which codified the circumstances under which the Guard cou ...

, the Texas Militia was divided into separate forces: # The

and

, subject to Title 32 and

Title 10 Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code. It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense. ...

of the United States Code which legally empowers the United States government to

mobilize Mobilize may refer to: * Mobilize (company), an American political technology platform * ''Mobilize'' (Anti-Flag album) (2002) * ''Mobilize'' (Grant-Lee Phillips album) (2001) * Mobilize.org, an American not-for-profit * Mobilize, a mobility c ...

them when more resources are needed than available in the

for war, national emergency, or national security. # The

, only subject to Title 32 of the United States Code which legally empowers individual states to maintain

military forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

. Since 1903, the Texas National Guard designation has remained the same while the Texas State Guard has been designated as the: * Texas Reserve Militia, 1905-1913 * Texas Home Guard, 1914-1918 (

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) * Texas Reserve Militia, 1919-1940 * Texas Defense/State Guard, 1941-45 (

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

) * Texas State Guard Reserve Corps, 1945-1965 * Texas State Guard, 1965–present

Authority

Republic of Texas

From 1836 to 1845, the Texas Militia was legally empowered by Article II, Section 6 of the

Constitution of the Republic of Texas The Constitution of the Republic of Texas was the supreme law of Texas from 1836 to 1845. On March 2, 1836, Texas declared itself an independent republic because of a lack of support in the United States for the Texas Revolution. The declaration ...

"to execute the law, to suppress insurrections, and repel invasion." It was administered by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

under command of the Secretary of War, Texas Adjutant General, and President of Texas.

State of Texas

From 1846 to 1903, the Texas Militia was legally empowered by the United States

, and Article 6 of the Constitution of the State of Texas "to execute the laws of the State, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions." From 1903 to present, following the

, the Texas Militia is legally empowered by Title 32 of the United States Code and Article 4, Section 7 of the

of the State of Texas to "execute the laws of the state, to suppress insurrections, and to repel invasions". Operations are conducted under command of the

by the Texas Adjutant General. From 1903 to present, some Texas Militia units are also subject to

of the United States Code, which legally empowers the United States government to

them when more resources are needed than available in the

for war, national emergency, or national security. Operations are conducted under command of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

by the Secretary of Defense.

Units

The Texas Militia has undergone many redesignations and reorganizations since 1836.

Current units

Former units

* Texas Militia, 1836-1845 (

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

era) ** Texas Rangers ** Milam Guards ** Travis Guard (Rifles) ** Galveston Artillery * Texas Militia, 1845-1861 (Frontier era) ** Frontier Battalion (Texas Rangers) ** Alamo Rifles ** Galveston Artillery Company ** Lone Star Military Company ** Washington Light Guards ** Milam Rifles ** Turner Rifles ** Refugio Riflemen * Texas Home Guard/State Troops, 1861-65 (

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

) ** San Jacinto Guards ** Davis Guards ** Turner Rifles * Texas Volunteer Guard, 1871-1904 (

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

era) ** Houston Light Guards ** Smith County Guards ** Star Riflemen ** Waco Greys ** Kerrville Mounted Rifles ** San Marcos Greys ** Gonzales Rifles ** Fannin Light Guards ** Lamar Rifles ** Stonewall Greys ** Austin Greys ** Comanche Guards ** Lavaca Greys ** Alamo Rifles ** Palestine Rifles * Texas Reserve Militia, 1905-1913 * Texas Home Guard, 1914-1918 (

) * Texas Reserve Militia, 1919-1940 ** Royal Irish Regiment * Texas Defense/State Guard, 1941-45 (

) ** 1st Training and Research Unit ** 2nd Training and Research Unit ** First Naval Battalion **Air Corps * Texas State Guard Reserve Corps, 1945-1965

Notable engagements

References

{{Reflist Texas Military Department Texas Military Forces