Texas did not rejoin the Union for along time until they finally decided to do it in 1873 because they were. Reconstruction in the South occurred eventually as war tensions died down and the second round of reconstruction took its place.
President Grant readmitted Texas to the Union in the Spring of 1870, There was controversy in Texas and all Southern states about accepting the 14th Amendment, only Tennessee did quickly. In 1866 Texas refused to adopt the requirements of the US in rewriting the state constitution. Edmund Davis who had led a unit of Texas Union troops during the war is appointed military governor. The first election is held in 1869, Davis a Republican barely beats a more Confederate sympathizing Republican Andrew Hamilton to win. Davis tells grant to admit Texas because all hell would break loose otherwise and it is better to have Texas back in the Union than try to forcibly rule it. He tells Grant that as Governor he will work to get Texas in full conformity with the US requests. He said I can do more if Texas is a State than occupied territory. Grant having seen what Hood and Terry’s Texas Rangers were like in the war had zero desire for an armed conflict against Texas, he agreed and admitted Texas even though they were not in full compliance. By 1873 Texas had ratified everything just as Davis predicted and voted him out of office for a string of 103 years of Democratic governors.
Davis being a Texan despite fighting for the Union understood the fierce independence streak of Texas and that sometimes you bend the rules for a greater good. In this case, Davis peacefully accomplished in 3 years what could have taken 30 by force. Davis is still hated by many real Texans who don’t understand what he did and the intelligence behind it. He was just a terrible Union officer who ruled Texas with an iron fist. He was a Texan who navigated the reunion of the US and Texas in favorable terms despite fighting for the Union.
Answer: The Army National Guard and Air National Guard are US State militaries which report to a State Governor AND the US Federal Government. ... So, US states do not have their own military forces, but the Guard is a state military force.
