Title
Preview
Creation Date
1913
Description
The Houston Light Guards, one of the oldest national guard companies in the state, became the first uniformed militia company in post-Reconstruction Houston. It could not form until elimination of the Republican state administration seemed imminent. Confederate veterans began to organize the unit in the fall of 1872. The 1913 and 1914 activations were under state auspices and the 1916 mobilization under federal direction. The formation of the Texas Department of Public Safety in the 1930s and expanded city police forces diminished the need for such "law and order" missions. Find out more at Houston Light Guards.