The reason for a "Militia" or "National guard" was that the early United States 
 Distrusted a Standing Army, and the Centralization of power in Washington DC. ,
 and "kept the number of professional soldiers small. During the Northwest Indian War, the majority of soldiers were provided by state militias. There are nineteen Army National Guard units with campaign credit for the War of 1812."

"Militia units provided 70% of the soldiers that fought in the Mexican–American War, and also provided the majority of soldiers in the early months of the American Civil War The majority of soldiers in the Spanish–American War were from the National Guard."

"U.S. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, federalized the National Guard across the country (1916)
 in response to Pancho Villa’s excursion across the New Mexico border." 

The militia cannot be a hedge to unchecked Federal power if that militia is under the control 
of the Feds. Only the Unorganized Militia Can.