Echoes of the American Civil War in small Texas border town

Clutching assault rifles, and surrounded by Humvee armoured cars and state police, a group of National Guardsmen in full combat gear stand menacingly next to a gate under a 20ft-high reinforced steel fence.

Given the endless strife along America's southern frontier a few hundred yards away, it's not an unexpected sight in this rough-and-ready border town.

But these troops are not facing . Instead, they're staring back towards the Texan town of Eagle Pass — and the rest of America.

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