The War In Caswell County
ll hup|M'iic«l in 1870 and could
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in civil nnrfaro. uere il nol for flic fact
I Hal a federal judtfe in Elizabeth (ll> *»aved
the day.
By II. C. LAWRENCE
EVERY school child knows I ha l
the Civil War ended in 1865,
but only a few know that
North Carolina had a war all its
own In 1870.
It started up in the hills of Cas¬
well. From her hills came Calvin
Graves, whose vote as Speaker of
the Senate, broke a tic and made
possible the building of the North
Carolina Railroad from Goldsboro
to Charlotte. From her hills came
the Poteats— William Louis, emi¬
nent scientist, president of Wake
Forest College, and his brother.
Edwin McNeill Potcat, mighty
preacher, president of Furman Uni¬
versity. From here also came John
H. Kerr, jurist and veteran Con¬
gressman. and other notable men.
Murder of Stephens
In the Spring of 1870. John W.
Stephens. Republican leader of
Caswell, was murdered at the very
bar of justice in the courthouse at
Yanceyville — a murder laid at the
door of the Ku Klux Klan. This
murder, with the lynching of a
Negro in Alamance, emboldened
Governor William W. Holden to
declare the two counties in a state
of insurrection. To suppress the
‘‘rebellion." the Governor organ¬
ized two regiments of troops, one
of which nearly plunged the State
into civil war. This regiment was
commanded by Col. George W.
Kirk, from Tennessee, and was
recruited from a most undesirable
element of the population. Over
200 of its members were non-resi¬
dents of the State; about 400 were
under military age; and many
Negroes were upon the muster rolls
of the regiment. A reign of terror
ensued.
This regiment preyed upon the
countryside in Alamance and
Caswell, looting and pillaging
wherever they went. Eighty-two
citizens of Alamance and nineteen
of Caswell were arrested by Colo¬
nel Kirk, thrown into prison and
treated with barbarity. Bail was
denied them, and it was proposed
to try them by court martial.
to
In July, upon application of one
of the prisoners. Chief Justice
Pearson of the State Supreme
Court issued a writ of habeas cor-
Sus. returnable before himself.
Then this writ was served Colonel
Kirk laughed, declared such papers
“played out" and announced his
purpose of ignoring the writ. Gov¬
ernor Holden assumed full re¬
sponsibility for Kirk’s action.
On the return day of the writ
there was no hearing, as the pris¬
oners were not brought before the
court as directed by the writ. But
the Chief Justice wrote an opinion,
admitting the power of the Gover¬
nor to declare the counties in a
state of insurrection, but denying
his power to suspend the writ of
habeas corpus. But the Chief Jus¬
tice refused to hold Kirk in con¬
tempt. or undertake other steps
to release the prisoners, upon the
ground that it would provoke civil
war. Instead, he directed the
Marshal of the court to exhibit
a copy of his writ to the Governor.
His opinion closed with words
which have become famous in our
history. "I have discharged my
duty; the power of the judiciary
is exhausted; the responsibility
must now rest on the executive.
Ignored the Writ
Governor Holden not only ig¬
nored the writ and the opinion of
the chief justice, but he had his
military forces to arrest Josiah
Turner, editor of the Sentinel.
foremost Democratic editor of the
State, and had him locked up in
jail in Yanceyville in the same cell
with a Negro murderer.
Matt W. Ransom (afterwards
United States Senator) was of
counsel for the prisoners. He be¬
lieved them to be within the pro¬
tection of the then recently adopted
14th amendment to the Federal
Constitution which said something
about "due process of law." In
Elizabeth City he went before
George W. Brooks, United States
District Judge, and applied for
writs of habeas corpus. The judge
took jurisdiction and issued the
writs. Kirk announced that he
would ignore the orders of Judge
Brooks, and Governor Holden ap¬
pealed to President Grant to stand
by him and have Judge Brooks
recall his writs. But the President
directed the Governor to respect
and obey any writ issued by the
federal judge. Judge Brooks there¬
fore proceeded to hear the matter
at Salisbury, at which time Kirk
produced the prisoners, but had
no evidence to offer against them,
so the court promptly ordered
their discharge. The State breathed
a sigh of relief.
Democratic Victory
In August, the Democrats won
a decisive victory, and among the
first acts of the ensuing legislature
was the impeachment of Governor
Holden. Not all Democrats thought
impeachment expedient. Governor
Vance declared: "It was the long¬
est hunt after the sorriest hide I
ever saw."
After the lapse of seventy-five
years it appears: Judge Pearson
was undoubtedly right in refusing
to try to force Kirk to obey his
writ, os civil war would probably
have ensued. The judiciary teas
exhausted, as the military power
was under control of the Governor.
Judge Brooks was undoubtedly
correct. The prisoners were en¬
titled to the protection of the 14th
amendment, and this protection
he gave them.
What of Governor Holden?
Whatever his record may have
been in the troubled days of re¬
construction, when I knew him in
his old age. if there had ever been
malice or hatred in his heart, it
had fallen from him. Where
poverty existed in Raleigh, there
was Governor Holden purse in
hand. Was there sickness or sor¬
row? The old Governor was at
hand to comfort and to cheer. And
when he died. Raleigh mourned.
THE STATE OeciMBE* 22. 1S43
