The Kirk-Holden War was a struggle against the Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

 in the state of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 in 1870. The Klan was preventing recently freed slaves from exercising their right to vote by intimidating them. Governor William W. Holden hired Colonel George Washington Kirk, a former Union guerrilla leader, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, and imposed martial law in Caswell and Alamance counties to stop the Klan.

Background to the "war"

John W. Stephens, a Republican State Senator, was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in the Caswell County Courthouse on May 21, 1870. Shortly after that, Wyatt Outlaw, the African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 town commissioner of Graham, was lynched

Lynching

Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...

 in Alamance County by the Klan. On July 8, 1870, Governor Holden declared the counties to be in a state of insurrection. George Kirk was brought in to stop the Klan. Holden suspended the writ of habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

 and imposed martial law

Martial law

Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...

 in Caswell and Alamance counties to help Kirk in his efforts.

The war

The war itself was little more than a police action. Governor Holden ordered Kirk to assemble a force and march on the city of Yanceyville. Kirk gathered some 300 volunteers and marched on the city in early July. Soon thereafter, he began arresting men, including some of the most respected citizens of the county: ex-Congressman John Kerr, lawyers Jacob A. Long and James E. Boyd, Captain Joseph F. Mitchell, Sheriff Jesse C. Griffith, Barzillai Graves, Thomas J. Womack, and Yancey Jones. Kirk made about 100 arrests in a matter of weeks.

Lawyers immediately attempted to free their clients through the courts' writs of habeas corpus. Some requests were granted by the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court

North Carolina Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists of six associate justices and one chief justice, although the number of justices...

. However, Governor Holden instructed Kirk to ignore these, and the matter was taken to the federal court in Salisbury

Salisbury

Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...

. The federal judge

Federal judge

Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state / provincial / local level.-Brazil:In Brazil, federal judges of first instance are chosen exclusively by public contest...

 ordered most of the prisoners released; none were ever tried.

Aftermath

Governor Holden disbanded the militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

in September of 1870, and in November ended the state of insurrection in both counties. The men Kirk had arrested demanded his arrest and wanted him tried on charges of false imprisonment. The United States Marshall for Tennessee arrested Kirk and took him to Raleigh. However, he was secretly released and returned home to Tennessee.

Governor Holden was impeached, tried, and removed from office in a party-line vote not long after the Democrats took control of the North Carolina Legislature in the August 1870 election. Two additional charges beyond the six that received the 2/3 supermajority required for impeachment only achieved a majority, but Holden nevertheless became the first governor in the US removed from office.

On April 12, 2011, the North Carolina state Senate voted unanimously to pardon Governor Holden. The measure now awaits passage in the NC House.