Had African-American encouraged Gov. Holden to restrain John W. “Chicken” Stephens instead of encouraging him, there wouldn't have been the sudden upsurge of Ku Klux Klan and Union League violence that led to the Kirk- Holden War.
John W. Stephens has been a Lieutenant in the Confederate army during the war, but during Reconstruction, had thrown his lot with the scalawag Holden. At The beginning of the troubles, Stephens was a state senator and a “detective” for Holden.
The beginning of the end for both Stephens and Holden occurred when a neighbour's chicken wandered into Stephens' yard and Stephens shot it. An argument ensued between the neighbour and Stephens and Stephens shot and slightly wounded the other man. The sheriff arrested Stephens and he was held over- night but was released the next day with no charges filed against him. Stephens should have let the matter drop at that point but apparently enraged for being arrested, he began to stir up the Union League against the white citizens of his town (Yanceyville). He was reported seen passing out matches to black members of the Union League. In any case, The Yanceyville Hotel went up in flames. A row of houses was destroyed, farmers of the county (Cashwell) had tobacco crops destroyed. The burning then moved to neighbouring Alamance County where the black sheriff and Stephens's henchman coordinated Union League activities. The burning and destruction continued on to two more surrounding counties - Chatham and Holden's home county of Orange. In the meantime, Governor Holden did nothing to stop his political allies. And yes, the Klan did react violently.
Stephens and the Black sheriff were assassinated by unknown assailants, but the Klan was believed responsible – they probably were. While Gov. Holden had ignored and even encouraged Union League depredations, he didn't ignore the killing of his political henchmen and instigators. He then declared an insurrection in a four- county area of North Carolina. He then called in the notorious William Kirk, from east Tennessee to suppress the uprising.
Kirk's high- handed methods were to lead to Holden downfall. Kirk had no idea of who were Klan members and who were not or who were guilty and who were not. He assumed all able- bodied white men were members and guilty of something.
A Federal judge George W. Brooks issued a writ of habeas requiring the prisoners to be brought before him at the coming session of the Salisbury court. “Local citizens were placed in jail under military arrest, and both Kirk and Holden refused to recognize writs of habeas corpus for their release ordered by state judges. Holden at once telegraphed President Grant, denying Brook's right to issue the writ, and saying that, and saying that Kirk would be directed to refuse to obey the judge's mandate. Whereupon the President, perhaps on the advice of his attorney general, wired Holden to obey Brook's write. Meanwhile, Conservative won a sweeping victory at the polls. Deserted by Grant and repudiated at the polls, Holden declared the insurrection at an end.” William Holden was now political dead meat.
Hugh T. Lefler and Albert R. Newsome, The History of a Southern State: North Carolina, pp. 466-468.