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1. Reconstruction and the New South · 1866–1899

2. August 5, 1870
   Law, policy or court · Hillsborough Captain Hancock at Hillsborough wires Burgen that he has news he cannot send without breaking orders

   On August 5, 1870, the day Josiah Turner Jr. was arrested at Hillsborough, Captain Hancock, commanding the state troops there, telegraphed his superior, Lieutenant Colonel B. G. Burgen at Company Shops, that he had a matter of great importance to report but could not do so without violating orders. Thomas Bragg, closing for the House managers on March 20, 1871, cited the telegram as evidence that Holden ordered the arrest and said the telegrams kept at the Shops were spirited away before they could be called for.

3. December 1870–March 1871
   Storyline · 20 events · Raleigh Governor Holden’s impeachment and trial

   Frederick N. Strudwick of Orange moved to impeach Governor William W. Holden on December 9, 1870. Article III charged the August 1870 arrest of Josiah Turner Jr. at Hillsborough; William A. Graham joined the prosecution, Turner and other Orange witnesses testified, and on March 22, 1871 the state Senate convicted Holden, 37 to 12 on that article, and removed him from office on the motion of Senator John W. Graham of Orange.

4. March 16, 1871
   Law, policy or court · Senate chamber, Raleigh (witnesses from Orange County) The impeachment court refuses to swear three Black Orange witnesses called on the jail raid

   On March 16, 1871, the Senate sitting as the impeachment court voted 28 to 18 against letting three Black men from Orange County be sworn so they could be paid for weeks of attendance; Holden's defense had summoned them to testify about the taking of Black prisoners from the Orange County jail. Defense counsel Badger told the court their evidence had been ruled out because the defense could not prove that the roads where the raiders' horse tracks were followed connected with Alamance County. Senator Graham of Orange first moved to pay every summoned witness on both sides, which failed 22 to 24, and then voted against swearing the three.

5. March 22, 1871
   Law, policy or court · North Carolina Senate chamber, Raleigh Senate convicts Holden on the article charging Turner's arrest in Orange County

   The state Senate found Governor Holden guilty, 37 to 12, on Article III, which charged him with the unlawful arrest of Josiah Turner Jr. in Orange County on August 5, 1870, and also convicted him on Articles IV through VIII. Senator John W. Graham of Orange then offered the order of judgment removing Holden from office and barring him from state office, which the Senate adopted.

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Compiled and maintained by the Friends of the Orange County Public Library from county records, the sources named on each card, and the index’s event pages. Last updated October 4, 2026.